Common Sense Media Review
By Terreece Clarke
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Big dose of sibling rivalry in very funny sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 19 parent reviews
Based on 80 kid reviews
Kids say this sequel continues the humorous antics and sibling rivalry between Greg and Rodrick, offering plenty of laughs while occasionally presenting questionable role models. Though some reviewers find it has cruder elements compared to the first book, it still provides an entertaining narrative for children and captures the essence of middle school challenges.
- funny sibling rivalry
- entertaining narrative
- questionable role models
- captures middle school
- crude humor
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Greg Heffley is just trying to put the summer and its events behind him. It would be a lot easier if his mean older brother Rodrick didn't know his darkest secret. All Greg has to do is keep Rodrick quiet and keep his journal out of Rodrick's hands and everything should be OK, well not OK, but tolerable.
Is It Any Good?
A worthy follow-up to the first book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, RODRICK RULES gives us more of Greg's funny take on the world around him through his comics-laced journal. Greg's in more scrapes this time around, and worse than that, his bully brother Rodrick knows one of Greg's secrets that could definitely get him into trouble and threatens to tell the world. Here comes the brotherly blackmail (and a great topic for parent-kid discussions).
The cartoons that go along with Greg's journal entries are hilarious. Bestselling author Jeff Kinney does a great job portraying the hazardous environment of middle school and of showing us a relatable kid whose full of foibles -- while he's very likable he can be sarcastic, snarky, and occasionally pretty mean to his friends. The situations Greg finds himself are both familiar and embarrassing. While Greg likes to think he's the victim of misunderstandings, like when he promises to be honest and takes it too far, the majority of the time he gets what he deserves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about lying and friendship. Why was Greg's mother more upset when she found out he lied?
How would you feel if your friends treated you like Greg did Chirag?
Have you ever done something in school that made other people feel bad, but made you feel cool and popular?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Jeff Kinney
- Genre : Humor
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Amulet Books
- Publication date : February 1, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 14
- Number of pages : 224
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate