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A review by tcgarback
The Deep End by Jeff Kinney
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
I’m reading these super out of order, so I can’t speak on many of the books before this one, which is #15, but what stood out to me most is that this is a straight narrative, rather than the episodic norm. This structure actually hurts the humor a lot, as Kinney is great with anecdotes and tangents, and those are missing here.
So while The Deep End has a coherent and eventually super exciting singular plot-line, it is hugely lacking on the laughs. Also, he way overdoes the all caps. I don’t NEED every other WORD to be capitalized, especially when it doesn’t MAKE sense TO have it capitalized. So annoying.
And I feel like I’m ranting at this point, but I must say a lot of this just felt really juvenile and kiddish…obviously it’s a kids book, but the gags here lack a maturity I’ve seen in his other books.
Another thing lacking is the focus on character and Greg’s terrible personality. I’m realizing that’s part of what makes the other volumes so strong.
This sounds like a pan, but I didn’t hate the book. The storyline is really fun, and the final act is amusingly over the top.
But this is easily the worst of the four Whimpy’s I’ve read so far.
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
I’m reading these super out of order, so I can’t speak on many of the books before this one, which is #15, but what stood out to me most is that this is a straight narrative, rather than the episodic norm. This structure actually hurts the humor a lot, as Kinney is great with anecdotes and tangents, and those are missing here.
So while The Deep End has a coherent and eventually super exciting singular plot-line, it is hugely lacking on the laughs. Also, he way overdoes the all caps. I don’t NEED every other WORD to be capitalized, especially when it doesn’t MAKE sense TO have it capitalized. So annoying.
And I feel like I’m ranting at this point, but I must say a lot of this just felt really juvenile and kiddish…obviously it’s a kids book, but the gags here lack a maturity I’ve seen in his other books.
Another thing lacking is the focus on character and Greg’s terrible personality. I’m realizing that’s part of what makes the other volumes so strong.
This sounds like a pan, but I didn’t hate the book. The storyline is really fun, and the final act is amusingly over the top.
But this is easily the worst of the four Whimpy’s I’ve read so far.