El Diario De Greg 9 (2027)

While the book is relentlessly funny, it has a surprisingly sweet core. The subplot of Greg trying to sneak off to the video game convention leads him to realize (albeit reluctantly) that the actual "adventure" with his family—the chaos, the fights, and the shared ice cream—is what memories are made of. Of course, he would never admit that out loud. The Spanish Translation: "¡Carretera y manta!" For Spanish-speaking readers, the translation by Esteban Morán captures the frantic energy perfectly. The title ¡Carretera y manta! (roughly "Hit the Road and Blanket") is a clever Spanish idiom for a simple, no-frills road trip, which ironically describes the Heffley’s disaster of a journey.

Greg, of course, is horrified. But he agrees under the false pretense that he can secretly follow the "Leisure Towers" (a gaming convention) happening at the same time.

The humor translates well because the situations are visual. You don’t need to know English to understand the horror of a seagull stealing Rodrick’s fries or Greg’s dad getting lost because the GPS voice is in a language nobody understands. El Diario de Greg 9: ¡Carretera y manta! is a high-octane entry in the series. It abandons the school setting and delivers 100% pure slapstick chaos. The book is shorter than others, but the pacing is breakneck—you turn the page expecting the next disaster, and Kinney never disappoints.

The pig, introduced in Hard Luck , becomes a true co-star here. It eats the family’s road map, ruins their groceries, and escapes at the worst possible moments. The pig is a perfect metaphor for the trip itself: unpredictable, messy, and impossible to control.

For fans of the most accident-prone middle schooler in literary history, El Diario de Greg 9 (English title: The Long Haul ) represents a brilliant change of scenery. While Greg Heffley usually causes havoc within the walls of his school or home, the ninth installment throws the entire family into the cramped cabin of a minivan. The result is one of the funniest and most chaotic entries in Jeff Kinney’s beloved series.