FIGHT OR FLIGHT

Returning to one of his favorite topics, Greg Heffley creates profiles of the bullies thronging his middle school—which, inevitably, go missing.

Greg’s systematic notes, intended for his own protection (“I’m not sharing this stuff with anyone else…if other kids in my grade know what I know, then I won’t have any advantage”) detail the perpetrators’ numerous misdeeds. His panic is understandable when an inadvertent switcheroo leaves the binder in the hands of the vice principal. The resultant wave of detentions sparks a schoolwide hunt for the identity of “the Snitch.” Although the illustrations provide only two samples of the rap sheets, they contain an abundance of scenes of Greg and other victims slinking past so many hulking, predatory loiterers (all of whom appear to be boys) that it’s hard to tell which group is in the majority. The plot doesn’t offer many surprises for returning readers. Having taken potshots at the school’s designated Anti-Bullying Month, learning karate for self-defense (tragically, Greg is put in a class with the Tiger Cub beginners, who are half his age), a teacher romance, and a disastrous Drop Everything and Read campaign, Kinney again has Greg drag his friend Rowley into a dangerous scheme that leaves them both unharmed but more victims than victors. The bulbous-nosed, dot-eyed figures in the cartoon-style line drawings are all either black silhouettes or the color of the paper.

A series entry that follows familiar beats and will be welcomed by its huge fan base.