Author: Jeff Kinney
Year of Publication: 2012
Official Synopsis: A Valentine's Day dance at Greg's middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he's worried he'll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn't have any prospects either, but that's a small consolation.
An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who's going to be lucky in love.
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This book was a sweet surprise. I was already getting used to low quality Wimpy Kid stories. And, even though this story is not literary art, it is engaging. The Third Wheel is a relatable story about finding love and dating. Our media is filled with these type of stories, from romantic comedy movies to hilarious memoirs. Listening to such a story from an egocentric 12-years-old boy is a rather funny twist. Of course, Greg was not actually looking for true love, he only wanted a date to a dance. Still, his ideas for finding one are questionable, but unfortunately all too real. He tried to impress girls by dressing better, he surrounded himself by “bad boys”, he got a “man” on the inside (Rowley), he stalked girls, used a wingman (Rowley), and tried to impress a girl with money and/or expensive things, among other things. Greg nailed everything people do to find a significant other. Of course, he always went for the pretty and popular girls, so, even if he did everything “right”, he never would have stand a chance.
What I love the most about this book is how it conveys the reality of kids/teenagers interactions in such a light tone. At one point Greg creates a graph that demonstrate who likes who in school and I was immediately transported to high school. The graph had many lines crossing from one place to another, but hardly any love was requited.
I also loved the ending of the book, which gives us a glimpse of what dating is really all about. Rowley and Greg decide to go to the dance with one girl, Abigail – all three as friends. Greg spent all night trying to impress the girl. However, she leaned towards Rowley’s nice attitude and relatable personality. The cherry on top was when, in the middle of the dance, Abigail’s original date, the one that had “family obligations” and couldn’t go to the dance, enters the dance floor with another girl. In that moment I was blown away by the crudeness of the story. Kinney’s light tone, through Greg’s clueless arrogance, brushed it off as something unimportant that happened. And maybe to the reader and everyone else is unimportant. But, when something like that happened in real life, it’s not a laughing matter.
In the end, The Third Wheel did what it was supposed to, entertain. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny but it was still amusing. I was surprised by the underlying drama and reality of it. Now, I am certainly looking forward to the next book.
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