The Long Haul, ninth book of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, sees Greg Heffley and family reluctantly follow Greg's mother on an unwanted family magazine-styled vacation. After a half day of reducing family luggage to an amount were it can can fit into the car - and the boat they have to tow along to fit the remaining luggage - Greg begins the long haul in the rear seat, squashed among the suitcases. Their first night on the road ends with them at a seedy motel with only breath mints for dinner, and the vacation only goes downhill from there. 
 In a modern day tale of 'that's good, no that's bad', every event the family undertakes during the vacation leads them to more and more trouble until they finally have to limp home in their broken car after losing all their valuables in a water park and most of their belongings on the highway. And I didn't even mention the pet pig Manny, their toddler, won. 
 I don't always see what kids get in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, but that's not the case with The Long Haul. This book is seriously funny. I was laughing out loud as each tiny reprieve led to a new batch of unthinkable horrors in one of the worst family vacations ever. In addition to its humour, The Long Haul is also wonderful in that it doesn't require new readers to have any knowledge of the usual characters in the Wimpy Kid series, as only the family are involved and the dynamics of their relationships are very quickly developed. 
 Whether you're a primary school student or a parent, if you like slapstick comedy I highly recommend you check out The Long Haul. 
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