Jeff Kinney is the famous author of the New York Times Best Selling kids novel series "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The series has sold millions worldwide, and has two movies, with a third one being released in a couple of days. Some people view this book series as nothing more than a harmless children's novel, but there's actually a terrifying secret behind it.
Let me just take a minute or two to break down the characters and series for those of you reading this that are new to this novel. Gregory Heffley is a young teen and is also the main character of the book, and the one who keeps a diary (or journal, as he wants to call it) of things that happen throughout his adolescence. He often fantasizes about being a famous celebrity one day.
The character Rowley is Greg's best friend and neighbor, although referred to as the "dim-witted" one, who often has no idea what's going on.
Rodrick is his controlling older brother who likes to push Greg around and pull pranks on him. He just so happens to be the drummer and back-up singer for his crappy garage punk band, "Löded Diper" (yes, that is how it's spelled in the book.)
Manny is Greg and Rodrick's curious baby brother, believed to be about 3 or 4 years old. Manny is the "innocent" one in the family, since he is a baby. He likes to get his older brother Greg in trouble time after time again.
Fregley is another one of Greg's neighbors. Fregley is disliked by a majority of the school because of his hyper activeness and the fact that he is just downright weird.
Frank, Greg's dad is a workaholic who often likes to toughen his son up for the real world, much like he did for Rodrick.
Susan, his mother on the other hand is a control freak who wants everything to be perfect, including her sons.
Well, that's enough about the characters. I will introduce more along the way. For now, I want to dive into the dark and terrifying truth behind Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. Prepare to wrap your head around this...
Truth is, Greg is actually a drug-addicted, troubled teenager who has been kicked out of school for several things, including vandalism, drugs, fighting, etc. What he writes in his diary are all lies. Remember that fantasy I said he had about "being famous"? Well, he IS famous... In his own little world. More often than not, Greg resorts to taking heavy hits of acid in order to imagine himself as a famous celebrity. He writes false information in his diary just in case he actually does become famous one day, he doesn't want anyone to know the truth. In the series, he explains how he is "addicted to video games". The video games are just a silly metaphor for his drug addiction.
Greg also has resorted to self harming, due to the fact that his "oh-so-loving" parents and older brother Rodrick horribly abuse him. His father deals out the worst of the abuse. Hence why I said he likes "to toughen up his son for the real world". Greg takes drugs in order to fantasize being famous so that it will give him a chance to escape the real world. His baby brother Manny is just a figment of his imagination caused by the hallucinations he gets from those drugs. Manny was actually aborted by his mother before he was even born. Greg loves to interact with the baby brother he'll never get to have.
As for his friends, they're real. But there's another terrible thing about them. Rowley suffers from mental retardation, and is often bullied violently at school. Greg is also a bully victim, but befriended Rowley in order to have someone who is dumber than him by his side. This way, people stay away from Greg, but target his poor best friend.
Fregley is also a drug addict, which is why he is so damn hyper all the time. Fregley is highly addicted to cocaine. In the book, whenever Fregley says his famous line "Wanna see my secret freckle?!" he's usually referring to the secret stash of cocaine. Greg steals most of his drugs from him. Fregley often keeps to himself at the back of the lunch table, using his drugs to imagine friends that he doesn't have.
Patty Farrel is Greg's ex-girlfriend. One fateful night, Patty caught Greg cheating on her with another girl named Holly Hills. Greg's excuse for his actions was that he was "high out of his mind." This is the reason why Patty tends to beat him up and bully him in the novel. She just can't let the past go. As for Holly Hills, she is the town whore. She happens to be the prettiest in the school, which is why the boys are always chasing her.
Chirag Gupta is another figment of Greg's imagination through drugs. Chirag is often hyper in the novel as well, but he's not a drug addict. After all, he's not even real for that matter.
Last but not least, the school itself. There actually is no school. Greg was kicked out of school, so he often runs away from home to a big, dark, abandoned warehouse and takes acid to imagine himself in a highly populated middle school. This warehouse is notorious for runaways to go to for drugs and such other things.
So as you can see, there's a dark tale behind the beloved, best selling book series. Maybe someday, Greg will decide to get treatment, and go back to school. Maybe someday, his parents and brother will stop abusing him. Maybe someday, he actually WILL be famous. But we won't really know, since Greg's drugs have made it hard to tell reality from fantasy.
