Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2: From the Creator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid #4

by Jeff Kinney

Rowley Jefferson is back with another book in his Awesome Friendly  series― Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2 ―which is even more hilariously terrifying than the first!Fans of Greg Heffley and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney get a chance to dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley’s imagination.In this second tome of Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories, you’ll encounter monstrous insects, the Grim Reaper as a boy, and a lost pinkie that’s searching for its owner. But reader beware―while these stories are sidesplittingly funny, they’ll still give you a delightful fright!See the Wimpy Kid World in a whole new way with the #1 bestselling Awesome Friendly  books, told from the perspective of Greg Heffley’s best friend Rowley Diary of an Awesome Friendly Rowley Jefferson’s Journal | Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure | Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories | Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2

Genres: Middle Grade, Humor, Audiobook, Childrens, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Juvenile

224 pages, Hardcover

Published August 11, 2026

About the author

Jeff Kinney is an author of children's books including Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Jeff was born in College Park, Maryland, in 1971 where he created a comic strip called "Igdoof."He also created the children's website 'Poptropica'.

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun stories! Great for my little who thinks they want a “scary story” but aren’t quite there yet. Many laughs and funny stories. We especially liked the “mouth” bits. The narrator did an amazing job. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review!

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students would really like this. Could do this as a read aloud right before Halloween 🎃

[The Bookworm (Jayden Mitchellson)]

He's finally writing another Rowley diary! Although I didn't like the spooky stories as much as the other books, I am still going to read this one when it comes out.

[Andrew Sammut · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars :) bought this one of my kindle since I didn't want to wait to get a physical copy. this one was published approximately a week ago whilst I was still in Spain. I bought it yesterday and completed it today. I am a big fan of Rowley's character now that I'm all grown up. I must admit that when I was younger and used to be on Greg's side of things, I used to think of Rowley as a complete idiot but then realised that I was reading from Greg's perspective. I still think of Rowley as a bit of a goofball but that is simply the way in which kids should behave. Considering his age, these stories are creative, addicting, and fun. I am surprised that Rowley writes such stuff considering that Greg makes him out to be such a scaredy-cat in his journals.

Rowley deals with themes of inclusion, being kind to anyone despite their appearance, and has a good sense of humour and dramatic irony. There are of course some plot holes but they honestly tend to add to the fun of the story and some errors with grammar but that is obviously done intentionally since Kinney is writing from the perspective of Rowley. I must admit that I haven't read volumes 2 or 3 within this series but I apparently didn't have to. Whilst they don't follow the same format as the wimpy kid books, which I like better, they are still very cool reads and the short stories are engaging and humorous whilst spooky. I am surprised that this one wasn't published closer to Halloween. Perhaps Jeff thought that it would drive away the attention from Fight or Flight. There are stories of friendship, betrayal, and weird family members which are creative and relatively original. This was a very quick read for me and my one complaint would be that such great ideas should have been explored in more detail. The story with the 3D printer was very cool for instance and had plenty of potential but was only about 20 pages long. The story about the reaper freaked me out btw It is clear to me that Rowley is given plenty of attention by his parents from the way that he writes and he does seem to have some very good values and ideals in place for a person his age unlike what could be said of Greg.

[weary willow]

Yk what? Hell yeah 👍

[lula lina ୨ৎ (klara's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars .ᐟ 👻
╰┈➤ some spoilers !




જ⁀➴ overall thoughts ! 🎃

I do like Jeff Kinney's writing but I definetly prefer Greg's stories to Rowley's. Greg is cynical, annoying and almost sociopathic and I love a flawed main character! (But it does go too far sometimes) but Rowley feels far too perfect and his writing style feels very, very childish for someone who is supposed to be a teenager but that is part of Rowley's character, that he's acts younger than he is.
I do feel like these stories aren't for me anymore. Not that I'm going to stop reading them. I'll read anything Mr. Jeff Kinney writes!! He does a great job of sounding like the characters he has created.



જ⁀➴ the stories themselves ! 🦇

I'm not going to rate all the stories individually because they where all somewhere around 3 stars. They all had Rowley's signature goodness and none of them where really that scary. When I saw some of the chapter titles I thought "oooh" and then was slightly disappointed by them. They weren't really scary. Not even creepy or having off-kilter vibes apart from The Hugger and The Fan . BUT there was some good kid-friendly body horror! And all the stories had nice messages. I did like the twists on normal horror tropes and genres and some of the plot twists where surprising. It was easy to read and I finished it in one sitting.



જ⁀➴ the horror tropes + genres by story ! 🧟‍♂️


❗️also including tropes that aren't related to horror ❗️


The Bug 🐝
╰┈➤ basically just a spoof of "The Fly"

The Freezer 🧊
╰┈➤ no horror elements, really

The Pinkie🤙
╰┈➤ body horror

The Hugger 🫂
╰┈➤ a twist on vampires, off-kilter vibes, leaves you feeling unsettled, there could be one coming to your house

The Reaper 💀
╰┈➤ a not so scary Grim Reaper, no horror elements, really

The Gasp 👻
╰┈➤ the life of a ghost, being possessed by a ghost (kind of)

The Extra 🧟‍♀️
╰┈➤ not your average zombies

The Mouth 👅
╰┈➤ body horror, embracing who you are

The Fan 🚩
╰┈➤ twist on deal with the devil (it's a deal with an angel), living for eternity, the ending reminds me of The Hitchkiher's Guide to the Galaxy

The Slumber Party 👯‍♀️
╰┈➤ girls summoning things during a sleepover, other worldly creatures

The Haunted House 🏚
╰┈➤ a haunted house, A Christmas Carol

The Gamer 👾
╰┈➤ Ready Player One-esque, a loop, very confusing



જ⁀➴ the illustrations ! ✍️

I think that the illustrations for Rowley's books are really cute and I do prefer it over Greg's but both are equally iconic and familiar. The baby Grim Reaper was actually quite cute 🥺 and the designs of some of the monsters and zombies and they are really nice but nothing too out of the ordinary.



જ⁀➴ closing thoughts ! ☀️

Standard Jeff Kinney stuff. His work isn't exactly for me anymore but I'm not going to stop reading it! If anything, it's a quick way to reach my reading goal and I would re-read it 🙂

[Mehsi · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I was so excited when I saw this second book full of spooky stories by Jeff Kinney. I really enjoyed the first one and I can tell you... I really enjoyed this one! From freezing oneself so one can binge a series to a ghost who wants to get out of the cemetery to that strange great-aunt that always pops up at celebrations to kid with a mouth on his belly to a kid who turned into something else. I loved the stories. They weren't really scary, but they were a lot of fun and perfect for the season if you are looking for something a bit more treat instead of trick.

Review to come in December!

[Donniesands · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I’ve read the whole series thus far of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this side series might be my new favorite thing to come out of it. I died laughing at these stories and my son loved it

[Con · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn’t the best book ngl. It’s more of a short horror story format book. Really wished there were more references to Rowley and the other characters in some way. But it was just a more tame RL Stine

[Alison McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 9 year old daughter and I read this one together. I had actually ordered a physical copy for her birthday present next week but we also got the audio book ARC early. Here is what we thought:

The Bug
About a son named Rueben who is dying for his dad's attention (especially to play catch) and he accidentally turns himself into a bug. RIP to his cockroach buddy and to never returning to his normal form again.

The Freezer
A billionaire inventor cryogenically freezes himself for 100 years just to watch his favourite show once all the episodes are complete. However, he doesn't account for what might happen to the world in that time.

The Pinky
Kevin accidentally severed his pinky and it wasn't salvageable. However, pinky wanted to prove that he was useful after Kevin replaced him so pinky went to medical school and became a doctor.

The Hugger
Turns out her auntie who gives her sleep inducing hugs is actually a thousand year old vampire. That's okay though because she helped her with her homework on Napoleon, because she knew him, and helped her ace her paper.

The Reaper
The poor reaper actually just fell into his stereotypical bad role by a series of bad luck. Oh and he's also a germaphobe who's not having much luck dating either. RIP turtle and bird.

The Cemetery
Samuel was a ghost stuck living in a cemetery until Andrew accidentally inhales him while biking past. As Andrew, Samuel learns how great things have gotten since the 19th century. However, his gluttony gets himself trapped in the school vacuum.

The Extra
Sylvia is a zombie who stumbles into being a movie extra and has her 15 minutes of fame until she changes her appearance so much that it doesn't get her roles anymore. That's okay though because she ends up starting her own VFX company.

The Mouth
Rex was worried about middle school, especially changing in the boys locker room. That's when his body decides to show him that he has a mouth on his stomach who is loud and especially loves devouring socks. That's okay thought because he learns to love his body no matter what.

The Fan
Leonard is a spirit who got stuck on earth. As time passed, earth changed and eventually gets destroyed by a meteor then he winds up on another planet and witnesses their own evolution. His sport's team sucks on that new planet too sadly.

The Slumber Party
Ava moved to a new school and found it hard to make friends. Her mum convinced her to have a slumber party and the girls who came over didn't really want to be there. They convinced her to summon a forest creature and then disappeared when she went to get snacks. That's okay though because she ended up making friends with the forest creature and their friends instead.

The Haunted House
In their town there was a house they thought it was haunted but it was actually a home where actors were living and they ended up befriending them and watching their performance of a Christmas Carol. Oh and they found them new accommodation after accidentally bulldozing the house.

The Gamer
This was a kind of video game inception where one person was controlling a 3D printed version of their own SIM. Once they realised this, they were able to regain control but then a new player joined.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving us an ARC for this one. We've already pre-ordered the physical copy.

[Chr*s Browning]

I’m not sure I really understand the point of these “Scary Stories by Rowley” books unless the joke is supposed to be that there’s nothing here that would even moderately scare anyone over the age of seven (what happened to reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark or David Lubar’s Weenies series?) but it is interesting to read them as someone who’s read every book over the 20 odd years they’ve released and clock references to things that would have been alien back in 2008: streaming subscriptions, TikTok dances, “do I have to hug my relatives” discourse, multiple distinct Bridgerton references, Pizza Rat. Wish that Kinney would just write another normal Rowley diary and deepen his critique of Greg’s asocial behavior from another perspective but alas …

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars mainly because T-boy read it aloud to me and brought all the characters and stories to life! As he was reading I felt like this would be an awesome book to read leading up to Halloween in an upper-primary/Junior classroom.

[Zvi Greenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Totally amazing and hilarious (: please make more spooky stories like this on! Amazing awesome great funny and a little spooky

[susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

surprisingly moving

[mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

rowley dawg.... ur stories r kinda ass

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite story was the gamer story. I liked it because I also game sometimes. It was also weird and silly.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun story and allowed us to see how rowley’s good behavior and overall awesome friendly vibes contribute to another installment in his spooky story series. As someone who is probably too old for the series, I didn’t necessarily feel afraid of any of them except for the 3-D printer, but I can definitely see how an elementary school reader would really enjoy the series, and I had enough suspension of disbelief to be able to really enjoy this sort of mild scary humor. My favorite story was the mouth and my second favorite story was the hugger. I really liked how a lot of good morals are incorporated into these stories and how some of the monsters ended up not being so bad after all, and how sometimes the humans were the ones causing more problems than the scary creatures. There were a lot of important topics discussed directly in the series usually from the stories main characters being told positive things by their parents, which we don’t see much of in the diary of a Wimpy kid series, the audience there has to be able to read in between the lines a little bit to get the moral underneath the sarcasm. Some of the positive topics that were brought up in a way that still doesn’t take away from the spookiness and the essence of the stories were: personal space, body positivity, addiction to cell phones and video games, and accomplishments of goals. The spooky story format allows these important issues to be brought up in a way that is very friendly and accessible to young readers which I appreciate. The illustrations are really fun and cute and I liked the variety of spooky characters mentioned. I’m looking forward to the next installment in rowley and Greg ’s diaries!

[Meg (thyme.for.books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed a copy of this audiobook that I received from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the fourth book in the Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid series. Everyone’s favorite best friend Rowley Jefferson is back with a dozen new tales that are more funny than frightening. This volume of Spooky Stories can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

While these books are graphic novels, they translate so well into audio. Christopher Gebauer returns to narrate this Rowley Jefferson book and he does a fantastic job bringing out Rowley’s silliness. The audio is only about an hour and a half and would be perfect for a family car ride to the pumpkin patch.

The Gamer and The Extra are my favorites of the twelve short stories but they were all enjoyable. I’m sure we’ll be listening to this book again once it’s a little closer to Halloween.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the Rowley stories are funnier than the Greg stories at this point.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not very scary perfect for Halloween spooky season if you want to keep the scary tone down. This author has already proven that we'll read relatable fun and relevant themes for example: wanting the parents to spend more time with the kids instead of overworking (in a way some of these stories are good for the parents too), and super fun silly vocabulary .
In one story the hospital says they have to take the pinkie, good thing the pinkie is not a very important finger ahah, but the pinkie is offended and he will journey back to his boy and it's a hard journey he wished he was a thumb. Ahah
I read /listened a copy on Librofm, but I bet the illustrations are awesome.

[Tweedie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a certified kid lit fanatic, opening a Rowley Jefferson book feels like coming home to a warm mug of cocoa except someone sneaked a tiny, glowing plastic spider into the marshmallows.⁣
⁣
What makes this spin-off collection so special is Rowley’s unshakeable, golden-hearted optimism. Where Greg Heffley brings sharp, relatable middle school cynicism, Rowley brings total sincerity, endless wonder, and a wholesome love for storytelling. His bite-sized "spooky" tales are bursting with imaginative creature features, hilarious logic, and absurdly funny plot twists that hit that perfect sweet spot between silly and supernatural.⁣
⁣
Jeff Kinney’s signature line art does massive heavy lifting here, landing punchlines with expert visual comedic timing. Every single story is packed with character, charm, and that delightfully naive narrative voice that makes middle-grade fiction the best genre on the planet.⁣
⁣
It’s completely spoiler free to say that this book is a love letter to childhood imagination. It’s light, laugh out loud funny, and delightfully creepy without ever crossing into nightmare territory. Whether you’re a young reader looking for quick giggles or an adult collector chasing that cozy, nostalgic thrill of flashlight reading under the covers, Rowley delivers absolute joy.⁣

[Shilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook, and I had never listened to a Diary of a Wimpy Kid type book as an audio. I didn't think it would be as good without the pictures, but boy was I wrong! This audio collection reminded me of classic Goosebumps. It had a very nostalgic feel for me. I absolutely loved the book. My four year old would have been too scared, but he thinks everything is scary, but it would be perfect for elementary age on up. And the audiobook was amazing! I would recommend the audio or the print book. I plan to get both!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jeff Kinney for an audio ARC. This did not impact my review, I loved the audiobook and now I have to get the first book in the series too! I have always loved Diary of a Wimpy kid, but haven't really paid much attention to the Rowley Jefferson books, but this one changed me! I want them all now!

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ALC review✨

4⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and the author for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a must for Wimpy Kids fans. 12 stories full of spooky surprises and humor that'll have you laughing out loud.

While the stories weren't in particularly scary, they were in fact pretty funny. My kiddo is a huge fan of these books and when I saw the audio on Netgalley I just knew I had to request it. Our favorite stories were The Freezer and the Hugger with our least favorite being the Slumber Party, which ended up being kind of a sad story.

The narrator did a great job as well. His wide range of voices added additional depth and made the listening experience that much better.

Overall, a fun and enjoyable read! Great book for your kids to read around Halloween time (or anytime really) to give a more "spooky" ambiance. I'll definitely be buying the book once it releases.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great balance of text and pictures for the kiddo. I appreciated that "Rowley" told stories featuring characters with a whole range of ages, not just kids. Most of the pop culture references probably went over kiddo's head, but the situations are so wacky that most of them kept him fascinated. Not at all scary, though The Pinky grossed out Areg, and I am now evilly looking forward to getting him to read The Mouth.

I feel weird giving this a 5, because it's not something I'd ever have picked up, and I cringed a bit inside when kiddo asked me to read him the first story in the bookstore, but these really are fun to read together.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son loved the first book in the series and was really excited to listen to the second book! The narration was great, but sadly, he asked me to turn the audiobook off about a third of the way through. He said the stories weren’t spooky or funny. The stories felt very random and half hearted.

I’m sure lots of kids will love this one, but it just wasn’t for us. We still love this author and look forward to more from him in the future.

[Dark Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids absolutely loved this! They had read the first anthology and were so excited to see this one pop up on the car "radio". The audio was excellent, down to the sound effects - I'm sure we missed some great illustrations, but hearing the sounds kind of made up for it (we'll get the hard copy too!). The stories were a fun listen for drives to school and activities, and it's perfect for spooky season - not too scary but just a little eerie.

[Kate Reasoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎧 4.5/5 ⭐️ Read this with my 10 year old daughter who has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Rowley Jefferson’s books, on repeat. She thought this book was great and even a bit better than the first one that she loved.

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3⭐️

war gut für zwischendurch⭐️
ich weiss nicht ob ich das so gut bewerten, kann weil es ein Kinderbuch ist.
Darum sag ich mur das manche Geschichten wirklich kreativ waren, andere jedoch waren wirklich langweilig

[Pumpkin Spice Retrograde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun. Thankd Jeff!

[Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure who the audience is for this book cuz the stories seem a little out there for grade school. Pinkie was the best story, most of the others were just so-so