The Getaway

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #12

by Jeff Kinney

Get ready, Book 12 in the phenomenally bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is coming! Join Greg on a family holiday he'll never forget!

To escape the stress of the holidays, the Heffleys decide to get out of town and go to a resort instead of celebrating Christmas at home. But what's billed as a stress-free vacation becomes a holiday nightmare.

The funniest books you'll EVER read.

Praise for Jeff Kinney:

'The world has gone crazy for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - Sun

'Kinney is right up there with J K Rowling as one of the bestselling children's authors on the planet' - Independent

'The most hotly anticipated children's book of the year is here - Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - Big Issue

'Hilarious' - Telegraph

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade, Humor, Childrens, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2017

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

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many of us have imagined escaping to a tropical destination during the busy and stressful holiday season? Greg and his family leave the cold and snow behind only to find that going on vacation sometimes requires more effort and exertion than regular life. The Getaway is a hilarious and entertaining read that many families will relate to as it perfectly captures the aggravations and stresses of holiday travel.

[Shaikhah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected .. funny book .. the things that happened with them .. it’s soooo good .. I liked that this time parents are doing mistakes 👌🏻😂

[Dora 2023 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My brother and I are fans of the Diary of Wimpy Kid series, we have been collecting them all the way from the first book to this one :D If you read/collect some of them as well....you should notice that the books are getting thinner and thinner XD.

Like the rest of the Wimpy Kid series, The Getaway is humorous, creative, and interesting as well. Poor Greg, the second child of the Heffleys, is having a hard time in doing anything. It does suck to see and hear everyone spending their vacations way better than you are. Cold weather. Paradise. Bugs. Box jellyfish. More bugs. Tarantula with 7 legs. Sun poisoning. Aren't these exactly what they need to make their break even BETTER? I personally like this book a lot and I'm definitely looking forward to the next Wimpy Kid...hopefully he is out of middle school by then.

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I felt super bad for Rodrick because he dated this girl with a nose ring at the hotel, then he witnessed her kissing another dude because that girl thought he left that hotel already.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one didn't disappoint as well!
Greg's family goes for a family vacation where they are going to reside at a family resort.
Sounds fun right?
No! Everything went wrong the moment they stepped out of the house.
The journey to the airport as well as the journey during the flight were a complete mess!
And guess how the stay at the resort must be.... Worst than ever!
This time it was not only about Greg. The whole family is just crazy!
The mom has her own ideas of the kids cleaning up without the help of the room service. How's that?!
In between, the dad got an upset stomach.
Rodrick got into a holiday teen romance!
Manny got a poisonous jellyfish as a pet... No one knows how he caught it.
Greg got terrorised by a big, black spider all throughout the trip!
Moreover, the family got kicked out one day before.
So you have some idea how thoroughly I enjoyed this one😉
It was so chaotic till the end!
I heaved a sigh of relief when they got home at last!
One of the most hilarious children reads ever!

[Rimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book. It is full of humour and life. People of all ages can read this book.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas is almost here and the Heffley family is way behind on all things Christmas and they want to get away. Even though Greg thinks it's not a good idea as he is perfectly happy staying indoors by the fireplace all through Christmas break, his family decides to go to Isla de Corales for the Christmas and be away from the excruciating cold. They are all packed and they leave for the airport but without taking in consideration all the traffic they will get. They make it to the airport and hit snag after snag.

After lots of bumps, they make it to Isla de Corales and instantly they feel better as the hot air hits them. But family holidays aren't family holidays until there is a lot of bickering and that's exactly what ensues. Greg's mother wants the family to spend time together but Greg's dad wants to do his own thing and Rowley wants to do his own thing too. Greg is looking to do lots of cool activities so that he can finally show Rowley that he had stellar time on his getaway. Let's just say that short of getting thrown in jail, the Heffley family gets in all sorts of trouble.

I don't know what it is about the Heffely family holidays that they remind me so much of my family holidays. From not leaving for the airport in enough time to end up sitting on the plane in the middle of a different family to getting lost at the resort to birds eating our lunch to not be able to get a single decent family photo are all so relatable and not to mention hilarious. I loved this.

5 stars

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely the weakest book of the series. The laughs just were not there.


Before reading

The Long Haul was one of my favorites so I can just imagine how their vacation will go this time around!

[Ahtims · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have been reading the Wimpy kid series in order ever since the first book came out, and this has become one series, the hard back of which I pre order, and read as soon as I can lay my hands upon.
Unfortunately, the quality has been dwindling as the series progressed, and this book, though interesting in the beginning, soon became mediocre.
This is all about Wimpy and his family making time for a Christmas vacation in the warmer continent, and the vacation turning out to be something else from the peaceful getaway that they expected. I thoroughly enjoyed the disastrous travel to the destination. But once they reached the getaway, there wasn't much in the form of a story.
Missed Rowley ( who was mentioned only in passing), school and other secondary characters, who were banned from this particular book.

Whatever be the faults, a quick and addictive series read.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t stop laughing. This part was absolutely funny. Greg goes to a resort for a vacation this time and the adventures that this family has on that island is hilarious. Manny is at his best as always. Too good.

[Heba · Rating 4 out of 5]

رحلة كارثية بكل المقاييس..🤣🤣
مُمتعة جدااا... لم أكن لأتوقع أن أضحك هكذا خاصة إنني مررت بيوم عمل شاق ومُزعج....

[Quana (the black regina george) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The worst part of having someone tell you about their vacation is trying to pretend you're happy for them. Because no one wants to hear about all the fun they didn't have. The only vacations I want to hear about are the ones where things went wrong. That way, I don't feel bad for missing out."

☆☆☆☆ (4 stars)

LMFAO. For sure my favorite so far in the series.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

My little cousin is the cutest. He's busy with his exams and didn't want me to get bored while I was staying at my uncle's place, so he lent me his copy of The Getaway which I promptly finished that very night. It warms the cockles of my bookish heart to see my cousin as interested in books as I am. c:

[Reilly Zimbric · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of course Dad would have enough frequent flyer miles to sit in first class while his family sits in economy.

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikesabee.

Of course as a elementary and middle school teacher, I am well aware of Greg and friends--I have all these books in my library and they are WORN OUT--but I had successfully gotten away with never actually READING one of these. Or never reading one all the way through.

Ugh, did not enjoy. Sure, I can see why the kids love it--he writes exactly the way they do. First I did this. Then I did this. Then we did this. This awful thing happened. Then we did this.

Honestly, it didn't even make me laugh. So! Much! Complaining!

And don't leave me nasty comments about me not liking a book the universe loves. I don't leave nasty comments on YOUR reviews. Thanks.

[Kon R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another buddy read with my 7 year old. This one was enjoyable, but The Long Haul was better. Maybe that was because it was our first dive into the series or maybe because this one fell a bit flat. The jokes didn't seem as funny and it came off a bit more farfetched than the previous read. Still an enjoyable read, but not as good. The daughter agrees.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this book started out well. And continued pretty much the same way.

3 1/2 for adults

Here are all the words on the first page.

Sunday
The worst part of having someone tell you about their vacation is trying to pretend you're HAPPY for them. Because no one wants to hear about all the fun they DIDN'T have.

The only vacations I want to hear about are the ones where things went WRONG. That way, I don't feel bad for missing out.

And in keeping with his own feelings, pre-teen Greg (diarist, wimpy kid) tells the readers of this book all about a vacation where LOTS of things go wrong. So those kids reading it can be HAPPY.

I'll add some more later. Promise. I know I'll make you happy if I don't, but I want to make you miserable.

Lost the note I had on all the pages that made me LOL. So the review is done.


found the note a couple days later
but all I could do with it now is to provide a list of the pages, ha ha … I returned the book to my grandson before finding the list, so the review is still done.

by the way
Upon looking at the reviews linked to below, it strikes me that Wimpy Kid books appear to be at some sort of nexus linking them to books on science and books on philosophy. Wonder what Greg would make of that.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: Life: The Science of Biology
Next review: History of Philosophy
Older review: Irrational Man

Previous library review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Next library review: Science and Human Values

[Imaane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Kinney never disappoints. These books are great to get out of reading slumps with their weird, funny and relatable stories.

This book in particular was great. A fun relaxing read with a quirky story and humour.

Loved it. Would definitely RECCOMEND it especially to get out of reading slumps.

[Shreya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, ever! When you think of a getaway, you think of vacation. When you think of vacation, you think of paradise. When you think of paradise, you think of the beginning of this book! Greg Heffley seems pretty set for life, when he goes on vacation to Isla de Corales. This place is heaven, an amazing looking tropical resort for vacation - it even has a TV above the bathtub in the bathroom! But, Isla de Corales doesn't seem to be what it looks like and, Greg quickly finds himself in bad situations leading from switching baggage with another traveler, to getting kicked out of the resort. I recommend this book to any Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans or in general, anyone who needs to know they aren't the only ones without a perfect life! Awesome job, Jeff Kinney! I'm in love with this book!!! :)

[Ghulam · Rating 5 out of 5]

diary of the wimpy kid

[Mirha · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're never too old for Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Can't wait for this 12th book. 😂💯

[Yamna · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the crappy year that I'm having, I'm allowed to cheat and read a couple of kids' books, right?

[Auj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6 stars

I accidentally read Book 12 before 11, but it doesn't really matter anyway, as long as you've read Book 1 so you know who the basic characters are. For example, if you didn't read the previous ones, you wouldn't know that Rowley is Greg's best friends.

I'm now twenty-one (OK, it feels crazy to say that) and I'm still enjoying these books. I do kind of wish Greg would grow up, maybe enter high school or something, but please do keep the books coming. I'm glad Jeff Kinney has continued to write them.

Wow, it really doesn't seem like they had fun at that resort 😂. I feel badly for them too because it seems they paid a lot of money for it and didn't get much out of the experience. Then, the mom paid a lot of money for a boat ride, and they were in the water for all of a minute before Greg thought he swallowed a seahorse and got sick.

This book is just the whole story of them going to a resort for a Winter Break getaway. I was surprised Greg had never been on a plane before. I didn't need all the plane details of watching the safety video, which as Greg said, no one watches anyway. (When I was younger, I used to always watch the video, but not in the past 3 years.) Of course Greg was watching it, like I used to do.

Rodrigo is a horrible counselor and should be fired. I hope he's an intern because he doesn't even do his job!

This book had me laughing a few times. I've definitely laughed harder and enjoyed other Diary of a Wimpy Kid entries more, but this was still good.

[Fred Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

In for a penny, in for a pound I suppose. Yeah, I know, these are kid's books but if one has read the first 11 and has a sophomoric sense of humor like mine, firmly based in a prepubescent lad's mindset then obviously one is going to grab this. Interesting the number of folks who have commented that this is the worst in the series when 83% of the reviewers list it as 4 or 5 stars. Put me in the laudatory category since I think it is the funniest one yet. His first plane trip reminded me of mine at the same age (well, I actually flew cross country on a Constellation at 18 months old but don't really think that counts) with the added dimension of the "joys" of the current state of air travel - security lines, crammed planes, that horrible feeling when you think you are going to have a whole row to yourself and just as the door is about to close a couple with a toddler shows up to snatch the two empty seats, etc.. His response to the resort his parents have chosen as the family Christmas gift is the same one they went to on their honeymoon is classic. A tad different with 3 kids in tow! Cracked me up when I came across some old photo Christmas cards my sister set up with her kids underwater since one element of this story is the mother attempting to get a great family shot for next year's card. Don't forget to check out the drawings as some of the funnier elements are revealed there. Like most in this series, an enjoyable break from my more serious reading.

[Rizwan Khalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is more like it. After the disappointment that was Double Down, book no. 12 is right back on track to be one of the funniest one yet in the series! I was literally laughing aloud from the very beginning of this EPIC Christmas vacation of the Heffley family, and it only gotten better and funnier as the story progressed. We all already knew it after the absolute hilarious The Long Haul, but this one just cemented that notion: Nobody takes a bad vacation like the Heffleys! Even while in a supposed "paradise". And I do mean BAD.

A 5 out of perfect 5 stars. Bring on the rest!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Greg. Nothing goes right for him, or his family. A last minute Christmas getaway at a fancy resort goes horrible wrong, and for once it (mostly) isn't his fault!

[Thedesibookthief · Rating 4 out of 5]

FUNNY!! The Heffley family cannot even enjoy a getaway without getting into trouble.

[Bhavik (Semi Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in succession of the previous book when I realised this had been released too.
Again relatable and funny and mood lifter.
this one deals with a holiday and since I recently had my first international trip so in a way I could relate to this.

[Mahsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Kinney must have known that whenever he writes about Heffleys going on a trip, he creates a masterpiece. 😄

[مسیح بی شفا · Rating 4 out of 5]

گاهی خوب است بهانه ها و مشغله هایی را پیدا کنیم که کودکی و شادی را در ما نگه دارد

[Ola Al-Najres · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do believe in coincidence , so when I saw this book while I was having a terrible holiday , I knew it will be the bright side of my trip . Then , I read it immediately and without delaying , and of course Jeff never disappointed me 💛.