I got this book based on a quick skim in the store where I saw lots of funny line illustrations and large fonts that mimic handwriting. Although the tone was sarcastic, I thought that it would prove to be a good read-aloud for my 6 year old son, who still needs some enticement into stories. I pictured him, the boy who fancies himself an author and artist, just eating up this book. And actually, he would have–except after one night of reading this out loud I discovered that the content was definitely not age appropriate (nor redeeming in any way, to my mind). I'm willing to cut an author some slack with characters that start out rough but learn valuable life lessons, but not with a character that embodies mediocrity, laziness, and is a smart aleck to boot…
To be fair, I didn't finish the book, and it may very well be a great book to give to a fifth or sixth grader who still struggles with recreational reading. But I did what I almost never have to do–I took the book back to store. I suppose one good thing came from it: Jacob came home from school the next day, sat down with a new notebook, and proceeded to design a cover and several entries for his new “diary” book.