I enjoyed reading this one with the 7 year old. I wasn’t laughing the whole book, but I was pretty invested, wanting to know what would happen next. I like how some things are unresolved—giving room for discussions about choices, assumptions and consequences. I can’t remember how many of these I read, but this might be one of my favorites.

Also the ten year old popped in for a few chapters and asked me to promise we’d go on a road trip next summer. So while a lot goes wrong on the Heffley’s trip, it still inspires kids to travel.