The book revolves around the 11-year-old Greg Heffley’s life. His older brother is the cocky brother who’s always teasing you and beating you up when you’re in his room or you’ve stolen his stuff. His younger brother, Manny, is the annoying brother. He potty trains whilst eating cereal, he calls Greg Bubby too, which, according to Greg, is too childish and very embarrassing.
Greg’s mother has bought him a diary. It was supposed to be a journal, though. In Greg’s journal he has to write about his days and, apparently, feelings. He writes about his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, who acts a like he’s still a child. Greg doesn’t appreciate Rowley’s friendship. He writes about the gorillas at school that have to shave twice a day.
Greg wants to be a big shot at school. He instantly tries out for lots of things to become immortal (in the yearbooks). Even though he sucks at Phys Ed he’s dedicated to wrestling in the beginning. Greg tried being a cartoonist so he teamed up with Rowley and they started drawing comics. He also signed up at the principal’s office to be in the safety patrol and he’s been rehearsing for the school musical. Greg’s afraid of being bent like a pretzel by Patty during wrestling and all he wanted to do along with the rest of the cast in the musical was to throw apples at the wicked girl Patty, his nemesis.
The Cheese Touch – The moldy, gross cheese on the blacktop at school is touched and, BOOM, you’ve got it, The Cheese Touch. Suddenly, however popular you were before, you’re doomed to spend all of middle school alone unless you can find a way of getting rid of The Cheese Touch.
The only way to get rid of it is to touch another person. You can avoid The Cheese Touch by crossing your fingers. In the end, Rowley gets forced to eat the cheese and it’s gone forever. All that’s left underneath the cheese are small pieces of the disgusting cheese. Only time will tell if the cheese will come