Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Book 2) recap

Greg starts a new school year with his older brother Rodrick holding an embarrassing summer secret over his head. Their mother introduces Mom Bucks, a chore-reward currency meant to improve both boys. The centrepiece is a party Rodrick throws while the parents are away for a weekend: the brothers cover it up together afterward - even swapping a scribbled-on bathroom door - and the shared secret briefly unites them, until a developed photograph exposes the party and Rodrick is punished. His band, Loded Diper, still gets to play the local talent show, but the video is ruined for him by their mother dancing in it. In revenge Rodrick spreads Greg's summer secret at school, but the story mutates as it passes from student to student until the version everyone hears no longer embarrasses Greg. The brothers end the book back at their usual rivalry.

Previously: Greg Heffley survived his first year of middle school, where popularity always ranked high on his list and his schemes usually backfired. He fell out with his best friend Rowley over a safety-patrol incident, then won him back by publicly taking the blame for the disappearance of the playground Cheese, accepting the 'Cheese Touch' in Rowley's place. At home, his older brother Rodrick remained his chief tormentor.

A new school year opens with Greg dreading one thing above all: Rodrick knows about an embarrassing incident from Greg's summer and keeps threatening to spread it around. Their mother introduces Mom Bucks, a homemade currency the boys earn through chores and good behaviour, in the hope of improving them both. Rodrick's band, Loded Diper, practises loudly in the basement while Rodrick keeps up his usual campaign of teasing and tricking his younger brother.

While the parents are away for a weekend, Rodrick throws a big party at the house and locks Greg in the basement for most of it. Afterwards the brothers work frantically together to erase the evidence, even swapping a scribbled-on bathroom door, and the shared cover-up brings them unexpectedly closer. The truth surfaces when a roll of film is developed and a photograph from the party gives the game away; Rodrick is punished, though their mother relents enough to let Loded Diper play in the local talent show. The band's big moment is ruined for Rodrick when the video of the performance features their mother dancing along. Furious, Rodrick retaliates by telling everyone at school Greg's embarrassing summer secret - but the story changes with each retelling, and the version that finally spreads is so garbled that it no longer embarrasses Greg at all. The book ends with the brothers back to their usual uneasy coexistence.

The book ends in the aftermath of the talent show. Rodrick's party was exposed when a photograph from it turned up in a developed roll of film, and he was punished, though his band Loded Diper was still allowed to perform. The performance video that was meant to launch the band instead features the boys' mother dancing, making it useless to Rodrick, and he blames Greg. In retaliation he finally does what he has threatened all book: he tells the whole school Greg's embarrassing summer secret. The revenge fizzles - the story warps as it spreads, and the version that reaches everyone is so distorted that Greg escapes real embarrassment. The brothers settle back into their normal uneasy rivalry, the Mom Bucks experiment has run its course, and family life at the Heffley house returns to its usual state heading into the next book.