Jeff Kinney, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School” — “To be honest with you, I feel like I’ve been in middle school FOREVER,” write Greg Heffley in his 10th diary. How true, but families aren’t ready to see him move on just yet. Kinney still has more tales to tell, and judging by “Old School,” his creative juices are flowing as freely as ever.

The newest “Diary” finds Greg dealing with two new housemates, a pet pig (silly) and grandpa (sublime). That puts more strain that usual on the home front, and that’s before Greg’s mom declares war on technology.

Close

Kinney’s winning combination of cartoons and text remains spot on. So is his ability to tap into a pre-teen’s mindset. A few of the early gags do feel like a middle-aged man’s lament, but by the time Greg is deposited in Hardscrabble Farms for some “old school” camping the tone is back on solid turf.

The “Diary” franchise offers parents a wonderful tool to lure young readers, one that will have parents laughing out loud along the way. Again.

InfoBox_ReadNow

Mitch Albom, “The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto” — The sports scribe turned bestselling author isn’t shy about matters of faith. For his latest story, the “Tuesdays with Morrie” author explores the fictional tale of a guitar hero, the best of the best, and how his life intersected with some of the music world’s biggest stars (Lyle Lovett, Elvis Presley and Hank Williams, to name but a few). His uncanny musical abilities have a faithful source, but the story centers on how his songs touch the lives of others.

[lz_ndn video= 29837437]

Albom’s latest comes with an accompanying record tied to the story. Turns out the sports reporter-author has another talent to display. He’s a musician himself — it’s his first love, he says — who helped pen some of the aforementioned material.

Rick Moody, “Hotels of North America” — The rise of the Internet gives veteran authors new ways to tell their tales. Take Moody, best known for his suburban malaise novel “The Ice Storm.”

His new novel is compromised mostly via online posts from a popular, albeit fictional, hotel review website. Those reviews aren’t just about the rooms in question. Their author shares bits of his own life along the way.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Now, the hotel critic has disappeared, and the challenge to Moody’s readers is piecing together his life story through his curious reviews. Moody told CraveOnline.com he could envision John Cusack or Ethan Hawke playing “Hotels'” main character, but don’t expect the story to yield a powerful film as “Storm” did with the Kevin Kline-Sigourney Weaver feature from 1997. He dubbed his latest novel “probably unfilmable.”