Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde is the 17th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on October 25th, 2022. The book has a rock and roll theme (Metal umlaut) and Löded Diper is the main focus of the book. The book's full title and cover were revealed on Amazon in May 25th, 2022.[1] On September 13th, 2022, a sneak peek of the book was revealed.[2] The cover shows Greg Heffley with a guitar in his hand with him with his eyes shut tight and pointing his finger up, similar to a rock star. There are speakers around him, and it appears he is on a stage.
Main Characters[]
- Greg Heffley
- Bill Walter (Main antagonist)
- Rodrick Heffley
- Drew
- Mackie
- Susan Heffley
- Manny Heffley
- Frank Heffley
See minor characters
Synopsis[]
In Diper Överlöde, book 17 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley is finding out that the road to fame and glory comes with some hard knocks.
When he decides to tag along with his brother Rodrick's band, Löded Diper, Greg doesn't realize what he's getting into. But he soon learns that late nights, unpaid gigs, fighting between band members, and money troubles are all part of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
Can Greg help Löded Diper become the legends they think they are? Or will too much time with Rodrick's band be a Diper Överlöde?
Plot[]
December[]
Greg Heffley starts thinking about the potential downsides of being rich and famous, mainly on privacy to his personal life. He figures that next best thing to is to be related to someone who's rich and famous. He brings up his older brother, Rodrick Heffley's, ultimate goal of being a musician with his rock band, Löded Diper. Despite Rodrick's dreams, Greg points out that the band has several obstacles standing in their way:
- Rodrick and his band still practice in the Heffley family's basement.
- The band hasn't performed at an actual show in over a year.
- Bill Walter (the band's lead singer who's well into his 30s) is the only member of the band who's not in high school (and possibly the only one to be a legal adult), which severely limits what the band can and can't do.
Despite all the obstacles, Rodrick's convinced that the group can make it big if they win Battle of the Bands, a big competition that's held every year in their town. Part of what convinces Rodrick about this is because his favorite band, Metallichihuahua, had won the same competition and claims it's what helped them really make it big in the music industry. Greg clearly thinks that his older brother's band doesn't have much of a chance of actually winning a competition like that, but decides to keep track of their antics in case they do.
Rodrick tells his band that to be rock stars, they need to dress like one. But their attempts were always obstructed such as when Susan Heffley sewed their ripped jeans back together and Bill Walter being forced to return clothes that was donated by his grandmother. Eventually, Mackie had the idea of buying rock star costumes from the nearest Halloween outlet which Greg believed the costumes looked more like plastic aprons.
Their next step was getting photographs of the band and Rodrick asks Susan to take photo shoots in the backyard as professional ones are too expensive. As the photographer, Susan was not able to get a photo that satisfied the band due to defaming background objects. They replace Susan with Greg who has to photo shoot the band in the bathroom, as that suits Löded Diper's brand. That leads to Drew getting a toilet plunger stuck to his back and was only removed by a neighboring plumber. Even without the disturbance in the background, the band still wasn't satisfied with the results. But then Mackie remembers a photography place at the mall but they find out that the studio isn't suitable towards their age (it's for babies). The photographer however, still insisted to photograph the band which Greg doesn't believe that they'll use those either.
Löded Diper needs a new method of transportation in order to play a bunch of shows since the Löded Diper van was rear-ended and broke the back doors, making it impossible to load their equipment. Löded Diper enters in the Hands on a Van contest where the person who holds their hand on a van for the longest wins it. When Löded Diper gets into the contest, the contestants are already in position. Drew becomes the first to get out as he had drunk a lot of soda and really needs to go to the bathroom. The band, still holding on, become hungry and were unprepared unlike their competitors, so Susan got Greg to deliver food to Löded Diper. Contestants start irritating each other to win. One person starts reading all names in a textbook, causing Mackie to get out. Every contestant left spent the night near the car and many were getting out. Finally, it's just Rodrick and Bill versus the remaining contestants one of whom is equipped with a TV and many other appliances. But once she guessed a question right from a game show, her excitement causes her to get out. Rodrick and Bill start to argue about ownership of the van which their anger fuels them with more determination. They finally agree to a compromise and took their hands off at the same time. However, they don't notice a guy who's still standing on the other side of the van and ends up winning.
They move on to social media, already having an account of them playing their music in the basement. They don't get many views until Mackie posted a clip of Bill getting his foot hit with a loudspeaker as a joke and became most popular video. They continue the formula, posting more slapsticks and gaining popularity. They eventually go back to posting music videos, after realizing that they weren't getting their music out and lost their popularity as a result.
They turn their attention to one of Metallichihuahua's most popular video called Dog Eat Dog. That video is popular because the chihuahuas weren't fed before filming, so they attacked the lead guitarist. The band try out many ideas to bypass Metalichihuaha, like performing in a sewer, in the sky, and with babies mainly on things no one has done before. They soon realize that all their ideas, however, are incommodious due to factors outside their control like Rodrick's equipment not fitting in the sewerage hole.
They move on to the topic of equipment that will record their songs. They once used Manny Heffley's Teensy Tunes Recorder but now Rodrick decides that they will be recording at an actual studio. Bill asks his grandmother if he could be late with the rent to give the band enough money to record an entire album as a vinyl recorder.
At the studio, the band gets distracted by amusing themselves with all the instruments. eventually, Rodrick gets them to deliberate on the first song that they will record. Mackie and Rodrick quickly get into a fight as both parties had different views on the tracks with profanity. It took Bill and Drew a while to calm them both down, but Drew and Bill quickly went after each other over questioning the line "We're leakin' through your speakers like a chocolate cow" from Can You Smell Us Now. After calming them down, the band agreed to first record Diper Överlöde, the first song written by Rodrick. But an even bigger problem arose when Mackie accidentally dropped a pick into a guitar. Each band member attempted to get the pick out with Drew the one being successful, however, their time was further wasted as the pick went straight into Bill's throat and only got out when Mackie performed a choking maneuver. Even though Bill's throat wasn't fully recovered, the band starts performing Diper Överlöde. But they stopped only after the first lines to give Bill water which fully healed his throat. They finished Diper Överlöde but ran out of time.
However, with their one song, they went to the Shooting Stars studio to make a video. The studio, however, doesn't do original music and has very a limited section but the band still had fun making the video that they'll never use.
They spend the next days trying to get their song on radio and eventually managed to get Drew's brother to play Diper Överlöde at his day-end job, the deli. But the moment was momentary, and Drew's brother was fired.
But then Rodrick was given an abandoned ice cream truck that still ran, a massive victory for the band as it effectively functioned as a replacement vehicle. It also came with a speaker which the band took advantage of and blast their music around town. That's when they realize they couldn't secure a gig since Löded Diper hadn't played in a long time. They must come up with a way to reinstate their popularity.
Rodrick plans on accomplishing this by recreating the time when Metallichihuahua members played a concert at the top of a building, drawing attention from the mass media. However, since the building in question was the same one that Metallichihuahua played on, the band are halted at the lobby, so they proceed to the stairwell. Walking up stars while carrying heavy instruments was a grueling task but it was no match for the band's commitment. But they quickly flee because Rodrick unknowingly attempted to use a lady's outlet with permission while she was bathing. Then, a cop car showed up which the guys believed that it was gonna arrest them for trespassing. The cop just gave them a warning for parking in a restricted area.
After that disaster, they experiment with new ways to advertise themselves. They first try to dress up every statue with diapers but are busted. And then they put up stickers of the band's name which results in them having to scrape off their stickers on the Renegades Rock Club owner's SUV.
January[]
The band receives an invitation from a club next to Renegades called the Headless Chicken. The band brainstorms upgrades to their sets which consists of laser projectors and skulls. Rodrick attempts to gather sources that produces odor to create an atmosphere for each song. But this plan was put to a stop by Susan due to hygiene concerns.
As they prepare for the gig, Bill suggests that they should come out of porta-potties for their opening. They borrow one from Drew's uncle, though it proves to be challenging to transport due to its weight. They seek help from Ward and Drew's brother, but both demand conditions in exchange for assistance. Ultimately, they turn to Greg, who reluctantly agrees to be their roadie, with Rodrick suggesting it would look good on his resume, which Greg isn't convinced.
On the day of the performance at the Headless Chicken, Greg is left to do all the setup work as Rodrick forgets his drumsticks at home. After fruitlessly trying to find replacement drumsticks, they assign Greg and Bill to an unconventional plan to steal them from a monkey animatronic at Hipp 'O' Henry's. They manage to do so, but their actions attract the attention of a security guard who chases them back to the club. Once there, the robotic monkey gets attached to Mackie's leg, adding to the chaos.
During the performance, the band struggles, especially Bill, who has to rely on his phone for the lyrics. Their lackluster performance results in them being pelted with chicken wings from the audience.
Frustrated by their failure, they decide to seek out Metallichihuahua, perhaps as a way to get inspiration or find guidance for their musical journey.
They first meet Metallichihuahua's guitarist, Warwick Sprinter who was the member in public events, at the Legends of Yesteryear convention. He answers their questions at the cost of an item from his table. His main advice is to never do anything for free. Warwick then reveals much of Metallichihuahua's downfall which was primarily fueled by greed and ego. He says they found out their manager had stolen their money and they made many poor decisions in an attempt to reinstate their wealth. Such decisions included a sunday cartoon and a solo album of their lead signer, Stewart Taylor Jr..
Taking their new advice, they are impulsively hired by the parents of the cousin of Mackie's friend shortly after. Greg also gets involved, being paid 10 percent of whatever Löded Diper gets. He describes the experience as fun especially once Löded Diper takes stage. Thanks to this event, Löded Diper was given many gigs.
February[]
As the day of the Rock N' Rowdy festival approached, the band-mates made sure to rehearse even harder, fine-tuning every note and perfecting every move. They had their sights set on making a big impression at the festival, hoping to attract a bigger fanbase and potentially catch the attention of record labels.
However, when the day of the festival finally arrived, things did not go according to plan. The weather was gloomy, with dark clouds hanging overhead and a persistent drizzle falling from the sky. As the band arrived at the festival grounds, they couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. The stage was small, the equipment outdated, and the sound system seemed barely functional. The audience was almost non-existent, with only a handful of people huddled under umbrellas in front of the stage.
Despite the lackluster conditions, Löded Diper refused to give up hope. They took to the stage with all the energy and enthusiasm they could muster, belting out their set list with everything they had. They played their hearts out, determined to make the most of the opportunity, even though there were only seven people in the audience.
Despite the band's spirited performance, the audience response was tepid at best. The small group of people in the audience seemed uninterested, barely clapping or nodding their heads to the music, apart from Susan.
The Rock 'N' Rowdy festival killed all the motivation that Löded Diper had built up. It didn't seem realistic to win the Battle of the Bands which is just a few weeks away. But they decided to seek a talk from Sebastian Sleeves, the former drummer of Metallichihuahua.
Thanks to Mackie's cleverness, they are able to track down Sebastian in his run-down mansion.
They spot Sebastian coming out his gates to grab his order and convinced him to talk. He let them in and will only answer questions in the condition that they clean his pool. However, Sebastian's main advice was to quit the band altogether and focus on their education. The next day, the band considers ending their musical careers but a speech from Rodrick, going against his former hero's advice, unites them together once more.
With Löded Diper as confident as ever, they focus on practicing for the Battle of the Bands.
March[]
One day, during a break in their rehearsal, the band members began discussing their ideas for a theme park. They wanted to create an immersive experience for their fans, something that would allow them to fully immerse themselves in the world of Löded Diper.
As they brainstormed ideas, they suddenly heard a rumor about a new band in town named Stank. According to the rumor, Stank was gaining a lot of popularity by playing music that sounded eerily similar to Löded Diper's. The band members were initially skeptical, dismissing Stank as a ripoff of their own band.
However, as they dug deeper, they began to realize that Stank had a lot in common with Löded Diper. Both bands played loud, raucous music and relied heavily on toilet humor and crude jokes to entertain their fans. The members of Löded Diper began to worry that Stank might be stealing their fans and their thunder.
After Rodrick finds out about Stank, he outworks his bandmates so that Löded Diper can win against Stank. Rodrick finds out that Bill was cheating on his diet plan when he discovered donut boxes in the truck. Bill confesses that he was in love with someone at Huneybuns. Some time afterwards Rodrick forces Bill to break up with Becky but he was too chicken to tell her, so it was up to Greg to tell her. It’s not just Bill who gets angry at Rodrick, it was also Mackie and Drew.
Their concerns were soon compounded when a trading card company sued Löded Diper for copyright infringement, due to their name being identical to the name of a trading card character. After reading the letter to the other members who got scared about the lawsuit, Rodrick declares that he's not going to change the name because of a company and tell them they could fight this. Unfortunately, the stress of the lawsuit and the tension between the band members began to take its toll, causing Bill, Drew, and Mackie to all quit the band.
April[]
Rodrick had been looking forward to the Battle of the Bands for weeks but with Bill, Drew and Mackie gone, he's been scrambling to find replacement members for the band, even offering pizza to those who audition. However, his auditions end up attracting more pizza lovers than musicians and the musicians that end up coming aren't exactly the right fit for Löded Diper (Eg, piano and xylophone). The position he's most concerned about is the lead singer as some of the songs have very high and low notes that not many people could sing. Additionally, Stank is looking for another lead singer as well as their previous lead end up blowing out his vocal cords and couldn't sing as a result.
Soon after posting their flyers for auditions, Bill got the part and became a member of Stank making Rodrick even more determined to win the Battle of the Bands. He ends up hiring Drew's brother, Ward and Greg to fill in the slots despite that all of them have very little musical talent. On the way to the arena, Greg realizes that they don't have very high chances of winning, given their poor performances but Rodrick tells them they all need to trust them, and they'll win. At the arena they find many familiar faces including Becky who's selling Stank material, Warwick Sprinter, Bill Walter and the members of Stank and the Hipp' O' Henry Security Guard which catches Greg and Rodrick off guard.
Löded Diper ends up performing last just after Stank where Bill had performed a love piano solo/rock song that caused everyone to cheer. Just when they start to play, the speakers start playing Bill's voice and music. Rodrick had used a recording of Diper Overlode to play meaning that Greg and Drew's Brother pretended to play while Ward lip-synced to the lyrics. Since they just followed the music, the group actually had fun playing along.
But halfway through the song, Bill's voice starts to cough leaving Ward at a loss to do anything. Greg realizes they had accidentally used the version of the song where Bill had choked during the recording. The mistake was jarring, and the audience realizes they were lip-syncing. The crowd started booing. The four of them knew that their chances of winning had just failed.
However, just when things couldn't get any worse, the lawyer from the Revolting Runts card company arrives about to hand Rodrick a letter for a court martial for name infringement. At the same time, the Hipp O Henry security guard rushes past the band to argue with the lawyer which confuses Greg. However, when Greg sees Sebastian Sleeves and Warwick Sprinter coming up to argue with the other two, he realizes that all four of them are the members of Metallichihuahua with the lawyer being Steward Taylor Jr. and the security guard being Wayne Barnes. The group argues with each other for a bit, but the crowd goes wild seeing as it's the first time Metallichihuahua has reunited in 25 years. The members are caught off guard but then they grabbed Löded Diper's instruments and performed their greatest hits. Because the crowd was booing at Löded Diper's music, Löded Diper had lost the Battle of the Bands. Metallichihuahua was the first band to win the Battle of the Bands twice.
In the aftermath, Metallichihuahua has risen back to the top of the charts with the group planning a world tour. Meanwhile Drew has taken his brother's job at the deli while Mackie has applied for a robotics school. Bill has rejoined Löded Diper as he got fired from Stank just after the Battle of the Bands as Stank didn't need him anymore. Greg reflects on this saying that everything worked out well in the end and while it may be a while before Löded Diper needs his help, he's glad to wait as he had his fill of rock and roll for the moment.
Trivia[]
- This is the second Rodrick-centered book, the first being Rodrick Rules.
- This is the third book to have Jeff Kinney's name stacked instead of flat, the first two being Wrecking Ball and The Deep End.
- The cover image may have been inspired from the lead singer Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe.
- This is the 6th book to not have the word "Diary" in plain yellow.
- The cover resembles a speaker, referencing the music/concert motif of this book.
- This is the second book in which Greg's tongue is shown on the cover. The first time it was shown was in Double Down.
- This is the first and currently only book where Greg isn't shown with a negative expression on the cover. (Excluding the first The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book)
- This is also the first book where Greg's eyes are closed on the cover.
- This is the first time since Hard Luck to have a recurring character be the main antagonist.
- This is the seventh book to have to swear words as symbols.
- While Greg is still technically the lead character, this is the first book where he isn't the main focus of the storyline, with that role instead going to his older brother, Rodrick (and, by extension, the rest of Löded Diper). In fact, aside from serving as the book's narrator, Greg's role in this story is comparably minor to that of Rodrick and his band-mates.
- This is the second black-colored book, with the first being Old School.
- This is the first book to use special characters in its title, namely the "ö"s.
- This is the second book to have an animated cover, with the first being Big Shot.
- This is the third odd-numbered book to not start with the word "The". The first was the first book and the second was Double Down.
- This is the fifth odd-numbered book that doesn't have three words in its title (this book only has two words in its title). The first is the first book, which doesn't have a unique title, the second is Double Down, the third is The Getaway, and the fourth is The Meltdown.
- This is the second book to span two calendar years, as the book starts in December and ends in April. The first was the first book.
- This is the fifth book to have Rowley as a minor character, if not being left out of the book entirely (other books being The Long Haul, The Getaway, The Deep End and Big Shot).
- Since Rodrick was a main character in this book, this could mean that a spin-off featuring Rodrick's diary may come soon.
- The book was finished on September 22, 2022, but it was not released until October 25, 2022.
- Metallichihuahua is an indirect parody of Metallica and was originally supposed to appear way back in the live action long haul film according to the Movie diary
- The rooftop concert that Metallichihuahua played for their first concert is a reference to the Beatles' Rooftop Concert on January 30th, 1969.
- Some of Metallichihuahua's albums also resemble the Beatles' albums.
- Sebastian Sleeves having to play with his feet after burning his hands is most likely a reference to Def Leppard after the drummer, Rick Allen, lost his arm after a car accident and was forced to play with one hand.
- The Winter Dogs Basketball team isn't seen or mentioned, and Susan isn't seen coaching the team in the book. It's possible that the team disbanded for good, following their failure at the Second Chance Tournament in Big Shot.
- On Page 63, Rodrick is seen talking to a guy from the Russo Bros. Elevator Repair. This is a reference to Anthony and Joe Russo, the producers and directors of four movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- At the Legends of Yesteryear convention, one of the washed-up athletes there was named Teddy Brock, which could be a reference to the character Eddie Brock/Venom from the Spider-Man series.
- Sebastian Sleeves mentions that learning how to lip-sync is the way to become famous in the music industry, a reference to the infamous Milli Vanilli band who were convicted of lip-syncing.
- Rodrick's attempt at lip-syncing by playing a recording of Bill's voice through the stereo during the Battle of the Bands also references Milli Vanili's Lake Compounce concert on July 21, 1989, when their stereo jammed, exposing them.
- The part where Rodrick forces Bill to put his relationship with Becky on hold which leads to the break-up of Löded Diper may be a reference to the then rumors that John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono was a contributing factor to the break-up of the Beatles.
- Even though this book takes place in the winter (even starting off in December), there's no mention of holidays such as Christmas and New Year's.
- The song "Can You Smell Us Now" is the main song used in the book for the Battle of the Bands. This song is also used in Disney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules.
- This is the third book where Larry Mack Junior Middle School doesn't make an appearance.
- On the cover of the Australian copy, the words "International Bestseller" or any other words seen on the covers of previous books are not seen.
- Hipp O. Henry's is a parody of Chuck E. Cheese, as both have received complaints about recycling pizza.
- This is the first book to feature 8 characters on the character page.
- The Heffleys are confirmed to be Catholic in this book and the church they go is revealed to be called "St. Martha's Parish."
- As of 2024, this is the last book to use question marks (?) in the paragraphs.
- Bill Walter's love song on page 179 can be sung to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.
- This book is the third book released in the 2020s, following The Deep End and Big Shot.
Goofs/Errors[]
- Bill is claimed to live in his grandmother's basement, despite being said to live with his parents as far back as Rodrick Rules. Either Bill moved out of his parents' house to instead live at his grandmother's house or Bill's parents kicked Bill out of their house for him to live at his grandmothers' instead.
- One of the pages in The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book shows Diper Överlöde's lyrics. The song title was spelled as "Diper Overlöde" without a umlaut over the first o in contrast to the new spelling, "Diper Överlöde."
- Despite the book starting in December and ending in April, a HALLOWEEN store is mentioned and visited by the characters several times, even though in real life, a Halloween store would not be open in the Winter nor Spring and compete with the Holiday Season, New Years Eve, Valentine's Day, and Easter.
- On page 14, Bill's arm seemed to be holding nothing, but a hand is holding the cup.
- This error also occurs in Wrecking Ball.
- On Page 209, Bill singing the lyrics to Diper Överlöde is being blared out of the speaker. The lyrics in the illustration go "This is a Diper Överlöde", but according to the Do-It-Yourself book the lyrics actually go "This is a Diper! A Diper Överlöde".
Sneak Peek[]
Gallery[]
See Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde/Gallery