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Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure is the second book in the Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid spin-off series. The book was released on August 4, 2020. Its cover shows Roland the Kind in a Viking suit and riding on a seahorse with some help from Greg Heffley at the bottom right of the book.
Main Characters
- Roland the Kind
- The One-Eyed Wizard (Main Antagonist)
- Garg the Barbarian
- Santa Claus (as The White Warlock)
- Sherlock Holmes
- Shae'Vana
- Christoph
- Stephen
- Rowley Jefferson
- Greg Heffley
Synopsis
Adventure awaits!
From the imagination of Rowley Jefferson comes an adventure of epic proportions. Join Roland and his best friend, Garg the Barbarian, as they leave the safety of their village and embark on a quest to save Roland’s mom from the White Warlock. Will our heroes survive? Find out in Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure!
Plot
Chapter 1
Roland
Once upon a time, in an era fraught with peril, there resided a young boy named Roland. Despite the looming dangers beyond the confines of his village, Roland's heart was filled with an insatiable longing for thrilling adventures, much like those his beloved grandpa had embarked upon in the past. However, his parents, concerned for his safety, insisted on keeping him within the safety of their home, directing him to spend his time playing the flute instead.
Yet, fate had other plans for Roland one early morning when an unusual sight captured his attention. Against all odds, snowflakes gracefully descended from the sky, blanketing the surroundings in an ethereal white layer during the height of summer. Excited by this magical occurrence, Roland couldn't contain his enthusiasm and rushed into the kitchen to share the news with his mother. To his surprise and dismay, she was nowhere to be found.
In search of answers, Roland turned to Mrs. Nettles, a wise and friendly neighbor who was well-acquainted with the village's mysteries. She divulged a startling revelation—Roland's mother had been abducted by the nefarious White Warlock, a malevolent figure dwelling within his chilling Ice Fortress. Determined to rescue his dear mother, Roland's heart surged with courage.
Though Roland knew he should wait for his father's return, he couldn't bear to let his dad down. Summoning the spirit of his adventurous grandpa, he donned Bampy's weathered suit, which seemed to carry the essence of past escapades. This simple act symbolized the passing of the torch from one generation to another, kindling a fire of bravery within the young boy.
And so, with the flute tucked securely by his side, and his grandpa's suit adorning him, Roland embarked on an epic quest to save his mother from the clutches of the White Warlock. His journey would lead him beyond the familiar borders of his village, into the heart of the icy unknown, where danger lurked at every turn.
Roland putting on Bampy's suit
Filled with determination and a heart full of love, Roland set forth into the world, ready to prove that even the smallest among us could accomplish great feats when fueled by the power of a grand adventure.
Development
Rowley Jefferson, brimming with excitement and a burgeoning imagination, proudly shared the first chapter of his creative work with his mom. Delighted by her son's ingenuity, she praised Rowley for using his imagination in crafting such a captivating tale. However, Rowley decided to keep this literary gem hidden from his father, saving it as a special bedtime story once the book was complete.
Eager to receive genuine feedback, Rowley turned to his best friend, Greg Heffley, and showed him the chapter. Greg, known for his brutally honest opinions, hesitated momentarily, remembering the repercussions of a previous critique he had offered. To assuage any fears, Rowley and Greg made a solemn pinky swear, a sacred oath not to divulge anything to their parents.
Greg and Rowley doe a pinky swear
Taking a critical eye to the story, Greg couldn't resist humorously commenting on the main character's unfortunate haircut, suggesting that a fresh shave might be in order for the upcoming chapters. He also offered some insightful advice, explaining the notion of saying "No offense" before sharing a negative opinion. Rowley, being the pure-hearted soul he was, believed that this technique only worked with kids.
Greg, in his typical candid manner, proposed the addition of a sidekick to enrich the story. However, he couldn't help but find the concept of a boy saving his mom a tad peculiar, forewarning Rowley that such a plot might attract a barrage of angry letters from readers.
Nevertheless, Greg and Rowley saw potential in their creative collaboration, deciding to form a partnership where they would split any future profits equally. With a renewed sense of camaraderie, they sealed this pact with another pinky swear, reaffirming their commitment to the success of the story.
In this delightful exchange of ideas and promises, Rowley and Greg embarked on an imaginative journey filled with laughter, friendship, and the boundless possibilities that only a shared adventure can offer.
Rowley imagining his dad reading him his book
Chapter 2
Roland went to see if Garg the Barbarian wants to join him because they're best friends.
Garg and Roland being Best Friends
Garg agrees and joins Roland who didn't even ask his parents for their permission. They went to the village shop to buy supplies.
Development
Greg thought Garg was cool because they could make a Garg action figure and everyone would love him. Rowley also said that they could make a Roland action figure but Greg says he's an ordinary kid and doesn't do a whole lot.
Greg criticizing Rowley's book
Greg provides more ideas mostly involving different versions of Garg. Greg points out a lot of geographic problems with Roland's map like a river that goes in a circle. Rowley counters Greg's criticisms by saying that this is a fantasy book but Greg says the map wouldn't have real places such as the North Pole. Rowley tells Greg that he hope Garg and Roland will meet Santa on their journey but Greg would quit if that happens.
Chapter 3
Garg and Roland doing chores requested by the villagers
Roland and Garg walked for a while then they settled in and set up a campfire. The next morning Roland and Garg came across a village and finds its front entrance blocked by giant rocks from an avalanche so Roland and Garg helped the villagers by moving them out of the way. The villagers thanked them by giving them food and shelter but wasn't done with them so the next day they asked Roland and Garg if they could clean up their entire village. Roland and Garg decided to continue to help them for days even though some of it were simple tasks.
Development
Everyone asking Superman for help
Rowley says that this was his favorite chapter yet because Roland was acting as a good role model, helping other people. But Greg said that children will think that Roland is a sucker and said if Superman helped everyone, he'd never be able to relax.
Then Greg suggests Rowley should put some monsters in the story. But Rowley prefers unicorns, pixies or tree elves. He was sure that tree elves exist because he saw one on a camping trip. But Greg said he knows stuff and there is no such thing as tree elves. Then Greg said that if pixies were in the story, trolls should too to create the Circle of Life.
Chapter 4
Garg and Roland had been doing chores for the villagers for a week but eventually they had to go.
Garg and Roland drinking soup
They went through the Tangled Forest where they come across a Pixie village inhabited with pixies who gave them mushroom soup. While he did not enjoy his soup, Roland told the pixies that their village was beautiful and the pixies said the reason why is because they don't have piles of garbage lying everywhere unlike the trolls.
The pixies told them that they needed weapons and gave Garg a giant club and told Roland that they have a sword, the same one that was used by Bampy, for him but was stuck in a rock and legends says only someone with a pure heart could pull it out. Garg tried to pull out the sword but despite his strength, it wouldn't come loose but when Roland tried, it came out easily.
Development
Greg said it was unrealistic that Garg couldn't pull the sword out but Roland could. Rowley said that it was a magical sword made by Walter the Wonderful in Mount Friendly.
When Greg asked Rowley the sword's name, Rowley said "Jeremy" which made Greg laugh. Rowley said that the sword could make bad guys nice, but Greg didn't think that was cool enough so he said it should shoot lightning from its tip. Rowley didn't support the idea but Greg said that adding weapons to the story was good because they could make them into toys.
Chapter 5
Roland and Garg rolling down the hill
When Roland and Garg said good-byes to the pixies it was very dark and they tumbled down a hill. Once arriving at the bottom of the hill, trolls surrounded them who took Roland and Garg to their leader. Surprisingly, the Troll King was actually friendly and apologizes about Troll Town being so dumped and explained it was because the pixies would use it as their garbage dump.
Roland didn't like littering so he marched back to the Pixie village with the trolls to talk to them.
Troll King and the Pixie Leader doing a pinky swear
The pixies said trolls kept eating them which is why they kept throwing trash at their town as a way of getting back at them. The Troll King said they couldn't help themselves because the pixies tastes delicious. Roland suggested a proposal where if the trolls stops eating the pixies, then the pixies would stop throwing trash in Troll Town.
They agreed and even made a pinky swear, finally creating peace in the Tangled Forest.
Development
Greg was a fan that there were monsters in the book but wasn't a fan of the message and Rowley should cut out that part.
Trolls & Pixies Teach Multiplication
Greg said that Rowley should rewrite the chapter so it was a battle between the trolls and pixies so they could make it into a video game. But Rowley didn't want the video game to be violent and wants it to be educational. He then gave Rowley a book called Monsters Of Myth to help him brainstorm monsters that Roland will face next.
Chapter 6
After Roland and Garg left the Tangled Forest, they headed east across the Salt Flats then towards the Razor Range. The mountains were too steep to climb over, so Roland and Garg went north towards the Boulder Pass. But there was a thunderstorm and head towards a cave nearby.
The cave was dark so Roland lit a torch and sees a lot of stone statue such as:
Garg was eager to try out his new club and started smashing the statues. As he was smashing the statues, he encounters a statue of Sherlock Holmes or what he thought was a statue but as it turns out the "statue" came to life and Sherlock Holmes was just pretending to be a statue because Medusa was passing by him who turns people into a statue just by the observer looking at them.
Sherlock made them stand still as Medusa walks by but Garg got curious, opens his eyes and got into a statue.
Sherlock Holmes being turned into a statue
Roland and Holmes snuck into Medusa's bathroom where they were trapped and Sherlock Holmes used his detective skills to find Medusa's weakness and finds out she doesn't have a mirror or else she'll turn herself into a statue. Roland went to get Garg's mirror in his bag but was making a lot of racketing, making Medusa going in his direction to investigate. Roland aims the mirror at Medusa but was prepared and as the light rays travels towards her, she pulls out a reflective shield which bounced her image back and hit Sherlock Holmes as he was coming out of the bathroom, becoming an additional victim of Medusa.
Roland not saying anything when asked by Medusa if she's pretty
Roland closes his eyes and Medusa tries to trick him into opening it. Roland knew he couldn't close his eyes forever so he tells Medusa that she should use a gentle shampoo to calm down her snakes. Medusa thought it was a trick but after some convincing from Roland always being honest, she tries it out and turning her into a different person. Roland finally opens his eyes and was asked by Medusa if she was pretty but Roland was taught to not speak up if he doesn't have anything nice to say.
Development
Greg liked the new characters because it's from classic books. Greg also had some ideas for some Medusa related merchandise such as a hair studio where buyers would be able to customize her hair. Greg was concerned with Sherlock Holmes's pipe because it wasn't very kid friendly but Rowley addresses this by saying that it was only a costume piece.
Chapter 7
The One-Eyed Wizard talking with Roland
Medusa let Roland go but he didn't want to leave his two friends behind so Medusa tells him to find the One-Eyed Wizard in the Burnt Swamp. Roland leaves and heads towards the Burnt Swamp where shortly he finds the hut where the One-Eyed Wizard resides in. He welcomed Roland and had a chat with him where he revealed that he had been stalking him with his crystal ball and knew who he was. The One-Eyed Wizard told him that the White Warlock wanted to make the winter last forever and make Roland's mom his queen with just 10 day left before he succeeds.
Development
Greg Thought the chapter was boring because it was mostly two dudes talking but told Rowley to keep because it could be used as a break time so people could use the restroom and get refills. Greg also wanted a girl in the story or else the film would only make half the sells. Greg didn't like the "endless winter" concept because the idea had already been done too many times before but neither one of them could think of something better so they stick with it.
Chapter 8
When Roland returned with the One-Eyed Wizard, he turns everybody back to normal. Most of the creatures left but some stayed behind to thank Roland and joined Roland's journey to save his mom.
Development
Greg thought the chapter was boring because it was mostly talking but did like the new characters because they would have more merchandise to work with. Rowley on the other hand didn't want to encourage children to eat fast food or introduce more plastic to the world so Greg suggested more alternatives. Greg liked the elf girl who's name was Shae'Vana and girls would think she was cool and wanna dress up as her for Halloween. Greg said she could have a special talent and be a thief but Rowley thought stealing was wrong. Greg didn't like Stephen, the half-cow half-man however wanted to keep him to use his udders as a fast food drink machine.
Chapter 9
The creation of Lefty
The travelers went through the Boulder Pass to cut across the Razor Range but were ambushed by ogres who threw rocks at them but the group eventually got through thanks to a magical hand called Lefty that was created by the One-Eyed Wizard. After the attack, everybody celebrated with cold glasses of milk but were abducted by giant eagles who saw the opportunity to surprise attack however were driven off by Shae'Vana's good shooting and Lefty lowering everyone to safety.
The group being chased by dwarves
The travelers then went through the mines but were forced in one direction because Garg hit his head on a stalactite. The group had to travel through a lake filled with leeches. They were zapped off by the One-Eyed Wizard but made a lot of noises in doing so which starts a chase between the group and dwarves which resulted in the group's minecart flying out of the mountain.
Development
Greg loved the minecart chase and could be made into an awesome theme park ride. Greg said the story should have humor and suggested a sticker page that would allow readers to add in gross humor of their own. Greg also wanted more romance like a relationship with Garg and Shae'Vana but Rowley wanted to pair her up with someone else.
Chapter 10
The sun was starting to set and everybody was exhausted but they couldn't sleep out in the open or else monsters would eat them. The One-Eyed Wizard knew the ruins of an old castle nearby and told everyone they should spent the night there.
Shae'Vana and Roland finds Christoph
Everyone agreed and headed towards it; when they arrived, Shae'Vana and Roland went inside the tower and found a teenage boy with pointy teeth inside, whom Roland realized was a vampire, who told them they were his first visitor in 300 years. The vampire said his name was Christoph and he was bitten by a vampire bat when he was a teenager and locked himself in the tower to avoid hurting anyone. Shae'Vana invited Christoph to join their journey then introduced himself to the rest of the group. Since he was a vampire, everyone had to sleep in the day but everyone (except Roland) was okay with that.
Development
Greg giving Rowley a "curse"
Greg liked the vampire as it aged up their story and had a curse too, even though Rowley got the idea from Greg when one time Greg got mad at Rowley for not sharing his bubble gum and supposedly gave him a curse. Greg also wanted a good plot twist but Rowley thought the vampire was the plot twist and starts coming up with something better.
Chapter 11
The team's sleep schedules were all messed up due to traveling at night and sleeping during the day, all because of a vampire that didn't really do anything.
The moon appeared and turned Christoph into a werewolf and made Roland annoyed. But the One-Eyed Wizard said that the White Warlock had a ruby on his staff that could reverse the curse. Shae'Vana looked at the map and discovered some secret elf writing. Everyone went to sleep but then discovered that Shae'Vana had gone rouge and stole their map.
Development
Greg liked the plot twist but doesn't want to deal with the backlash Rowley would get. Greg said there was lack of danger in the story and Rowley should kill one of the characters though, Rowley didn't like that.
Chapter 12
Shae'Vana also stole the One-Eyed Wizard's eye and pocketed it, so he couldn't see out of it and all the food. This caused everyone to get into an argument over who to blame for Shae'Vana's crime.
Roland put Garg and Stephon into time-out and created a suggestion box. The team eventually gets their act together then headed further using the elf's footprints, but got lost in a corn maze.
Lefty's death
Luckily, Roland was able to get the ghost of Bampy the Brave to helped them out.
The footprints led into a canyon with a river of lava, where Lefty carried everybody across. After everybody else was safely across though, Lefty was hit by a lava geyser and sank into the lava, saying goodbye.
Development
Greg was proud of Rowley creating that scene but thought the part with Bampy was weird because people don't ask their dead grandpas for help. Rowley didn't want anyone else to die, and just wanted to write the story base without any limitations.
Chapter 13
Everyone was upset about Lefty's death, especially Roland and the One-Eyed Wizard created a new hand called Righty in place of him however it wasn't the same. The team traveled through the desert and was lost for several nights. Rowley was sad that he'd never make it to save his mom so he sat down by the river and play a sad song on his flute. Then a Little Mermaid showed up and quickly created a conversation with Roland. When Roland told the mermaid about his mom, she played a tune and summoned narwhals to help get them to the Ice Fortress in time.
Development
Greg, wanting the story to be more edgy
Rowley liked message of the chapter because it encourages kids to practice their instrument but Greg didn't like it because it made the book more childish. Greg wanted a lot of changes that would make the story appeal to an older audience, but by now Rowley thought things were getting too complicated and simply wanted to use his imagination to its full degree.
Chapter 14
The team thanked the mermaid and found the wizard's eyeball which had fallen out of Shae'Vana's pocket, but was nowhere to be seen. Roland leaned against the ice wall, and found the entrance where he and the One-Eyed Wizard went through and found the White Warlock himself.
Santa making fun of the One-Eyed Wizard
The White Warlock laughed when the One-Eyed Wizard pointed his wand at him. Roland recognized the laugh to be Santa Claus and the One-Eyed Wizard revealed the whole truth. The One-Eyed Wizard was Santa's older brother and wanted revenge due to jealously of their parents letting Santa pick a well-known holiday and hamulating the wizard. He summoned a snowstorm and hypnotized Mrs. Nettles and creating a false story about the White Warlock to use Roland to open the door of the Ice Fortress.
Santa and the One-Eyed Wizard fighting
Roland was happy that his mom was safe, but was angry at the One-Eyed Wizard and took a step towards him his sword. However the One-Eyed Wizard specifically chose Roland because he knew his heart was too good to allow him to fight.
A battle ensued between the One-Eyed Wizard and Santa with the One-Eyed Wizard getting the upper hand before Shae'Vana comes out of nowhere and pinned the wizard to the wall. As Shae'Vana tells Roland about how she knew something was up about the One-Eyed Wizard the whole time, the One-eyed wizard slipped out of his robes and stole Santa's staff then tries to shoot at them but creating holes in the wall allowing Roland's friends to come in and attack the wizard.
Just as they were about to defeat the One-Eyed Wizard, Righty smashed through the walls and grabbed group. When the group was about to run out of breath, Roland's mom showed up on a seahorse and surprised the One-Eyed Wizard, causing him to lose his grip.
When the One-Eyed Wizard took a step towards her, Roland gets the better of his heart and impaled The One-Eyed Wizard with Jeremey, turning the wizard good who then apologized for being such a jerk.
The One-Eyed Wizard being defeated
To celebrate, Santa gave everybody presents and pranked Roland with a note before giving him his actual gift which was giving Roland the title: Roland the Kind.
The End
Shae'Vana and Christoph said farewell to the group and left together then Sherlock Holmes and Stephen forms an alliance to solve crimes as they said their goodbyes.
The people left got a ride home from Santa and Roland even invited the One-Eyed Wizard and Righty to live with his family then celebrated Christmas together.
Development
Greg thought the last chapter was brilliant because they could capitalize on different holidays to reach across an international audience. Greg also wanted to trademark the word "kind" but Rowley let Greg deal with it, since he didn't care about getting it published anyways. In the end, Rowley wanted his dad to read it as his bedtime story and would be fine if he fell asleep halfway through.
Trivia
- This is the first and only book in the series to ever be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book's original release date was April 7, 2020.
- This is the first book since The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book not to have the word "Diary" in it.
- On page 47, Greg mentions a monster that resembles a beholder from Dungeons & Dragons.
- This is the second orange book. The first was Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.
- This is the first book to be released in the 2020s decade.
- This is the very first fantasy-themed book in the franchise to ever be released.
- In an illustration of the different covers of the book, Flag Day is seen, which the One-Eyed Wizard is supposed to represent.
- 629 words are written in all capital letters in this book.
- One of the villagers on page 51 resembles a younger Rowley and another villager slightly resembles Bampy.
- There might be a possible adult joke in page 81, when Garg is peeking at Medusa when she is entering her room.
- However, this likely wasn't on purpose, as he was probably just peeking to see if Medusa was gone.
- The book has several references to the movies in the Disney Animated Canon:
- Greg says that princesses in modern fantasy stories are strong and independent, a possible reference to how modern Disney Princesses such as Rapunzel from Tangled and Anna and Elsa from Frozen have been praised as being more heroic than earlier Disney Princesses such as Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
- The Tangled Forest is possibly named after the 2010 film Tangled. Many scenes in that movie take place in a forest.
- Greg says that trolls eating pixies is "the Circle of Life", a reference to the opening song of The Lion King.
- Greg says that a movie has already been made about someone pulling a sword from a stone. At the end of The Sword in the Stone, Arthur becomes the king of England by pulling the sword out of the stone.
- Robin Hood and Tarzan are among the public domain characters that Greg mentions. Both of them are the title characters of Disney movies released in 1973 and 1999, respectively.
- Greg says that other movies have been made about endless winters. The plot of Frozen revolves around Princess Anna trying to reverse an endless winter caused by her sister, Queen Elsa.
- The dwarves in the Mines of Murlak are possibly based on the dwarves from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, who also work in a mine.
- Christoph the vampire-werewolf is possibly named after Kristoff, the male lead of Frozen. He is also similar to Queen Elsa from the same movie, as they are both orphans who stay locked up in a tower to protect the world from their powers.
- The scene where Bampy's ghost helps Roland and the others through the corn maze is similar to the scene in The Lion King where Mufasa's ghost convinces his son, Simba, to return to the Pride Lands and become the rightful king.
- The Little Mermaid says she is not "the Disney one", a reference to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid.
- The One-Eyed Wizard's role is similar to Prince Hans's role in Frozen. Similar to how the One-Eyed Wizard was thought to be a stereotypical wizard at first, Hans was thought to be a stereotypical prince, but they were both revealed to be villains.
- Shae'Vana is similar to Mayor Lionheart in Zootopia. Both were initially thought to be the main villain because of their questionable actions (Shae'Vana steals the map to the ice fortress and Lionheart secretly imprisons savage predators) but later revealed that their actions were to protect others and were simply framed by the true villain (the One-Eyed Wizard and Bellwether respectively).
Goofs/Errors
- During Roland's conversation with the Little Mermaid, Amelia Earhart was mentioned however this shouldn't have been possible because Amelia was born in the 20th century while the story takes place before school was invented, meaning it takes place before 1635, which is also evident by the medieval theme throughout the book.
Gallery
See Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure/Gallery
