Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure

Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure
The book's official cover
Author/Illustrator/Cover Artist	Jeff Kinney
Publisher	Abram Books (Amulet Books) (US), Penguin Books (Puffin Books) (UK)
Release Date	August 4, 2020, April 7, 2020 (originally)
Preceeded by	Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal (chronologically) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball (release order)
Succeeded by	Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (chronogically) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (release order)
Color	Gold, Bright Orange

Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure is the second book of the Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid spin-off series that was released on August 4, 2020.

Characters

• Roland the Kind
• Garg the Barbarian
• The Little Mermaid
• The One-Eyed Wizard
• Shae'Vana
• The Troll King
• Medusa
• Christoph
• Stephen
• Bampy the Brave
• Roland's mom
• Roland's dad
• Mrs. Neetles
• Santa claus
• Rowley Jefferson
• Greg Heffley
• Linda Jefferson
• Robert Jefferson
• Garg's Mom
• Garg's Dad
• Walter the Wonderful
• Sherlock Holmes

Synopsis

Roland and his best friend, Garg the Barbarian leave their village and embark on an epic quest to save Roland’s mom from the White Warlock.

Plot

Chapter 1

There lived a boy named Roland. School wasn't invented at the time, but his parents thought it was important for him to get an education and learn to play an instrument, so they made him play a flute. It was a dangerous time so Roland's parents wanted him to stay inside, especially in the dark. Roland wishes he could go on adventures like his grandpa. Rowley's grandpa, Bampy the Brave, used to search treasure and fight monsters. But he didn't always wear his helmet so he got hit by his head, and never returned. Sometimes when Roland read Bampy's stories he ended up very scared, so he slept in his parent's bed. On day Roland woke up early to practice the flute, and saw that it was snowing while it was in summer and ran to the kitchen to see that his mom disappeared. Mrs. Neetles, his neighbour, said that his mom was kidnapped by the White Warlock. Roland was very worried that his dad return and will say that he is disappointed in Roland. He decides to go to the Ice Fortress and save his mom on his own. He put on Bampy's armor and went on an adventure to find his mom.

After Rowley wrote the first chapter, he showed it to his mom and she was very proud. Then Rowley said that when he will write the whole book so his father will read it to him as a bedtime story. Then Rowley showed the story to Greg. Rowley asks him what does he think and must say his honest opinion. But Greg reminded Rowley about the last said his honest opinion, when Rowley showed him his tap-dancing routine and Greg said that it was terrible. So Rowley told everything to Susan. So this time they made a pinky swear that Rowley will not tell anything to his mom. Greg said that the main character, Roland, has a terrible haircut. Then he said that maybe Roland will shave in Chapter Two. Then he said that Roland is a baby because he sleeps in his parents' bed. Then Greg told Rowley that when a person says "No offence" before saying something bad about you, it is okay. Then Greg said that a book about a boy saving his mom is weird, so Rowley said that he might switch Roland's mom for a princess and rescue her instead. But Greg said that it is corny and that if Rowley will do that, he'll get a ton of angry letters. Then Greg said that maybe they should be partners to make Rowley's book popular. They did a pinky swear to make it official.

Chapter 2

Roland was pretty scared to leave his village all by himself. So he went to see if his friend Garg the Barbarian will go with him. Roland and Garg were best friends. Rowley's parent's did not let Garg to come for a sleepover because he always smashed something. He liked to work out in his garage, and Roland worked out with him. Garg did not read books so he didn't know many words, but Roland understood him. Garg went with Roland even not asking his parents for permission because they did not care. They went to buy supplies but Garg hadn't got any money so Roland used his last coins. Roland made a map. The map will lead them to the Ice Fortress.

Greg thought that Garg was cool because they could make a Garg action figure. When Rowley said that they must do a Roland figure, Greg refused because he is just an ordinary kid. He said that girls will be in love with Garg and they will put Garg posters on walls. Then when people'll make a movie based on the book, they will bring in bodybuilders for the role of Garg. But when Rowley said that girls will be in love with Roland too, but Greg said that will happen after Roland hit puberty and got braces. Greg said that after Rowley finishes the book, he must make a prequel so they could make a baby Garg figure. Then he said that the map was a good idea, because they could make different Garg figures (like Desert Garg or Jungle Garg). And he said that they could sell different playsets for their action figures. But when Greg said that on Roland's map, a river goes in a circle, and this is not possible, Rowley said that this is a fantasy book, so thinks don't have to be possible. Greg said that if it's a fantasy book, then why the map has real places such as North Pole, and Rowley said that he hoped that Garg and Roland will meet Santa on their journey but Greg said that if this happens, he quits.

Chapter 3

Roland and Garg walked for miles and miles, so Roland got a blister and Garg needed to carry him. They sat by the campfire, and Roland was sad because he thought about his mom. When Roland and Garg came to a little village, the road was blocked by giant rocks, so Roland and Garg helped the villagers to remove them. Then the villagers asked Roland and Garg if they could tidy up a bit, so Roland and Garg helped them again. The next morning the villagers asked them to do more work, so they spent another day like that. Sometimes the villagers asked them to do stuff that Roland thought they should've been able to do themselves, but they said that they didn't know how.

That was Rowley's favorite chapter yet because Roland was a good role model helping people in this chapter. But Greg said that children will think that Roland is a sucker for doing all these things, and then he said that if Superman helped anyone who asked, he'd never be able to relax. Then Greg said that if Rowley wants this story to be good, he must put some monsters into it. But Rowley said that he prefers unicorns, pixies or tree elves. He was sure that tree elves exist because he is pretty sure he saw one on a camping trip. But Greg said that he knows stuff and that there is no such thing as tree elves. Then Greg said that if there will be pixies in the story, there should be trolls because they eat pixies, but when Rowley thought that it was rude, Greg said that it is just the Circle of Life.

Chapter 4

Garg and Roland worked in that village for a week but then Roland told the villagers that they must go to save Roland's mom. They went through the dark Tangled Forest, and Roland got really scared. Suddenly they saw a Pixie Village with pixies living in it. The pixies welcomed Garg and Roland and gave them mushroom soup. When Roland told the pixies, but the pixies said that the trolls who live near them have garbage piled up everywhere. When Roland and Garg told the pixies about their journey, and the pixies told them that they need weapons, Rowley said that he doesn't believe in fighting, but the pixies just laughed. The pixies brought Garg a giant club. They told Roland that they have a sword for him, but it is stuck in a rock. They told Roland that Bampy the Brave once put his sword in a rock, and only someone with a pure heart could get the sword unstruck. Garg tried to pull the sword out, but he couldn't. But when Roland tried to pull the sword, he pulled easily, at that meant he was pure of heart.

Greg said that was unrealistic that Garg could not pull the sword, but Rowley could, but Rowley said that it was a magical sword made by Walter the Wonderful. When Greg asked what was the sword's name, Rowley said "Jeremy", but that made Greg laugh. Rowley said that the sword could make bad guys nice, but Greg said that it must shoot lightning from its tip. Rowley refused this, and that Greg said that adding weapons to the story was good because they could make them into toys. Rowley said that children might get hurt playing with them, but Greg said that the toys will be Nerf.

Chapter 5

When Roland and Garg said good-bye to the pixies, it was very dark, and they accidentally tumbled down a hill. Trolls surrounded them. They took Roland and Garg to their leader, who was sitting on a throne made of garbage. The Troll King told them that Troll Town is so dumped because every night pixies toss their garbage away to the Troll Town. Roland did not like littering, so he marched back to the Pixie Village with some trolls to talk to the pixies, and the pixies weren't happy. They said that they tossed garbage to the trolls because trolls eat pixies, and the Troll King said that he could not help that because pixies are delicious. Roland said that if the trolls promised not to eat pixies, then pixies had to stop throwing trash in Troll Town, so trolls and pixies made a pinky swear to make it official. Roland told pixies and trolls how to recycle, and there was finally peace in the Tangled Forest.

Greg said that kid's don't want books with messages in them, so Rowley must cut that part. Greg said that Rowley should rewrite the chapter so it was a battle between Trolls and pixies, so they could make it into an awesome video game. But Rowley wanted a video game that is not violent, like "Trolls and Pixies Teach Multiplication". Then Greg started talking about what monsters will Roland and Garg face next, so he gave Rowley a book about monsters of myth. When Rowley said that they could not use these monsters, because it's copying someone's ideas, Greg said that the guys who wrote it are dead, and then he thought that they could have other old characters, like Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 6

After Roland and Garg left the Tangled Forest, they headed east Across the Salt Flats. Nothing exciting happened there however, so the story fast-forwarded to when they got to the Razor Range. The mountains were too steep to climb over, so Roland and Garg traveled north toward the Boulder Pass. But they didn't get far because there was a terrible thunderstorm and they had to find shelter. They found a cave nearby and went inside to wait out the storm. the cave was dark, so Roland lit a torch. And that's when he came face-to-face with a MINOTAUR. The minotaur however, was just a statue of a minotaur, and when Roland's eyes adjusted to the torchlight, he discovered a bunch of Other statues in the cave. Roland couldn't recognize all of the statues, but he did recognize a few of them like Huckleberry Finn, the Cowardly Lion, and even Thor, the God of Thunder. Roland thought the cave was a museum, and that they shouldn't touch anything, but Garg was pretty eager to try out his new club, and smashed the statues with them. Roland felt like they were littering and did not like it at all. Garg was about to smash what looked like a statue of a man with a pipe and magnifying glass, but then the "statue" came to life and that's when Roland realized it wasn't a statue at all. It was the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was in the cave because he traveled to find out the mystery of Razor Range and the clues brought him to the cave. Sherlock told Roland that everyone who went missing got turned into statues by MEDUSA. Roland wanted to get out of there, but at that moment Medusa came out of her bathroom and headed for her bedroom. They all had to shut their eyes and stand still like statues, or else they would turn into them. Unfortunately, Garg got curious, and took a brief look at Medusa before she got to her bedroom and turned into a statue. Roland and Holmes had to hide before she came back, and snuck into Medusa's bathroom and closed the door behind them, But Roland wished they had snuck out the front of the cave instead, because then, they were TRAPPED. Sherlock Holmes used his detective skills to get them out of the jam and sure enough, he found a clue. Medusa didn't have a mirror because if she had a mirror she'd get turned to stone by her own reflection, so they needed to find a mirror, which Garg had because he liked to look at his muscles whenever he had a chance. Roland got Garg's mirror out of his bag, but unfortunately, he was making so much noise, that by the time he was done, Medusa came out to check out what the racket was. Roland aimed the mirror at Medusa, but unfortunately, she had a reflective shield that bounced her image back, and hit Sherlock Holmes when he came out of the bathroom, turning him to stone. Medusa tried to trick Roland into opening his eyes but his eyes stayed shut, Roland then got an idea, and told Medusa that her current shampoo got in her snakes eyes, and to use a more gentle shampoo so her snakes wouldn't get mad. Medusa thought it was a trick, but did it anyways and put sunglasses on so Roland couldn't get turned into a statue.

Greg liked that Rowley put a bunch of fictional characters into his story, because librarians would go nuts for that stuff, and he had an idea for a medusa hair studio. Greg was worried about Sherlock Holmes's pipe though, because grown ups would get touchy, but Rowley told Greg that it wasn't a real pipe, and that it was only a costume piece.

Chapter 7

Roland was free to go, but he didn't want to leave his friends behind. Medusa told him about the One-Eyed Wizard who could fix everything. He went to the burnt swamp to talk to The One-Eyed Wizard, who told Roland that the White Warlock was planning to marry his Mom and make her his Queen, but could only do it on a crescent moon, and afterwards he would cast the land in eternal winter, and worst of all, he would become Roland's stepdad and make Roland call him his dad. Greg Thought the chapter was boring because it was mostly two dudes talking but wanted it anyways because that was when people would want to use the restroom and get refills. Greg also wanted a regular girl in the story or else the film would only get half of the crowds. Greg didn't like the "endless winter" concept because the idea had already been done too many times before, but neither could think of something better, so they stuck with it.

Chapter 8

When Roland returned with the One-Eyed Wizard, The Wizard turned everybody back to normal, and after seeing how easy it was, Roland felt bad for everyone that was smashed. Most of the creatures left, but some stayed behind to thank Roland and listen to how he got there. After hearing his story, everyone joined Roland to help save his mom, which made Roland Happy, because he made so many new friends.

Greg said that chapter was boring too because it was mostly talking, but did like all the new characters, because movie posters with all the new characters could be made, as well as a fast food deal with figurines of the characters. Rowley didn't like it because he didn't want to encourage children to eat fast food or introduce more plastic to the world, but kids could get apple slices, and the toys could be biodegradable. Greg liked the elf girl who's name was Shae'Vana and girls would think she was could 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 the alien because the story was fantasy and not sci-fi And greg didn't like Stephen, the half-cow half-man. Greg wanted to keep him to use his udders as a cold drinks machine though.

Chapter 9

The travelers went through the Boulder Pass to cut across the Razor range, but were ambused by ogres who threw rocks at them, but The One-Eyed Wizard created a magical hand to protect them. After the attack, everybody celebrated with cold glasses of milk which everybody agreed tasted better than soda, but then they were abducted by giant eagles, whom were driven off by Shae'vana with her bow and arrows, and the magical hand caught everybody and lowered them to safety. The magical hand was named "Lefty" and given high fives and fist bumps as thanks. the travelers then went through the mines, because it was too dangerous to stay on the surface, But then Garg made the cave collapse, but the One-Eyed Wizard used his magic to restore the cave. The travels wadded through water and got covered in leeches, but they were deflected by magic as well. Dwarves came and though that the travelers were trying to steal their jewels, which resulted in a mine cart chase out of the mines. The travelers escaped, and the dwarves hated sunlight so they stayed behind and said lots of swears and mean words but were ignored because they were being bullies and bullies only want reactions.

Greg wasn't crazy about the anti-bullying message but thought the minecart chase could be an awesome theme park ride, and that the story should have humor, and that knock-knock jokes were too boring, Greg wanted gross humor and suggested that there should be a sticker page so that readers can add gross moments to the book, as well as slapstick humor too. Greg wanted a romance, but Rowley didn't like greg's ideas and said that they should only be friends.

Chapter 10

The sun was starting to set and everybody was tired, but they couldn't sleep out in the open or else monsters would eat them. The One-Eyed Wizard knew of the ruins of an old castle nearby, so everybody went THERE. When they arrived at the ruins, Roland and Shae'vana 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 explained that his name was Christoph and he was bitten by a vampire bat when he was a teenager, and he was stuck at the same age while everybody else aged out and died, and he locked himself in the tower to avoid biting anybody else. Christoph joined the group and introduced himself to the rest of the group. Everybody had to adjust their sleep schedule, and everyone (except Roland) was okay with that.

Greg was happy with the vampire as they had to age up their story, and teenagers loved supernatural stories, and they could sell colognes based of him. Greg liked the curse too, even thought Rowley got the idea from Greg. Greg also wanted a good plot twist, but Rowley thought the vampire WAS the plot twist, so he had to come 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 help. The moon appeared and turned Christoph into a werewolf. Christoph was bitten by a werewolf and now had 2 curses on him. Roland was annoyed, but The One-Eyed Wizard said that the White Warlock had a ruby on his staff to reverse magic spells. Shae'Vana breathed by the Ice Fortress and discovered secret elf writing. Everyone went to sleep but when they woke up, Shae'Vana had stolen the map and left.

Greg liked the plot twist but was upset about the backlash Rowley would get, and told Rowley he would have to stay inside. Greg suggested the characters get into a big fight and there should be danger, as well as killing of 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, because he couldn't see out of it, and Shae'Vana also stole Roland's bag, stealing all the food. Everybody got into a big argument, arguing over who's fault it was. Roland was upset about not being a good enough leader, so he created a suggestions box. the team then headed further using the elf girl's footprints, but got lost in a corn maze. Luckily, Roland was able to summon the ghost of Bampy the Brave, who helped them out. The footprints led into a canyon with a big river of lava, where Lefty carried everybody across. Sadly, after everybody else was safely across, Lefty was hit with a lava geyser. Lefty sank into the lava and all anybody could do was wave goodbye.

Greg was PROUD of Rowley for that scene, but 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 how he wanted to write it.

Chapter 13

Everyone was upset about Lefty's death, specially Roland. The One-Eyed Wizard Created a new hand, but it just wasn't the same. The team traveled through the desert and lost the trail, and stayed lost for several nights. Rowley was sad that he'd never make it to save his mom. Roland played a sad song down by the river, and then a mermaid showed up, and said that she was the little mermaid but not the Disney one. Roland told the mermaid a joke and then she laughed and didn't fake it. Roland told The mermaid about his mom, and she played a tune and summoned narwhals to help the travelers get to the ice fortress.

Rowley likes that chapter because of the good messages, but Greg didn't because it would make the book too childish, and that there should be a seahorse instead. Greg wanted a lot of changes, but Rowley was simply trying to use his imagination, and they agreed to just have Rowley work on the story

Chapter 14

The team thanked the mermaid and the narwhals and found the wizard's eyeball which had fallen out of the elf girl's pocket, but Shae'Vana was nowhere to be seen. Roland leaned against the ice wall, and found the entrance. the team went through and found the White Warlock himself, who just laughed when The One-Eyed Wizard pointed his wand at him. Roland realized from the "ho ho ho" that the warlock was actually Santa. The One-Eyed Wizard was Santa's Brother and wanted revenge For Santa getting Christmas while he was stuck with flag day, and used Roland to get through the ice wall. He summoned a snowstorm, and hypnotized Mrs. Nettles into saying that Roland's mother was kidnapped by the White Warlock while she went to get a snow shovel. Roland was happy that his mom was safe, but sad that his parents would be worried about him. The wizard laughed, and his laugh was nowhere near as good as Santa's. A battle ensued, and Shae'Vana shot the wizard, and he was stuck to the wall, she was actually an elf on vacation from the north pole. The One-eyed wizard slipped out of his robes and stole Santa's staff, then blew holes in the wall allowing Roland's friends to come in. Righty grabbed the friends, and then Roland's mom showed up on a seahorse and surprised Righty, causing him to lose his grip. Roland impaled The One-Eyed Wizard with Jeremy, and The Wizard became nice again, and then apologized for being such a jerk. Santa gave everybody presents despite the fact it was nowhere near Christmas, and pranked Roland with a note before giving him his actual gift: the title of Roland the Kind. Santa was about to reverse the curse on Christoph but he denied. Shae'Vana and Christoph Went to travel around the land as a couple, Sherlock Holmes and Stephen went to solve more cases, Roland, Garg, And Roland's Mom got a ride home from Santa with The One-Eyed Wizard and Righty who Roland invited to live with him, and Christmas that year was the best Christmas ever. The End!

Greg loved the last chapter because then they could make it a Christmas story and have different versions for different people. Greg wanted to trademark the word "kind" but Rowley let greg deal with it, since he didn't care about getting it published anyways, since he wrote it for himself and his parents, whom he really wanted to read the story to him anyways, since he likes how his dad voices the characters.

Trivia

• This is the first 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Gallery

Promotional images

The tour bus of the book.

Illustration

Video

From the imagination of Rowley Jefferson comes an adventure of epic proportions!