Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan continues to investigate the strange occurrences in his hometown of Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing email video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah. The reader may view Sarah's videos on a website by using links and passwords found in the text.

Greg Heffley tells about his summer vacation and his attempts to steer clear of trouble when he returns to middle school and tries to keep his older brother Rodrick from telling everyone about Greg's most humiliating experience of the summer.

When snow closes Greg Heffley's middle school, he and his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, face a fight for survival as warring gangs turn the neighborhood into a wintry battlefield.

In his first journal, middle schooler Rowley Jefferson, Greg Heffley's sidekick, records his experiences and misguided decision to write a biography of Greg, who, in his own mind, is destined to become rich and famous.

"My whole life I planned on going to pilot school like the rest of my friends--then I got rejected! Along came a little green guy named Yoda who invited me to Jedi Academy. Now I'm at a school with aliens, robots, and lightsaber-wielding bullies who can lift things with their minds! How am I supposed to compete with that? As if starting middle school wasn't hard enough..." The story of Roan Novachez, Jedi Academy student, is told through comics, journal...

While trying to find a new best friend after feuding with Rowley, middle-school slacker Greg Heffley is warned by older family members that adolescence is a time to act more responsibly and to think seriously about his future.