Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw follows Greg Heffley as he struggles with new challenges at school and at home—especially with his dad, who is determined to toughen him up. From forcing Greg to take up a sport to threatening military school, his dad’s attempts at making him more responsible only lead to more chaos and classic Heffley mishaps. This book perfectly captures the awkwardness of growing up, the pressure to meet expectations and the constant battle between kids and parents.
Will Smith plays Chris Gardner in Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit of Happyness, made in 2006. In this film, Chris Gardner, accompanied by his son Christopher Gardner (Jaden Smith), struggle to get by day-to-day life. After putting all of his eggs in one basket, Chris joins a prestigious stock broking firm as an unpaid intern, only having a 0.05% chance of getting picked for the full-time career at the end of a 6 month trial period.
It’s a tale as old as time: teens going to parties far beyond their years. For this Johnson County reader, the interest in Jason Reynold's When I Was the Greatest lies in the microclimate of Bed-Stuy in New York City.
