The Long Haul was published by Amulet Books in 2014. The Heffleys embark on a family road trip — Greg’s mother’s attempt to create screen-free bonding time — that immediately devolves into a cascading series of disasters: wrong turns, motel nightmares, encounters with hostile strangers, and a viral video that makes Greg infamous for exactly the wrong reasons.
The road-trip structure allows Kinney to move through multiple settings and situations, each worse than the last, in a sustained exercise in escalating comic disaster.
Collecting The Long Haul
First edition (Amulet Books, New York, 2014): Hardcover with illustrated boards.
Market values:
- First edition, first printing: $15–$30
- Later printings: $5–$10
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest appreciation.
The Viral Video Age
The novel’s subplot about Greg becoming an unwilling internet meme captures a distinctly 2010s anxiety. Going viral — for embarrassment rather than fame — is a fear that resonates with both children and adults. Kinney was among the first children’s authors to integrate social media culture into his plots, not as a futuristic gimmick but as a normal part of modern family life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was The Long Haul made into a film? Yes. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) featured an entirely recast ensemble (the original child actors had aged out of their roles). The film received poor reviews and underperformed commercially, leading the franchise to shift to animation for subsequent adaptations.