out to dinner, but Greg is bankrupted after he is forced to pay the bill. At the dance, their night is ruined when senior citizens overrun their dance, claiming they reserved the dance area first, but they compromise things that ruin the theme, such as lights, no more music and a partition severing half the gym. Michael Sampson arrives with another girl, Cherie Bellanger, as the family obligation was a ruse and he didn't count on Abigail's attendance. Abigail is left in tears, and Greg attempts to comfort her. Finally, while dancing with Abigail, Greg spots what looks like chicken pox marks on her face. It only turns out she had pimples when she was crying over Michael, but Greg panics, leaving Abigail in tears, and Rowley comforts her. The book ends with Uncle Gary winning $40,000 from the local lottery and pays Dad with the money, thus able to now move out of the house. Rowley and Abigail begin dating, and Greg gets the chicken pox. Development The title and cover of The Third Wheel were revealed in May 2012. The book had an initial printing of 6.5 million copies. Kinney commented that he enjoyed writing the book because "there’s so much humor to be mined in the world of middle school romance." Reception Critical and reader reception for The Third Wheel was positive, with the San Angelo Standard-Times'' calling the book "masterful." References Third Wheel 2012 American novels Novels by Jeff Kinney Amulet Books books Puffin Books books 2012 children's books