"Welcome to my book. I assume you are reading this flap because you found the title inviting and are eager to read a book that promises no nonsense. Well, rest assured that there will be no nonsense. Here you will find only sense. And logic! And scientific facts! So please take a seat in an ergonomic chair, sit up straight, and read attentively. And pay no mind to that giraffe on a bicycle."--Front flap of book jacket.

Greg Heffley is not willing to be the odd man out. A dance at Greg's middle school has everyone scrambling to find a partner, and Greg is determined not to be left by the wayside. So he concocts a desperate plan to find someone -- anyone! -- to go with on the big night. But Greg's schemes go hilariously awry, and his only option is to attend the dance with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, and a female classmate as a "group of friends." But the night...

"With their first formal school dance around the corner, Beth and Chanda are on a mission to make it the best night ever. Step one? Secure the perfect dresses so they can dominate the dance floor! But when neither of them can find an outfit that lives up to their high expectations--and when they encounter unexpected pressure to find dates--these besties will need to lean on their friendship more than ever if they hope to find their groove and bust...