Chadwick's Epic Revenge

Gr 4–8—When Chadwick Musselman hears a rumor that his nemesis, Terry Vance, aka "Nile Crocodile," is being left back in fifth grade, he develops a swagger over the summer. He devises a strategy to turn his social status from "middle of the herd" to "overlap" by setting up his towel near his crush, Jana, at the town pool and plying her with her favorite snacks all summer. His best friend Rory thinks Chadwick is crazy. Turns out, Terry himself started the rumor to prank Chadwick, and soon everything Chadwick does to counter Terry results in disaster. Chadwick insists that Terry is "gaslighting" him. (A scene in which Terry checks out a book from the library about the psychology of gaslighting helps clarify the somewhat sophisticated concept for readers.) The battle of wits escalates and culminates in a convoluted showdown at the eighth-grade dance. As unreliable narrators go, Chadwick is confounding. It's difficult to discern whether he's incredibly naive or just obnoxiously self-centered. Adult characters are flat and clueless. Chadwick's classmates are not well developed and tend toward stereotypes. There are humorous illustrations, but not enough to appeal to fans of other prank books, like Mac Barnett and John Jory's "The Terrible Two" or Geoff Rodkey's "Tapper Twins" series.