The Prank List

Gr 7 Up—Fourteen-year-old Rachel Lee is happy that eighth grade is over and things seem to be going well with her maybe boyfriend. She would be happier if Chef Ryan, her pastry class instructor, didn't hate her. She's also worried about causing her mom to lose clients. It seems there's a rumor going around that Rachel is a thief, and a new cleaning business seems to be taking advantage of it to build their business. If her mom can't make ends meet, then a move to Connecticut may be in the future. Rachel needs to do something to help. Unfortunately, her solution, a series of "pranks" really amount to libel and malicious mischief and feel utterly contrived. Rachel seems overly naïve and apparently learned nothing from her earlier experience spreading rumors. She's also prone to odd alliteration, "paranoid panther," and cloying faux-swearing, such as "What the Shrek?" or "Oh my goldfish! Tween readers who find Rachel endearing will find a fast-paced comedy of errors. More sophisticated readers might become impatient with the cardboard secondary characters and Rachel's infuriating gaps in logic. Purchase where The Dirt Diaries (Sourcebooks, 2014), Rachel's first adventure, is popular, and hope for a bit more growth for Rachel if she returns for a third installment.—Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ