Chadwick's Epic Revenge

April 1, 2018
A one-sided, yearslong pranking feud is about to blow up.Fifth-grade graduate Chadwick Musselman is thrilled that his nemesis, Terry Vance, who has been torturing him with pranks for years, has flunked. Chadwick has the whole summer to work on his "lurking and creeping" campaign to get into the clique of cute Jana Sedgewick "of the glorious red hair" (or at least in a clique that overlaps hers). But his success is limited, and when sixth grade starts it turns out Terry didn't flunk after all. And because Terry seems to have caused the previous principal to run away, everyone must now attend special classes called "group" to "improve communication," which Terry uses as an opportunity to gaslight Chadwick. Chadwick enlists the help of his snack-obsessed best friend, Rory, and uber-smart Suvi to combat Terry's campaign and wage one of his own. Who will win...will anyone? Doan attempts funny but mostly achieves unpleasant with her middle-grade comedy of vengeance. The bad girls (really, all girls except the cartoonishly pedantic Suvi) are vacuous. But the book's main failing is a complete lack of connection with reality. At the close, it even undercuts its own message that an eye for an eye is a bad idea. Chadwick and Terry seem to be white; the stereotypically brilliant Suvi is an Indian immigrant; and Rory is depicted as black in Andrewson's illustrations.Skip. (Fiction. 8-12)

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May 1, 2018

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. VERDICT A handful of scenes will inspire laughs; a secondary purchase where demand for prank books is high.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 7, 2018
All that sixth-grader Chadwick Musselman wants to do is finally come on top against devious bully Terry Vance and win the attention of the lovely red-haired Jana. Instead, he winds up on the receiving end of Terry’s pranks, and with every defeat, Chadwick looks worse while Terry gains popularity and sympathy. The only way Chadwick can win the war is to break all the rules. Doan’s tale is populated by exaggerated characters—from Chadwick’s perpetually hungry best friend, Rory, to scarily smart Suva Singh, to burned-out science teacher Mr. Samson—and they sometimes possess more appeal than the hapless protagonist. Slapstick humor and a fast pace keep the story flowing, but the constant stream of humiliation inflicted upon Chadwick is more frustrating than funny, and his occasional victories aren’t fulfilling enough to achieve a satisfying balance. The underlying message, that it’s better to admit wrongdoing and apologize early, is a mature one; the implicit idea that warring with a bully is futile has a realistic sting as well. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kathryn Green, Kathryn Green Literary Agency.