Prank wars: Level up by Louise Park & Mo Johnson. Illus. by Jules Faber

For three generations the Vann-Wong family have been in conflict with their nemesis, the Cruelly family. In this, the second book of the Prank Wars series, we see Hannah and Jake develop their shape-shifting and inventions to counteract another series of pranks by the Cruelly family. The first of the Cruelly pranks nearly destroys Hannah’s birthday party and the second is an attack on a lovely family picnic after the Science Fair. Can Hannah and Jake use all their ‘magical’ espionage powers to turn the Cruelly bullies from their destructive path? 

Hannah and Jake are both pre-teen characters in a loving family who are still investigating their rise in their strange talents and power within Wong Inc, and together with their side-kick dog Ziggy (who is also a shape-shifter), they must use a number of strange strategies to overcome the bullies. There is a hint of the development of maturity in the characters, but mostly this is just a wacky story with impossible inventions and silly, icky or smelly tricks and troubles to overcome. This is seldom logically possible, but it is not pretending to be anything other than light-hearted entertainment. It is almost cartoon-like in its storytelling and the illustrations by Faber reflect this (with the addition of onomatopoeia words and some speech bubbles). This is the kind of book for readers aged 8-10 who love the bizarre and humour mixed together with the impossible, but not for those ready for more cerebral literature!

Themes: Spying, Pranks, Tricks, Shape-shifting.

Carolyn Hull