The Prank List (Dirt Diary Series #2)

by Anna Staniszewski

Overview

The second book in Anna Staniszewski's award-winning middle school book series: The Dirt Diaries!

A prank-filled plan means Rachel and friends will have to band together and save the family business before it's too late!

Rachel Lee never thought she'd fight for the right to clean toilets. But when a rival cleaning business starts stealing her mom's clients, Rachel will do whatever it takes to save herself the horror of moving to Connecticut—which would mean giving up her almost, sort of boyfriend, her fantastic new pastry classes, and her best friend Marisol.

Operation Save Mom's Cleaning Business is a go!

But when the series of pranks Rachel and her BFF cook up to take down the competition totally backfires, Rachel worries that her recipe for success is a dud. You know what they say—if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen...

"Holy friend onion rings! Fun from beginning to end."—Wendy Mass, bestselling author of 11 Birthdays and The Candymakers on The Dirt Diary

The Dirt Diaries Series is the perfect…

• book series for girls aged 9-12
• middle school girl book
• diary book series for girls
• preteen gift for girls

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402286391
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Series:	Dirt Diary Series , #2
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	504,579
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Anna Staniszewski lives outside of Boston with her husband and an adorably crazy dog. She was named the Boston Public Library's 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and not cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Staniszewski keeps the focus on comedy…but she lets her story become a bit more serious with the pranks Rachel plays. Clearly, Rachel will learn a few life lessons as she stumbles through her summer, but they go down easy in this narrative peppered with such amusing catchphrases as "Oh my goldfish" and "What the Shrek?" Gentle fun laced with equally gentle wisdom." — Kirkus Reviews

"Tween readers who find Rachel endearing will find a fast-paced comedy of errors." — School Library Journal

"This new middle grade novel is a true treat to read, comparable to a delicious sweet cupcake, and makes you smile at many moments." — Marjolein Reads

"A really fun, sweet and fast paced book with a nice message. It’s suitable for young readers in their early teens." — The Sweetest Reads

"The Prank List hooks readers with snappy dialogue from the beginning... Rachel is a likable character for middle school readers, who will relate to her problems..." — VOYA

"A refreshingly different take on the preteen, a healthy one at that, and perhaps even a more realistic one... Anna Staniszewski has a good understanding of the age group, neither romanticizing them nor demeaning them." — Seattle PI

"[Anna Staniszewski’s] voice is spot-on. Hilarious, charming, moving, wacky, smart. " — Janet Fox, Through the Wardrobe

"Anna’s writing style is so much fun to read. It’s a fluid and perfectly paced tale with a blend of funny and serious content. This is a great series that I highly recommend for young teens! " — My Book Addiction

From the Publisher

06/01/2014
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

School Library Journal

2014-05-19
Almost-a-ninth-grader Rachel sees herself as a future pastry chef, but when she takes a baking class, she just can't get it right.Even worse, Rachel's mom has a new house-cleaning business that isn't going well since Rachel was falsely accused of stealing, and now they've got competition. If their business does not succeed, Rachel and her mom may have to sell their home and move away from Rachel's friends. Romance also hovers on the edge for Rachel. She isn't sure if she's Evan's official girlfriend or not, as he's never asked her. However, Evan does appear to be jealous of Whit, a boy in Rachel's cooking class, although Rachel keeps telling Evan that she doesn't like Whit. Even with all those problems, Rachel determines to fight back against the rival Ladybug Cleaners, concocting pranks to drive them away, but everything she does seems to backfire. Staniszewski keeps the focus on comedy with the cooking-class scenes (Rachel is an overconfident baker), but she lets her story become a bit more serious with the pranks Rachel plays. Clearly, Rachel will learn a few life lessons as she stumbles through her summer, but they go down easy in this narrative peppered with such amusing catchphrases as "Oh my goldfish" and "What the Shrek?"Gentle fun laced with equally gentle wisdom. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews