The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other)

Starred review from February 2, 2015
Even the trigger for this “war” between two New York City twins is up for debate, because 12-year-olds Claudia and Reese Tapper can’t agree on anything. But after Reese accuses Claudia of farting in the crowded sixth-grade cafeteria for all to hear, including Claudia’s (shh, don’t tell) crush, she is out for revenge. After a few amusing false starts, such as hiding a dead fish in Reese’s backpack (he doesn’t really notice the smell), Claudia realizes that she needs to hit Reese where it hurts: the empire he’s built in his beloved, Minecraft-esque online game. Constructed through photos, text messages, interviews transcripts, screenshots, and more, the book is conceived as an oral history, and the documentary format allows the Tapper twins, their parents, friends, and private-school setting to spring to life. Rodkey (the Chronicles of Egg series) clearly knows his audience, as well as the love that (usually) hides underneath sibling warfare. The clear-cut winners are readers of this uproarious series opener, which is packed with both laugh-out-loud moments and heart. Ages 8–12. Agent: Josh Getzler, Hannigan Salky Getzler.

January 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-What's wrong with a little pranking among siblings? Things couldn't possibly escalate, could they? Twelve-year-old twins Claudia and Reese Tapper live on the Upper West Side of New York City with their rather clueless, professional parents and a nice but also clueless nanny. In an effort to examine the events that led up to a full-scale war between the twins, Claudia decides to interview the combatants as well as a variety of allies and enemies, bystanders, and parents. The result is this "oral" history transcript complete with text messages, photographs, emails, and gaming chat logs. Like any self-respecting millennial, Claudia consults Wikipedia about war and sees parallels between World War I and her battles with Reese. And to think it all started with a misappropriated toaster cake. While there is plenty of hilarity, readers will experience many little pings of recognition; the dynamics between siblings and schoolmates rings true. Rodkey keeps the action moving and relatively light while maintaining a laser-beamlike eye on the complicated bond of twins, navigating the minefield that is middle school without judgment or didacticism. Fragile egos, misunderstandings, and actions that seemed like a good idea at the time are laid out in an engaging format that will be appealing to tween digital natives and fans of "Origami Yoda" (Abrams) and "Charlie Joe Jackson" (Roaring Brook). A fine beginning to a funny, new middle grade series.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
An escalating sibling spat delivers "a buttload of life lessons" along with tears, terrible smells, a dorky mohawk and massive numbers of video game casualties.Following a one-sided introduction-"We are, unfortunately, twins. I am twelve years old. Reese is six"-sniffy Claudia and her brother offer somewhat different versions of how it begins: either at breakfast, when she eats his toaster pastry, or later, in the lunchroom of their upper East Side school, when he loudly dubs her "Princess Farts-A-Lot." Be that as it may, the getback pranks proceed from a rotting fish in Reese's backpack to a mortifying video posted on the local social network. They nearly get out of hand after Claudia's fixation on destroying the properties that Reese and an obnoxious friend have laboriously built in digital MetaWorld morphs into cyberbullying. Along the way, both sibs enlist allies, do things they come to regret and discover that revenge somehow isn't as satisfying as it should be. The narrative is framed as a transcript dictated by Claudia and other participants, with text-message exchanges between clueless parents as well as photos, screen shots and frequent interjections from Reese pasted in. Though Claudia's is the main voice, for all his immaturity, Reese comes off as the more likable, less-driven of the duo. This frothy family contretemps ends on a note of sincere reconciliation (once Reese's hair grows back out, anyway)-that's presumably upended in time for the sequel. (Fiction. 10-12)

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March 15, 2015
Grades 4-7 It started with words. Or maybe with the missing toaster pastry. But when Reese Tapper called his twin sister, Claudia, Princess Farts-a-Lot in front of the whole sixth grade, the war was on. Through oral-history interviews, text messages, e-mails, chat-room comments, photographs, and margin notes, Claudia documents the history of the Tapper twins' war. The twins live in a New York City apartment, their busy parents come across as somewhat clueless, and their after-school sitter is not effective in the substitute parenting department. The escalation from a rotting fish in Reese's book bag to social catastrophe and digital annihilation is inexorableand quite believable. Entertained readers may just get the message, with Claudia concluding, There are definitely a lot of very important lessons to be learned from The War. Indeed, she discovers that war messes with your head, and she ends up regretting the whole thing. Thanks to the inclusion of various points of view, Claudia's reasonably balanced narrative offers plenty of humorous insight, and occasional doodles and photos keep it peppy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
It all started with a toaster pastry. Twelve-year-old twins Claudia and Reese get into a comical battle that rages across home, their New York City prep school, and the internet. Commentary from the twins, texts between their parents, internet chat, game transcripts, photographs, and doodles will keep readers' attention, but it's the twins' authentic middle-school voices that carry the book.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)