Many conflicts have silly beginnings that rapidly dissolve into the oft-mentioned "fog of war." Fortunately in the case of the 12-year-old Tapper twins, stubborn Claudia has constructed a documentary history that illuminates the escalating struggle between herself and her immature brother Reese. To get to the bottom of things, Claudia has clearly taken out all the stops: this "oral" history includes text messages, photos, screenshots, chat logs, online gaming digital art, and even messages between their strikingly oblivious parents. A lesson for feuding kids; a reminder to parents.
★ 02/02/2015
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. (Apr.)
01/01/2015
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
2014-12-22
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)
Praise for The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other):
A 2015 NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Book
*"This uproarious series opener... is packed with both laugh-out-loud moments and heart."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
*"Sibling rivalry is alive and well in this story.... [it] will cause readers to reflect on the highs and lows of everyday life."—School Library Connection, starred review
"Appealing to tween digital natives and fans of 'Origami Yoda'...and 'Charlie Joe Jackson'.... A fine beginning to a funny, new middle grade series.—School Library Journal
"Geoff Rodkey... has his pacing down to a science.... The voices of the two characters telling the story are absolutely pitch-perfect.... Kids are going to gobble up this new series."—San Francisco Book Review
"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."—Booklist
"An engaging mash-up of history, gaming, social media and family dynamics."—Shelf Awareness
"An authentic and funny look at sibling rivalry."—VOYA
A full-cast narration brings together the wild and crazy war between twins Claudia and Reese in this start to a new middle-grade series. Recounting the story as an oral history, Claudia uses text messages, recordings, interviews, and more to explain why she went to war with her brother. Offering a full cast to narrate truly gives the audiobook the sound of oral history as well as creating the opportunity to give each character a well-rounded and hilarious reading. From Claudia's insistence that the war has nothing to do with the cute new exchange student to Reese's obsession with his online video game world, each narrator makes his or her character stand out. The full cast also works well in narrating the text messages and notes from parents. A delightful listen is made even more so by a stellar cast. S.B.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine