Baker handles this dynamic well, in a way that had me rooting for both characters in the end. Although Hector feels excluded, Ben refuses to tell him the real reason he is hanging out with the new group, as Hector is related to the school’s strict principal and has been known to tattle in the past. It was also nice that there were multiple POC in the club! As the book goes on and Ben becomes closer to his new friends, he begins to drift away from his best friend, Hector. The members all have distinctly unique personalities, and I liked watching Ben slowly open up to the group, as the dynamic tipped from being in a formal prank club to being actual friends. (Prank and Trickster Association) will keep them flipping the pages. While readers might crack open the book for the prank-loving fun, the interactions between the members of the P.T.A.
The plot of the book stays close to the premise-the focus is on the pranks the kids pull (everything from dressing up in animal costumes to scare people at the zoo to putting dry ice in the locker rooms), which are definitely more creative than anything I would have been able to come up with. This book was so fun! That’s honestly the first thing that springs to my mind when trying to describe Pickle. But with the principal cracking down on the anonymous pranksters, it’s only a matter of time before someone finds out the truth.
Under the guise of a pickle-making club, the kids pull off increasingly outlandish exploits. He recruits some of the most worthy pranksters around, including Frank, who’s a computer whiz Oliver, who’s good at spinning stories Bean, who wasn’t technically invited but who has parents with a costume shop (excellent for pranks) and, eventually, the new girl at school, Sienna. The book is told from the point of view of sixth grader Ben Diaz, who, after pulling off an outlandish prank involving a lot of ball-pit balls, decides to form a secret prank club at his school. For those in a similar boat, Kim Baker’s middle-grade book, Pickle, will definitely get the inspiration churning. Back in high school, it thrilled me to watch the creativity other students displayed during Senior Week (from blasting that “Peanut Butter Jelly” song on the speakers to having a professional band follow around the principal), so it’s not that I ever disapproved of a good prank, it’s more that I just never knew where to start. I’ve never been great at coming up with prank ideas.
Highlights: A book all about praaaaanks, and a real “secret” website
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