Here Comes Trouble by Kate Hattemer (review)

After his best friend moves away, Soren hopes that his cousin Flynn, coming from New York City to live with Soren's family in northern Minnesota, will fill that slot, but disappointment quickly sets in when the two sixth-graders don't seem to have much in common. Flynn enjoys artisanal teas and the Yankees, and he is immediately beloved by teachers and kids alike. Soren loves pranks. In fact, elaborate pranks—like hiding especially loud alarm clocks throughout the school and setting them all off at once during a schoolwide assembly—are a big part of how Soren, a middling student who doesn't always fit in, works through the emotional labor of losing a friend, feeling overshadowed by Flynn, and simply growing up. Regrettably, those emotional resonances remain under-explored throughout the slow-paced story, and when one of Soren's pranks seems to go too far, putting his little sister's pet pig in danger and costing Flynn a spelling bee, Soren's retirement is a reasonable response but the book never really delves into the prank's emotional impact. Still, a touching moment between Soren and his dad suggests that pranking may just be in the blood, as Soren's parents had bonded over painting #1 and #3 on two pigs, setting them loose, and watching as people searched frantically for a #2 that didn't exist. It's therefore likely that, as in Kim Baker's Pickle, the various pranks themselves—the planning, details, and collaborations—will win over some hijinks-inclined readers. WJ