The Boys Start the War

Written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Book #1 in the Boy/Girl Battle series

Rival kids wage prank war, but who will outsmart whom?

4.0 Goodreads · 1,901 ratings

144 pages· 23,236 words· Est. 3 hour read· 740L

$7.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

When the Malloy sisters move in, the Hatford brothers launch a prank war to drive them away. But Caroline and her sisters prove formidable opponents. As pranks escalate, alliances shift, and someone is taken prisoner, the stakes rise. Will the Malloys retreat, or will the Hatfords face defeat? Dive into this lively battle of wits and cheer for your favorite side in a tale of unexpected friendships and clever schemes.

From the publisher

Just when the Hatford brothers were expecting three boys to move into the house across the river, where their best friends, the Bensons, used to live, the Malloys arrive instead. Wally and his brothers decide to make Caroline and her sisters so miserable that they’ll want to go back to Ohio, but they haven’t counted on the ingenuity of the girls. From dead fish to dead bodies, floating cakes to floating heads, the pranks and tricks continue–first by the boys, then the girls–until someone is taken prisoner! Will the Malloys leave West Virginia? Will the Bensons come back? Trust the four Hatford boys and the three Malloy girls to do anything to get one up on each other in this fun-filled war of the wits. Readers will cheer for their favorites in this lively story of two feuding families written by Newbery Medal winner Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Watch for the continuing chronicles of the Hatfords and the Malloys in The Girls Get Even.

At a glance