The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other)

This book was so much fun! Claudia’s twin brother, Reese, embarrassed her at school in the lunch room in front of their entire class. Claudia decides she needs to humiliate Reese the same way he humiliated her. Thus begins the war: there’s some stinky fish, an embarrassing music video, crazy haircuts and an online trouncing. The book is told from Claudia’s point of view but as a series of interviews she conducts with her brother, her friends and her babysitter. Also mixed in are photos, screenshots of online chats and text messages between her parents.

Rodkey perfectly captures that age where kids are starting to come into themselves. That age where we have first crushes, where what other people think is so important, where an show more embarrassing incident can either crush you or make you stronger, and the most responsibility we have is for our homework and the people we control in a video game. At the same time, he captures the mannerisms, speech and slang of this age group perfectly. Claudia and Reese could absolutely jump off the page and fit right in at my son’s school. They were authentic and funny and sounded and acted like kids without the author talking down to his audience.

The plot is funny and engaging and brought back memories of tiffs between my brothers. While they never put dead fish in each other’s bags, and online games like Meta World weren’t around yet, the idea is the same and I was somewhat nostalgic while reading. Kids will find the pranks hilarious. As a parent, the snippets of text message between the Tapper parents had me rolling. Like many parents, they want to be involved but are really rather clueless despite their best efforts.

The format of the book lends itself well to the MG reading group. The pictures and screen shots add a lot of humor but also break up the story into pieces which will keep kids interested. This book will have wide appeal – both girls and boys will find characters to identify with. It’s definitely not a “girly” book even though the account of the events is being compiled by Claudia. It will also appeal to both avid and reluctant readers. The format lends itself well to reluctant readers because the pictures and screen shots add a lot of humor and also break up the story into pieces which will keep kids interested. Stronger readers won’t be disappointed by the strong characters, great dialogue and quick pace.

I have a quick side note about age. The twins in the books are 12 years old. The book is listed on some sites as being for ages 8 and up. My son is 8 and while there’s nothing inappropriate in the book, it was a little bit above is reading level. He could read it but some of the nuance and humor was lost on him. Some very mature 8 year old readers may appreciate this more than my son. He enjoyed it but not, I suspect, as much as slightly older kids will.

Overall, I really loved this book. I was thoroughly entertained. It was funny and made me a little bit nostalgic. There are some sweet moments at the end between Claudia and Reese that show how siblings can love each other even when they’re so different and even after they make mistakes. There are also some great messages here. Cyberbullying is addressed without preaching or beating you over the head. There are also nice lessons about how doing something not-so-nice can sometimes backfire, and about how, despite it all, the bond between siblings can be an amazing thing. show less

I picked up this book for my nephews because I thought they may like it. I was not familiar with the author's name until I read some of his credits as a screenwriter for films like Daddy Day Care and RV. Two of my favorite comedic films to watch. So if you are familiar with these films then you can expect that this same sense of humor would be infused in this book. Which it was. I could not stop laughing at the antics and bickering between Claudia and Reese.

At first I was not sure if I would like the interview format of this book but it worked perfectly for this story. Besides being funny it also had whimsy and sarcasm but in a good way for the younger readers to enjoy as well. I say this because readers of all ages will like this show more book. Me and my sister used to bicker and fight too but we had nothing on the Tapper Twins. There is so much fun to be found in this book that just like me you will find yourself lost for track of time. This was a quick read. show less

12-year-old twins, Claudia and Reese, are at war, with each other. For the record- Claudia is making an oral history (audiobook memory) of it. She wants all the facts laid out, so in the future people will see that she wasn’t wrong for the things she did during “the war”. Of course, there's a dispute over who started the war. But Claudia knows it was Reese when he embarrassed her in front of the whole sixth grade during lunch. Reese didn’t think what he did was a big deal; it was funny! Either way- the war was on, and these two siblings would go to great heights to get back at each other. As the pranks escalated, Claudia and Reese had to figure out new ways to try to embarrass the other person. After Reese and his friend show more humiliate Claudia beyond her wildest dreams, she knows she has to destroy them. Is there any way she can use her brother’s love of online video games to ruin his life? Claudia is determined to find out. Who was to blame for the start of the war? Is it right to try to get back at your sibling, and how far is too far? Is there anything their parents can do to stop this war? Will it end before things get too out of control? You'll have to read this funny book to find out!

The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey was a book I didn’t know much about when I saw it at the library. The format was unique, and I loved hearing from all the people who played a role in the war, like Claudia and Reese's parents, their babysitter, their friends, and of course the twins themselves. The story is told through texts, video game chat logs, screenshots, and narration. Reese and Claudia are an interesting pair of twins because they're different from each other. I like that Reese is more relaxed, and Claudia is certainly driven. As the pranks got out of control I worried a bit about how everything would turn out. The characters have great voice and their antics will make you laugh. As for who started the war (or who won it)- I think it will be up for each reader to determine. I would recommend this book to anyone in fourth grade and up who is looking for a fast and funny read. I hear there are more books in the series, so I wonder what else Claudia and Reese will be up to! show less

This book is a middle reader book, but it is charming and funny enough for anyone to enjoy. I would be MOST enthusiastic to recommend it to a reluctant middle reader, because the writing is simple varied (sometimes in texts, sometimes on message boards, sometimes pure dialog) and the story moves quickly. But it is so cleverly written, and the characters are so likable while being so mischievous, that I think almost anyone would enjoy this book.

I have a confession. I'm not a section of the target readers which would be "tweens." I have another confession, I loved the book! It describes the angst of sixth graders perfectly and it was a real learning experience. If you're a tween you'll be able to relate to it and if you're not you can learn a lot particularly about social networking and video games. So, either way it's great.

THE TAPPER TWINS GO TO WAR (WITH EACH OTHER) by Geoff Rodkey is the first in a humorous middle grades series focusing on 12-year-old twins Claudia and Reese.

This silly, fast-paced story documents an epic sibling battle that begins when Reese calls Claudia “Princess Farts-A-Lot” in the middle of the school cafeteria. The war quickly escalates as Claudia retaliates with a dead fish in Reese’s backpack. Before long the battle moves to cyberspace and the world of MetaWorld.

Told as an oral history project, the Rodkey uses transcribed oral interviews, text messages, and chat logs to tell the story. Labelled drawings, maps, screen captures, and photographs are woven throughout the narrative providing additional evidence in the ongoing show more conflict.

Tween readers will enjoy the sibling banter and references to MetaWorld aka Minecraft and other popular online environments. Because Rodkey invents the social media service names like ClickChat, the books should remain more timeless than some others.

Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and other satirical realistic fiction novels will enjoy this new addition to the rapidly growing tween humor collection. Keep your eye out for the second book in the series The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York coming in Fall 2015.

To learn more about the series and the characters, go to http://www.thetappertwins.com/. There’s even an Instagram photo blog featuring photos by the twins.

Published by Little, Brown: Hachette Book Group on April 7, 2015. show less

I Included this book, one of the nutmegs, because it represents a useful exercise in literacy- that is reading stories told in non-traditional ways. It has useful context clues and such that tell more of the story than is directly told to the reader, by using these clues even young students can piece together the subtext to expand the story, these skills are essential to the ability to interpret and analyze more subtle works.