It started with words. Or maybe with the missing toaster pastry. But when Reese Tapper called his twin sister, Claudia, "Princess Farts-a-Lot" in front of the whole sixth grade, the war was on. Through oral-history interviews, text messages, e-mails, chat-room comments, photographs, and margin notes, Claudia documents the history of the Tapper twins' war. The twins live in a New York City apartment, their busy parents come across as somewhat clueless, and their after-school sitter is not effective in the substitute parenting department. The escalation from a rotting fish in Reese's book bag to social catastrophe and digital annihilation is inexorable d quite believable. Entertained readers may just get the message, with Claudia concluding, "There are definitely a lot of very important lessons to be learned from The War." Indeed, she discovers that war "messes with your head," and she ends up regretting the whole thing. 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.

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

The war started in the Culvert Prep cafeteria, where a bad smell appeared. Reese blamed the foul odor on his twin sister, Claudia, dubbing her "Princess Farts-A-Lot" in front of the entire sixth grade, a title that Claudia felt would leave her emotionally scarred forever. Claudia immediately decided to get even and began plotting Reese's downfall. The first step was slipping a raw fish into the side pocket of his backpack along with his shin guards. The fish stank up the hall closet and the family coats, but the smell never really attached itself to Reese, as Claudia had hoped, and only resulted in the demise of both the backpack and the shin guards at the hand of Mrs. Templeman when Reese arrived at his friend's house for a sleepover. Things just went downhill from there. When Claudia finally hits Reese where it really hurts by rendering him powerless at his favorite video game, she ends up tangled in her own web of deceit before the war is over.The author's premise, a book that Claudia wrote to explain and justify her actions, includes narratives, pictures, and her parents' text messages to show the progression of the action. Reese and Claudia's bickering continues through most of the book, with occasional tidbits from their friends. The banter provides an authentic and funny look at sibling rivalry. While sixth graders will enjoy this novel, it might be best labeled as juvenile fiction and would find a ready audience.Nancy K. Wallace.