2000s YA Books About Prank Wars

In honor of April Fool’s, here’s a list of 2000s YA Books About Prank Wars. Let the pranking begin!

To me, pranks are good-natured fun, while hazing falls more into the bullying end of the spectrum. Some of the books on my list sort of teeter on that line — I’m eager to hear what you think!! At the end of the post is some more information on the dangers of hazing.

I think I’ve loved stories about pranks ever since I saw The Parent Trap.

2000s YA Books About Prank Wars

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by e. lockhart

I love this book so much! Frankie, a student at a snooty prep school, finds out that her boyfriend is a member of all-male secret society called the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. She’s ticked off, and starts tricking the Bassets into planning and carrying out an elaborate series of pranks.  Highly recommended!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles leaves Florida for boarding school (do I see a prank pattern here?) in Alabama and meets The Colonel (his roommate) and a wild, beautiful girl named Alaska. This is an amazing book about friendship and death and guilt — but pranks also play a large role in it. 

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Lissa is a popular cheerleader dating a football player. When the boys at her school become completely distracted by a football vs. soccer rivalry, Lissa gets all the girlfriends together to stage a sex strike. Until the boys agree to get along with each other, the girls will refuse to .. well, you get the idea. Though this book’s plot — based on Lysistrata by Aristophenes — sometimes creaks a bit under the effort of making the retelling work, I love the way this author is so open about the subject of sex — namely the choices that young girls make about sex and how these affect their self-image and relationships.

Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington

Sidney and Asher are always being pushed together by their families, and have decided to cope with the situation by spending their shared summers on the lake finding the ultimate ways to prank each other. But their plans are thrown in sudden jeopardy when their feud causes their families to be kicked out of their beloved lake houses. Asher has a proposition for her: join forces for one last summer of epic pranks, against a shared enemy—the woman who kicked them out. 

2020s Books about Prank Wars

What Happens After Midnight by K.L. Walther

Goody Two Shoes Lily Hopper is worried that she’s missed out on the fun of high school. So she’s secretly thrilled to receive an anonymous note inviting her to join a group of seniors executing the end-of-year prank, Lily sees her chance. But then Lily realizes the Jester is none other than Taggart Swell, her ex- boyfriend. And that his plan to steal the seniors’ yearbooks targets Lily’s prom date. As the group of pranksters hide cryptic clues, new sparks fly between Lily and Tag. But old hurts and painful secrets refuse to be ignored.

This May End Badly by Samantha Markham

Pranking genius Doe and her fellow Weston School girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy during their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that Weston School will merge with Winfield the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos. As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for a Winfield boy. But soon Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough

Harriet is the perfect student. Will is a troublemaker. When their swim coach’s inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, the unlikely duo reluctantly team up to expose his misdeeds, pulling provocative pranks and creating the instantly legendary Amelia Westlake – an imaginary student who helps right the many wrongs of their privileged institution. But as tensions burn throughout their school, how long can they keep their secret? How far will they go to make a difference? And when will they realize they’re falling for each other?

2000s YA Books About Bullying and Hazing

While these books are fiction, hazing in real life is not okay. It’s scary and dangerous. Here are some books about when pranks cross the line into hazing:

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Regina is one of the popular girls at school — until the boyfriend of Queen Bee Kara forces himself on Regina at a party. The rumor mill spins, and soon Kara is convinced that Regina tried to poach her guy. After that, Regina’s life at school is a nightmare — she’s relentlessly bullied and hazed.  The only person at school who will talk to her is Michael, an outcast whom Regina helped ostracize in the past. A gripping and powerful book.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

This book begins with a prank gone wrong — Natalie and her boyfriend Mike decide to play a prank on the guy they worry will win Palmetto Prince instead of Mike. When things spiral out of control, this becomes a suspenseful tale of blackmail and buried secrets.  

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I’d argue that the Dauntless initiation is definitely a hazing of sorts. What do you think?

Have you read any of these? Do you have any prank or hazing books to add to my list??