If You Like .. Books About Pranks and Hazing

In honor of April Fool's Day, Reclusive Bilbiophile's "If You Like" theme for the week is: books about pranks and hazing.

I'm going to separate the two. 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.

Here are a few of my favorite books that incorporate pranks:

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.

Some books about bullying and 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??

While these books are fiction, hazing in real life is not okay. It's scary and dangerous. Click on this graphic to be taken to an article at educationnews.org about the dangers of hazing. Thanks to Allison Morris for contacting me about the article and the graphic!