Nothing But Trouble

by Jacqueline Davies

Odawahaka has always been too small for Maggie’s big scientific ideas. Between her stuck-in-a-rut mom, her grumpy grandpop, and the lifetime supply of sludgy soda in the fridge, it’s hard for Maggie to imagine a change. 

But when Lena moves in with her creative spirit and outrageous perspective, middle school takes off with a bang. Someone starts pulling the kind of pranks that send their rule-loving new principal into an uproar—complete with purple puffs of smoke, parachuting mice, and a scavenger hunt that leads to secret passageways. Suddenly the same-old football games, election for class president, and embarrassing stories feel almost exciting. And for the first time in her life, Maggie begins to wonder if there might be more to Odawahaka than she ever saw coming!

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Childrens, Young Adult, Friendship

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Jacqueline Davies is the author of both novels and picture books. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her three children.

Reviews

[W1nglockbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Alana "Loni" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ended a little too abruptly for me, but really liked it overall.

[Yewon kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have many connections with her.so I can understand easily. And it was fun.that the Little girl about my age, she got much trouble and she made like traps. It was fun to see that all the troubles.

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

داستان‌های نوجوانانه انگار همیشه باید یک بدبختی داشته باشد و اینجا هم همین‌طوری بود و شخصیت اول داستان پدرش را از دست داده انگار نمی‌شود در یک خانوادۀ معمولی داستان ساخت و حتماً «حداقل» یک چیز باید داغون باشد. بعد هم در مدرسه می‌چرخید که خب، داشت کلیشه‌های معمول از کله‌ام می‌ریخت بیرون که واقعاً در همان اول نویسنده کتاب را نجات داد. یک عالمه شلوغ‌بازی و بهم‌ریختگی در روز اول مدرسه که نمی‌دانیم کار کیه! و همیشه از این شروشور بازی‌ها خیلی خوشم می‌آید. از اینجا داستان کلیشه‌ای است و انگار داشتم یک فیلم مدرسه‌ای می‌دیدم ولی خب واقعاً خوش گذشت. هر بار که یک اتفاق باحال می‌افتاد واقعاً سر کیف می‌آمدم و چی بهتر از اینکه شخصیت اصلی یک هکر باشد تا یک نوجوان معمولی شبیه بیشتر داستان‌های دیگر. تا آخرش با ذوق خواندم و البته به عنوان یک معلم این ذوق بیشتر هم بود. یک سری بازی‌ها و نکات ریز و درشتی که باعث می‌شد یک به عنوان دانش‌آموز-معلم بیشتر کیف هم کنم. فقط حیف که یک‌هو دم‌دمای آخر شعاری شد و اگر از آن بخش بگذرم واقعاً تجربۀ کیفوری بود برای خواندن مخصوصاً که ژانر «مدرسه‌ای» برای همۀ ما یک تجربۀ مشترک است.

[Paddy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun and creative. At the start of the book, a young girl creates a hack at the start of the school year to be a welcome back to school surprise. When she gets to her classroom she meets another girl that loves some of the same things she does. But when they began doing hacks together, the principal gets really more mad. Eventually the kids start saying: “The mouse is in the house, the mouse is in the house.” Because the hacks are mouse related. When it comes time for student elections, she and the other girl say they want to do it but they might have made the wrong choice. Will
she get into trouble or will the principal become mad?

[Diane]

Fun! is how I would describe this book. The main character Maggie plans and executes awesome"hacks" or pranks on her 6th grade school mates. I can only dream about the smiles created.
Everyone should remember "Inside every large problem is a small problem waiting to get out"

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and fun book about friendship, family, belonging. Features endearing characters, enjoyable hijinks, and a strong female protagonist with a STEM mind (love seeing that!). My only complaint is that one of the main characters acts more like a 17-year-old than a sixth grader, which is hard to swallow (and there's a flat villain that's a caricature of an evil and abusive principal whom I also couldn't take seriously). Not sure how actual 6th graders would feel about it, as I doubt they can relate at all...I'll find out and update, as this is a Battle of the Books title this year. (I cried the end).

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 -- This book started out a bit slow for me, but as I read on, I laughed quite a bit. Lena and Maggie are clever and cheeky! This is a great middle grade read for those who wants a more quirky and silly reading experience and is definitely recommended!

[Cristi-Lael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out strong, but fizzled for me

[Cristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad story premise. I guess I didn’t love the delivery. It started out slowly and I just never really got invested in the characters.

[Bennett]

This book was about hacking!

[Montserrat L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Maggie and her big scientific ideas with Lena, her new best friend instead of Ally and Emely, Maggie was assigned to the table were Lena was so that is where she met her.

I liked that it has a good hook and writing I did not like how the story is organized.

This story made me feel like I was in it.

The ones that will like this book is the ones interested in school stories.

This book is like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A locker filled with tennis balls, ping pong balls falling on the principal's head during an assembly, mini purple explosions on the gym floor, and declarations of a mystery mouse as the culprit of these and many more pranks going on at Odawahaka Middle School, where sixth grade students are the only students. Have the students been forgotten, or is it true the town just doesn't have the money to house them anywhere else than this old building destined to be destroyed next year? One thing is for sure, and that is Maggie is tired of living in this tiny town where everyone knows your comings and goings, and wishes her mom would take them far away. But her mom has become as complacent as the town. When all the craziness starts happening at the school, Maggie and new friend Lena start to believe that big things can happen even in little old Oda M, but there's a new principal at the school, and he's bent on stopping all of the tomfoolery and chaos taking over the school.

I enjoyed this book, and think students will enjoy them, too, but there were many times where I felt like the level of the pranks being pulled were much more than 6th grade students could pull off, no matter how bright they were. I was glad the author addressed the question of where the money came from to pull all of these pranks off, but I just feel as though the students should have been a bit older.
Still, a good, fun book that I think students will enjoy.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I often find it nice to mix in reading a young adult or children's book between my preferred genres. Sometimes it works and other times you find a dud. Nothing but Trouble was more of a "meh" than anything.

In Nothing but Trouble there are two misfits who end up concocting schemes as a fun way to enjoy one of their final years in middle school. Both of the girls are creative and they find that their pranks at school are getting everyone talking and thinking. All wraps up in a nice little bow at the end.

This might have been more impressive (and blessedly shorter) as a picture book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a difficult time believing that the main characters were only in sixth grade. While I enjoyed the book, I kept wondering if this was realistic fiction or fantasy. These little girls seem to be waaaaay above the norm when it comes to physical strength and technological know-how. Will kids believe this story?

[Reader Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar idea to The Terrible Two, but The Terrible Two is better. This book has a lot of potential and is very good. I wish there were some background - what sort of pranks did Maggie used to do? Why is Lena interested in pranking? Where did Lena come from and why?

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about the friendship and cool prankster activities of two great female characters. There is a lot heart and a lot of fun in this book!

[Benji · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book Nothing But Trouble was a comedy written by Jacqueline Davies. This book was a bit hard to review. Mainly because it was hard to find the plot in the story but also because this book was longer than my other books I read. The story goes is that Maggie lives in a small casual town named Odawahaka. The only exception is Maggie herself likes to cause trouble all over town. Then a new girl named Lena moves in who is a bigger prankster then Maggie. After the principal decides to resign from Oda M (the town’s middle school) the two girls think it’s time for them to stop doing what they like doing, pulling pranks. This time the author sorts chapters very well by numbering them, make a little drawing for every chapter, and of course starts one on a new page! Just the way it should be! Speaking of making a little drawing, while there is no pictures each page number has a neat little drawing of a ball bouncing off the floor which is always nice to see in a book. If there is one thing I can criticize, it’s the lack of cinematic like effect. These include italics different fonts etc. “My Fellow Oda Mice I have lived in the walls of this school for many years, ...and after this year Oda M will be no more. (231) When the book is trying to show the reader an important event like this especially with a different character, it can leave the read off track later on but that’s just my opinion. If I had to say something, this was the best book I have read so far, and I hope That Davies can make even greater books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing But Trouble is nothing but fun. Truly! Admittedly, I often do judge a book but its cover. Noting that author Jacqueline Davies had previously penned the Lemonade War series my snobbish side came out in full force. Passing Lemonade Mouth (aka Puckered Lips?) on the shelves I didn't even give it a second glance. Fortunately, I opted to give Nothing But Trouble a go and was richly rewarded.
Charming, relatable main characters, Maggie and Lena, take on middle school through a series of highly sophisticated "hacks" leaving the whole school on its toes. Wholesome but not in a overly saccharine Brady Bunch way. As an added bonus there is quite a bit of science involved in their clever schemes which certainly awakened my interests in a subject I've sometimes written off as dull.
Would make a terrific choice for girls not of the fantasy/sci-fi ilk but not yet gearing up for pre-teen romance either. Laws of physics explained in an engaging manner at the back of the book.
I just may be puckering up for some Lemonade after all.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5- I loved the small-town setting of this book. Coming from a small town myself, I could definitely relate. The hacks and the whole school atmosphere, brilliant! And Maggie's friendship with Lena is a match made in heaven (it was almost a little too perfect). The struggles they face with friendships and families felt real (it made me a little mad Maggie let go of her two original best friends so easily).

I understand that you have to suspend reality a bit in a book like this, but something about this book... whether it was the hacks or the perfect friendship or the mostly oblivious adults... something made this book a bit too unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The ending gives the appearance of having everything wrapped up, but I have a feeling there will be a sequel... Lena has to tell us the secret about her parents and Maggie's grandpa's auto parts business still isn't fully resolved .

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is good so far, it is about a girl named Maggie that lives in a little place called Odawahaka. Maggie lives with her grandfather and loves anything science. There is a new principal at the school, and he is a grumpy one. In the beginning, it is the first day of school for Maggie and shes having trouble talking to her friends, who are closer to each other than her. When Maggie hides in a bush to avoid them, she meets a new girl named Lena. When she gets to school there is tennis balls and cheese everywhere. Someone pranked the middle school. Then, everyone gets their homeroom, and Maggie is in the same homeroom as the new girl. She is also assigned to the same table with her at lunch. The two end up becoming really good friends and come up with hilarious pranks and science experiments together. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves DCF books. This is a good one!

[Dover Free Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tamara Read this Book and Wrote this Review.....This story by Jacqueline Davies is a upper elementary/middle school story of a developing friendship between two girls in a small town setting. The main character lives in a single parent home with her elderly ailing grandfather and spends her time devising elaborate pranks to play on the mean and stupid school principal. Enter the new girl in town, less of an inventor and mechanical engineer, she is artistic and worldly wiser, though she is often left alone by her artistic parents as they pursue their own careers. The story is a veritable "turn the school upside down" by pranking to overthrow the dictatorial school principal. This book has been nominated by the Council for the Vermont's Children's Choice Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and is recommended by that group for children across Vermont schools and libraries.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie is bummed. Bummed about her boring town. Bummed about her complacent mom and grumpy grandfather. Kind of bummed that she and Kayla don't have much in common anymore. All she has is the "hacking" mentality she inherited from her deceased father, an M.I.T. graduate. When she pulls one of her hacks (aka pranks) on the first day of school, new girl Lena takes notice. Maggie's scientific brain and Lena's artistic brain make a perfect combination to pull off some pretty awesome pranks at her middle school. It's driving the new principal to the brink of insanity and their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Dornbusch, insists "I don't care," in a repetitive way that reminds me of the "Anyone. Anyone." teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day off.

Nothing profound to make this book a standout, but might appeal to rowdy girls who are always looking to spice things up.

[Judi Paradis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie is a brilliant hacker, just like her Dad. But she never met him, as he died before she was born. She spends lots of time planning and executing astonishing hacks at her middle school, and funds them by selling auto parts her seriously disabled grandfather has stored in the basement. Her mom appears to be a functional alcoholic, who isn't around too much. So when artsy Lena moves to their teeny town and figures out easily what Maggie is up to, she has a comrade in arms for the first time ever. While some of this plot is not especially plausible, it is well executed. Most kids will find this an engaging read, and it is nice to see a book celebrate fabulous nerd-dom, but also show that sometimes more than brains are needed to solve some problems.

[Rikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book about a girl who loves to hack (in this case hacking basically means pranking). She's trying to have a connection with her father, who dies before she was born until a new girl moves in and changes everything about the way Maggie thinks.

Read alike - Secret Hum of a Daisy & Free Verse

Questions to ask students:
What was the big hack that the teacher has to help stop? Inflatable mouse on football field
How did the teacher stop the hack? She ran into the field
How does Maggie know her dad was a hacker? His journal/ handbook
What does the teacher keep saying? I don't care!
What does Maggie sell that belongs to her grandfather? Old car parts
What hack does Maggie's mom pull on her? Wallpaper her door

[Kerri Quintero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl named Maggie who “hacks” better known(but don’t tell Maggie!) as pranks. She meets a new girl in town named Lena who also enjoys the thrill of hacking, they team up to hack the school with different things such as tennis balls in lockers, ping pong balls in the gymnasium, balloons from the ceiling and they go out with a “bang” at the end of the football season as the wildcats go undefeated in the season. Their main character is a mouse… who is involved in all of their hacks. At the end of the book, Lena and Maggie’s mom team up to hack Maggie. She comes home to find her room hacked. All along, she thought her mom didn’t care about her, but she found out that she really did. Lena and Maggie became the best of friends over a small prank that started it all. Cute, light hearted book

[Marlena Nagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great and easy book to read. It was small (I finished it in one short morning) and had great details and interesting characters. Even the backstory of Maggie, the mail character, was extremely interesting, and could be a story of its own! The author goes out of her way to make sure the characters aren't flat and have lots of both good and bad experiences to level them out. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes both realistic fiction and characters with a sense of adventure and intelligence.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. After loving The Lemonade Wars series, I wanted to read another book by the author. This one seemed to be written for upper elementary as the characters are slightly older (6th grade vs. 4th grade in TLW). Overall a fun book, great for kids who feel like they are different. A little on the edge of believability, but not too far. The ending was fell a little short, otherwise it would have been a 4 star read.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this. I kept waiting for a redeeming feature... like she came to some conclusion that what she was doing was wrong, that her mom realized her child (and her) needed help, that her grandfather was lonely, that she was selfish, just so much... but no lesson was learned. there was no closure. The characters were just shallow. I've liked other books by this author, but this was just disappointing.

[Charlie Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first picked this up and began to read I was afraid it was going to be another middle-school potboiler. *sigh of relief* Not so. It rapidly develops its own individual character, and while the two main characters aren't all that realistic, they make an entertaining duo, and their school year adventures entertain the reader.