Description
A whoopee cushion turns deadly in this new middle-grade mystery from acclaimed author Vicki Grant.
The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke shop.
But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She’s an aspiring scientist. The cheap laughs at Pranks-A-Million don’t interest her – but the science behind the pranks does. After all, even edible snot and stink bombs rely on chemical reactions.
Manya and her best friend, Isaac, are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science. The after-school class is everything they’ve ever dreamed of: the science is fascinating, their teacher is supersmart, and none of the experiments he gives them is designed to stink, explode, or embarrass anyone.
Things are looking up until one day Manya comes back from Serious Science to find two police officers in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks-A-Million burned off a customer’s eyebrows. Later, one of their Toe Jam Donuts makes someone sick. Just a couple of pranks gone wrong? Maybe. But when a whoopee cushion kills an innocent person, the joke is over. The cops swoop in and arrest Manya’s parents for murder.
It's up to Manya now to prove their innocence. Suddenly, the science behind all those embarrassing pranks becomes very important indeed.
The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke shop.
But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She’s an aspiring scientist. The cheap laughs at Pranks-A-Million don’t interest her – but the science behind the pranks does. After all, even edible snot and stink bombs rely on chemical reactions.
Manya and her best friend, Isaac, are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science. The after-school class is everything they’ve ever dreamed of: the science is fascinating, their teacher is supersmart, and none of the experiments he gives them is designed to stink, explode, or embarrass anyone.
Things are looking up until one day Manya comes back from Serious Science to find two police officers in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks-A-Million burned off a customer’s eyebrows. Later, one of their Toe Jam Donuts makes someone sick. Just a couple of pranks gone wrong? Maybe. But when a whoopee cushion kills an innocent person, the joke is over. The cops swoop in and arrest Manya’s parents for murder.
It's up to Manya now to prove their innocence. Suddenly, the science behind all those embarrassing pranks becomes very important indeed.
Author Bio
Vicki Grant has published fifteen critically acclaimed and award-winning novels in her native Canada. She is also an award-winning TV scriptwriter and advertising copywriter. Vicki lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Prizes
- Diamond Willow AwardNominated 2026
- Vermont Golden Dome Book AwardNominated 2027
- Silver Birch Award for FictionNominated 2026
- Maine Student Book AwardShort-listed 2027
Review Quotes
A 2026-2027 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Nominee
A 2026 Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Diamond Willow Award Nominee
Shortlisted for the 2026-2027 Maine Student Book Award, Grades 6-8
"The book opens with the plight of a kid with joke-shop parents and evolves into a cliff-hanger that hooks readers and keeps them engaged with short chapters and lots of gross-out prank shop item descriptions. The science woven into the plot is an interesting means of teaching some basic concepts, such as confirmation bias and chemical reactions, with a murder mystery/joke shop backdrop. . . . [A] short, humorous take on murder mysteries." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal
"[S]teady tension, high personal stakes, and uniquely rendered relationships drive the story forward as Grant explores one preteen’s complex feelings about her 'embarrassing' parents and their lives before her across bouncy first-person narration." —Publishers Weekly
"The economic reality of keeping a small, struggling business like Pranks-A-Million going grounds the story within the overall goofiness. . . . An enjoyably wacky and science-centered mystery." —Kirkus Reviews
A 2026 Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Diamond Willow Award Nominee
Shortlisted for the 2026-2027 Maine Student Book Award, Grades 6-8
"The book opens with the plight of a kid with joke-shop parents and evolves into a cliff-hanger that hooks readers and keeps them engaged with short chapters and lots of gross-out prank shop item descriptions. The science woven into the plot is an interesting means of teaching some basic concepts, such as confirmation bias and chemical reactions, with a murder mystery/joke shop backdrop. . . . [A] short, humorous take on murder mysteries." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal
"[S]teady tension, high personal stakes, and uniquely rendered relationships drive the story forward as Grant explores one preteen’s complex feelings about her 'embarrassing' parents and their lives before her across bouncy first-person narration." —Publishers Weekly
"The economic reality of keeping a small, struggling business like Pranks-A-Million going grounds the story within the overall goofiness. . . . An enjoyably wacky and science-centered mystery." —Kirkus Reviews
Biographical note
VICKI GRANT is the author of twenty-one books, including 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You, which has been translated into seventeen languages, and A Green Velvet Secret, which was selected as a 2024 White Raven notable book by the International Youth Library. Vicki lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.
