Pranksters Unite! Miles and Niles are Back in The Terrible Two Get Worse

Miles Murphy and Niles Sparks are Ph.D.-level pranksters. The crafty main characters in Mac Barnett and Jory John’s bestselling Terrible Two series are the sole members of a secret society of pranksters. Together the Terrible Two have pulled off one prank after another at Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy, and the rewards are sweet: They’ve never been caught, they revel in the beauty of a well-crafted caper, and Principal Barkin turns a lovely shade of purple when he’s angry. But success may be fleeting for the daring duo. In The Terrible Two Get Worse, the second book in the series, out on January 12, the Terrible Two face their biggest obstacle yet: A fearsome new principal.
The meeting of prankster minds begins in The Terrible Two, when Miles and his mom move to Yawnee Valley, the cow capital of the United States (AKA Snoozeville). At his old school, Miles was famous for his wily capers, and he has every reason to believe he will quickly become a legend at Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy, too. Though he attempts to execute memorable pranks, Miles is repeatedly—and mysteriously—thwarted. His unlikely rival? Nerdy Niles Sparks—teacher’s pet, diorama enthusiast, and unabashed kiss-up. Miles must admit it: This is a brilliant disguise for a prankster.  After Miles realizes that it is better to work with his foe than against him, and because he has no other friends, he agrees to form an alliance with Niles. An oath and a secret handshake seal the deal, and the Terrible Two are in business.
Their goat, or deserving target, is one Mr. Barry Barkin, the fifth consecutive Barkin to serve as the school’s esteemed principal. The Barkins are a hardy breed, and they value power above all else. In The Terrible Two Get Worse, Principal Barkin finds himself in a state that has been both feared and reviled by generations of Barkins: powerlessness. Try as he might, Barry has failed to stop pranks from occurring at school for an entire year, causing Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy to become a laughing stock in the greater Yawnee area. This will never do. Barry’s iron-willed father, Former Principal Bertrand Barkin, promptly sees to it that is Barry is placed on involuntary leave, and Bertrand himself takes over as principal.

Bertrand Barkin’s re-ascension to power is a dark day for pranksters everywhere, not to mention for regular students, teachers, and anyone else in his midst. Mr. Barkin Sr. sucks the joy out of school by eliminating theme days, abolishing group projects, and insisting on long lectures in every class. Worst of all, he institutes a strict no-pranking policy. Initially, the high stakes make pranks all the more exciting for Miles and Niles, and they plan a stunt that will surely summon the wrath of Old Man Barkin. But it doesn’t. And neither does their next prank, nor the one after that. Bertrand Barkin, you see, seems to be immune to pranks, even when they involve stinky Limburger cheese or the world’s hottest chili pepper. Bertrand Barkin, like generations before him, is a prankster’s worst nightmare.
Months go by without a prank, and it seems that the Terrible Two will be forced to stop their shenanigans for good. Will Miles and Niles find the strength to dig deep into their prankster souls and stage a comeback, or will life in Yawnee Valley become one big yawn? It’s a puzzle that only the cleverest of pranksters can solve.
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