Book: Merits of Mischief: The Bad Apple
Author: T.R. Burns
Publisher: Aladdin
Pages: 352
Grade Level: 4th and up
Rating: 3 Stars
In the first book of the Merits
of Mischief series, Seamus Hinkle, a 12 year old kills his substitute
teacher and is sent to Kilter Academy, what his parents believe is a reform
school for troubled youth. However, Seamus quickly realizes that Kilter is a
school where the more trouble you make the better student you are considered to
be. Gold stars are viewed negatively, and the children of the school try to
cause as much difficulty for their teachers as they possibly can. All Seamus
wants to do is to improve his ways and go back home, but he soon realizes his
mishaps make him a brilliant troublemaker. What is a boy to do?
What greater premise for a story than a boy who gets in trouble at
school get sent to a school for troublemakers where the bigger the mess you
make the better your student ranking? While I loved the basis of this book, I thought
it had a strong beginning and ending with a very monotonous middle. I found some
of Seamus’ classmates uninteresting and at points the story became dull. The plot
picked up at the very end with the perfect cliffhanger for the second book in
this series. Any child who has ever been reprimanded by a teacher in a
classroom will be able to appreciate the story. I would add it to a library collection but I do
not think this book was particularly well written and hope the sequel is better
than The Bad Apple.
