In No More Pranks by Monique Polak, Pete plays a whopper of a prank on his vice-principal. This earns him a two-fold punishment: he is suspended from school and his parents ship him to Tadoussac to work in his uncle’s whale watching business. In an ironic turn of events, Pete must pull off a high-risk prank to bring to justice a man whose actions are harming whales.

Polak conveys the message that questionable “talents” can be employed to help animals. Her research on whales lends the book authenticity while her descriptions of them and their natural environment could well entice readers to visit Quebec’s North Shore, the novel’s setting. This is the author’s first contribution to the Orca Soundings line of books. This series, published by Orca Book Publishers, is geared to adolescent “reluctant readers.” mRb