The Prank

Night Fall ™ #12

by Ashley Rae Harris

Pranks make Jordan nervous. But when a group of popular kids invites her along on a series of practical jokes, she doesn't turn them down. As the pranks begin to go horribly wrong, Jordan and her crush, Charlie, work to discover the cause of the accidents. Is the spirit of a prank victim who died twenty years earlier to blame? And can Jordan stop the final prank, or will the haunting continue?

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Audiobook, Fiction, Teen, High School, Ghosts

120 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Ashley Rae Harris lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. She completed an M.A. from the University of Chicago, where her research focused on adolescents and Web culture. Ashley's work has appeared in VenusZine and Time Out Chicago. Though she has written several books for teen audiences, THE PRANK is her first horror novel.

Reviews

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this spooky one! It follows a very basic stereotypical high school cast but hey it was creepy.

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

that was...kind of dumb. it started off interesting, but the longer it went, the more it just went downhill

[A. Mickey Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning was so good, but the ending fell flat. It didn’t make much sense- I had to read that page a few times to figure out what happened. But the build up is amazing, it’s so suspenseful and cool. I just wished the ending and the reveal had been done differently.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was average. It felt very ya. Not the intensity I had hoped it would be. I wanted more from it,but overall the writing was fine. Good for a young reader.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... I didn’t hate this book.

It was just incredibly boring and predictable.

[Madison.02 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting all throughout it. I read the title thinking it was going to be like a not so scary horror book. Then I start reading it and it was not what I expected at all. I feel this book is very well written. I wish Ashley would have gone a little more in detail with the events that happened but overall it was a good book. I recommend this book to people that like twists and scares.

[Emily Carter-Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so mad right now!

I picked this up on my library's ebook app as a short audio book to listen to whilst I did some housework today. It was something I know I would have loved when I was younger (I was obsessed with Christopher Pike back then) so knew I would like this.

It started off so well. It was easy to follow even though I wasn't paying complete attention to it, thanks to my inquisitive daughter who got bored helping her dad make a drawer. It was quite fast paced, the characters were easy to understand and the narration was good.

Then, about 75% way through the story, it started to get a bit confusing. Up until this point I was pretty sure it was someone from school (hell, I thought it was Kit) doing all of the nasty stuff. Apart from 'wailing' there was nothing to suggest this was a ghost story. Then all of a sudden there is a ghost of a wronged former student who we don't actually ever come across.

The ending was bizarre and nothing was really answered. The fact that the characters had to ask what the hell just happened and then couldn't provide answers really says something. I think the last sentence was quite abrupt as well. ARGH.

[Aliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Prank by Ashley Rae Harris this book is about a girl named Jordan who hates school pranks. This story takes place in a high school named Bridgewater High. One day in Bridgewater High Jordan gets involved with a group of kids in a big school prank. Jordan does nothing to stop it because her crush Charlie is in the group. But when the prank was done something went terribly wrong and now Jordan has to fix it. Jordan finds out the prank went too far and know there’s a ghost haunting the school and will kill everyone. Now the whole school is depending on Jordan.
My favorite part of this book is when Charlie was trying to impress Jordan. It was my favorite because it was romantic. My least favorite part is when Jordan just went along with the plan; it was like she didn’t care so much. I would recommend this book because it teaches you to speak up and don’t listen to others if they are doing something wrong.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, like a dork, I went to my middle schools book fair hoping to find something decent to read without actually having to drive to a bookstore. I found this lovely little book on the main table and it quickly caught my attention. After sitting down and reading this book, I am baffled at how so much happened and was resolved in just a matter of 106 pages.

I'm very much contemplating using this book with my 8th graders in my forensic class and have them analyze and predict what they think will happen. I am very glad I took the time to go to the book fair and hope that some of my kiddos happened upon this book as well.

If you're looking for a short,but interesting read, this one is for you.

[Kayla-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story on 'The Prank' was interesting because there was a girl was nervous about pranks then this other girl who was bad got that girl into pranking people she didn't want to but that girl forced her into pranks. So Yeah I Really Love This Book. One more thing you should read this book because it will help you to not prank people in your life because it can cause a seriece problem like how a boy got hurt from falling off the roof. The girl got into pranking people cause i guess her friend got her into pranking. So the more she prank's the more of her friends get hurt. Already one of her friend died just from doing a prank. DON'T EVER PRANK ANYONE IN YOUR LIFE EVER.

[Janessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is amazing . There's this girl named Cindy and she had an Aunty that died in her mansion and so Cindy went her mansion and she tried to find who or what killed her. I really suggest this to my friends because it's spooky and the story get's more interesting as you read.

[Jakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great!! like Jordon was a high school girl that did pranks. There where this wrong pranks that gone wrong like the by Chris fell off the roof while he was helping for a prank on his friends and jordon had a crush on chris.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhh

[Isiah Silva]

The book I read was The Prank by Ashley Rae Harris, this book is good for kids around my age because of the fact that in the book it’s high schooler so we have things in common and can relate to certain stuff in the book. For example the girl named Jordan she liked a boy in the group of popular kids and this made her join the group and do pranks but she was only going along so that she could fit in and impress her crush. Everybody has done some foolish things to impress someone but it isn’t always a right choice. This book starts out slow but has good details that keep you interested. The characters are typical and like people you have encountered in life before. But at the same time the book is short and it could be something you just blow by without having the full concentration. So basically Jordan wants to belong with the popular kids to impress her crush as they do pranks that get worse and worse as they go. Things start to get tough and Jordan has to fix it before other people get hurt. This book teaches a lesson to speak up and don’t accept bad things that others do because that makes you as bad as them.

[Juan Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review
Juan Fernando Cabrera
23/oct/19

In “The Prank”, every year they plan a party of Homecoming. But this year goes very bad. At first Carlos, of the best soccer players fell from the roof and was in a coma and he couldn't play the game. So one of the main characters, Jordan heard that one time when his dad was in school something terrible happened that everyone decided to forget and not talk about it. So Jordan starts look for what had happened but he doesn't find nothing. Later in the story more kids start dying. It was all a ghost made them do that and push Carlos of the roof. Then the ghost goes in the body of Bryoni and was going to shut fireworks at the soccer players but Kit, Jordan and Charlie starts saying nice stuff and the ghost lives. Charlie and Jordan end up going on a date and kit takes Bryony to her house. I can tell I did like the book but alot of death and sadness. My favorite character has jordan because we see in the book that when he wants something he get it.

[Barbara Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently read The late Bus which is part of “The Night Fall” series which is made up multi- authors of 12 YA thrillers. This novel is the last with these Bridgewater High students #12 in the this 2011 series,
Years ago I read Laurie Oliver Panic a great YA novel and thought this just might be a bit like that story, however, was sure it wasn’t going to be as good…I was wrong!! I enjoy this YA story! I have read many YA novels but have been a bit discouraged as most of the recently stories are formula driver. Perhaps since this is a little older it didn’t follow the normal nasty formula.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this as an audio book because it was smaller and I knew I could quickly read/listen while out of town on a camping trip. It was OK, but it wasn't anything stellar. And maybe had I read it at a younger age, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I really enjoyed more thriller, mystery type books when I was younger. Now at 48, I found myself thinking..."that's totally fake". The one thing I really did like about it, was the storyline being based on high school rivalry pranks. It took me back to the days of my youth and I loved thinking back to different pranks our school did and the local rival schools did in return. The pranks were always in good fun, and unlike this book, no one ever was injured or died. But it was fun to reminisce. I also felt like the high school girl drama was realistic in the sense that sometimes it is easy to unintentionally get involved in something you really don't want to be part of, due to peer pressure. It was fun to read and I would definitely recommend to a younger crowd.

[Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a shorter suspense novel. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a longer one for this class assignment. It had to do with an old curse that haunted a group of pranksters. I’d recommend to someone who enjoyed the Scary Stories book series, and wanted a suspense book with a YA protagonist.

I think this would be less traumatizing than the previous series for a younger group of young adults, but I wouldn’t read it until 6th grade or older. Pranks can be fun for some people even if they’re on the receiving end sometimes. That being said, I’d put students in groups to debate and research how pranks are similar to hazing, bullying and vandalism. Are there ways to have fun without overstepping the personal, school and societal rules?

Content Disclaimer:
-Some language
-Disturbing images (deaths, serious accidents)
-Hazing, bullying and peer pressure fallout

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is about these teens named jordan,charlie,briony,chelsea but it all starts when Jordan joins a group of popular kids of doing practical jokes. when they came to serious certain things started to happen accidents,very serious outcomes. but they then found out they were being haunted by a spirit that was a victim of the precious pranks from the school but during the ending we dont know if they'll be able to stop the final prank or will it continue on.

i wish this book was a little bit more exciting to read i felt the reading or the passages were not catching my attention and wanting me to listen to it more.i was hoping for it to be more creepy then how the cover looked but sadly it wasn't but it was good here and there. i wont really recommend this but at the same time it might be different for others on how they'll like this book

[Vani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got into bed early, fully intending to go to sleep after listening to the story I'd downloaded from Overdrive until I'm too sleepy to continue. Turns out this was not to be. I started listening and got sucked into the story of a bunch of teens playing pranks on the lead up to their school's football game against a rival team.

It starts out as a bad idea and gets progressively worse as the school's queen bee continues her plans, despite the accidents happening to them and others at school. And the creepy part? Every time there's an "accident," there's a low wailing sound that comes from nowhere...

[Shitong · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love this book. It has lots of suspense and I recommend this to a friend.
it's about a girl called Jordan, she gets nervous when it comes to pranks. But when a group of popular kids invited her along on a series of practical jokes, she doesn't turn them down. As a prank gone horribly wrong, Jordan and her crush Charlie work together to discover the cause of the accidents. Is the spirit of a prank victim who died twenty years earlier, the cause of this problem? And can Jordan stop the final prank, or will the haunting continue?

Read to find out more!

[Sofia Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rackford
For example if you have an emotional connection or you have an emotional relationship with someone who has been a you of the same kind of person and pc and play games and play the game for a few minutes and then you have 4to and 4play 4AM will be available for a while now but I have to be able I have a little bit of a little more
The jail time the book will go through a little more of the time than it is story about the jail time in a new York times article on projects like the jail and pc world is not a problem with a new one that has a lot to say to you and you are a

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needed something short to audiobook after finishing something a bit longer.

It was better than the other Night Fall book I read. This one isn’t disorienting at all. Like a typical mystery, you develop a sense of who is doing what fairly early on. The mystery unfolds at a reasonable pace, but don’t expect any bait and switch here. That doesn’t mean it is necessarily bad though. Sometimes bait and switches are lame, especially as you watch an author try to backpedal and rationalize why the murderer was who it was.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm only giving this two stars because I feel like there was potential with the plot to do more and I did think it was an interesting plot.
I borrowed the audiobook from my local library and it was honestly terrible. The narrator was so hard to listen to and made the characters sound so basic. The writing was honestly also very basic and there was no attempt to create a connection to the characters or the plot.
Overall if I hadn't listened to this on audiobook I don't think I would have gotten through it.

[Addison Kamienski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book The Prank by Ashley Harris is about a girl who never joined in with all her friends with the pranks at school. She decided to start joining in but when things start to get out of hand and multiple people die they do not know what to do. I didn’t really like this book because these pranks got way out of hand and they should’ve done something about it but people just continued to get hurt by these pranks. Some parts of the book were really funny and intriguing.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jordan is excited to hang out with popular girl Briony and pull some pranks on their rival school, but when the first prank ends in a terrible accident, and the second ends in death, Jordan begins to suspect something evil is at work.

This short audiobook is a hi-lo (high interest, low reading level) horror story that is simple and brief, but doesn't hold back on the danger. I expected a twist but this was a straightforward tale of a vengeful spirit.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first story I have read in the Night Fall series even though it’s number twelve. Jordan seems to not fit in with the “popular” kids but suddenly they are asking her to join them the week of homecoming. This is the same week there are sudden horrible accidents happening. Are the rival schools playing pranks on each other? Are they just accidents? Is something more sinister going on? I liked this book, I can’t say too much without giving it away!

[Lindsey Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a 3 because i liked the characters. This book is about a group of popular people and a girl name Jordan. The popular kids invite Jordan to hang out with them. Jordan and some other people have to discover what is happening around the world. Some accidents are happening around and she tries to figure the cause of it. I recommend this book to people who like horror fiction and drama.

[Adia Burish · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought this book was a good read, since its short and entertaining, but there are some flaws in my opinion. first of all, its a bit hard to picture whats really happening. thats my main issue, and i think the rest is fine. ive read this twice, and everytime i read the dead dog part it makes me hold my breath. its a good book to read in the car, plane or while waiting. i think if you want a short and spooky book, the prank is a good book for you.

[BRANDON · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little hesitant to pick up this book after seeing how short it was, so I came to goodreads to check the reviews. I'm surprised by the number of people who didn't like the story. I'm not exactly sure what they were expecting but it's a perfectly serviceable plot. The ending was a bit abrupt as one reader noted but the ending was foreshadowed throughout if you were paying attention (I rarely am).