Watch Your Step

Merits of Mischief #3

by T.R. Burns

When the Kilter Academy students go on retreat with their parents, it’s the more mischief the merrier in this third book of a trouble-loving middle grade series!Seamus Hinkle has encountered a good deal of mystery and a lot of secrets since he first started at Kilter Academy. The longer he’s there, the more unanswered questions he seems to have. At last it seems like he just might get some answers as he and his troublemaker friends prepare for a huge a Kilter Academy retreat in the Adirondack mountains with all the students…and their parents.Will Seamus finally learn how his mother is connected to Annika, the mercurial headmistress of Kilter? Will he discover Annika’s true purpose for the Kilter students? And how will the students from the rival school, the Incriminators, play into all of this?It’s hard to say, but one thing is for sure—there will be plenty of trouble along the way!

481 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

T. R. Burns sometimes writes as Tricia Rayburn. Or does Tricia Rayburn sometimes write as T. R. Burns? You may never know the answer to that, but you can know that this tattler of tales has tattled plenty for tweens and teens. In the small New York town she calls home, it’s the best way to keep idle hands busy—and out of trouble.

Reviews

[Sarah Fawzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

The Final Mischief!! Book 3 of The Bad Apple trilogy. I think this one's a bit more comical than I remember the previous books being. Cleared some loose ends. SO many mystery on the first half of the book and I was just in a constant state of whattttt is going awwwnnnnn. When the revelation finally dropped (why his mom was being like that, who his substitute teacher was, what's going on with the girl he likes, why his bestfriend suddenly got weird, etc.) it was so jaw droppingly simple. I love and hate it.

As a series, I think the pace is great and story is interesting. I loved the other characters along with the main kid and the shenanigans they get up to. Got me so bewildered which is great bc I keep turning the pages. I do wish they told more about his mentor and the school director's dad but it's told from his pov only so it is what it is unfortunately. I did drag finishing this book bc I don't want it to end (as with all my other children series) 😭

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't get over the child abuse and neglect aspects of this book. The light-hearted storyteller is fun and interesting, but there are seriously wrong things going on. A middle school aged reader would have all the wrong ideas in their head. Child abuse is described in this book as anything like chores or homework that might make an adolescent angry, and actual abuse is staged like a comic book scene. The answer to an argument is revenge, rebellion, being shipped off to boarding school, and any other extreme act. The families participate in counseling, but in the weirdest way possible.

It feels like the author knew they had gone to far in previous books. This book tries to fix some of the worst issues, but the characters still are who they are.

[Chase Prevatte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a lack luster end to a fun series. It feels like the author had an entire grandiose idea for several more stories in this world after this. But was forced for reasons we’ll never know to wrap it up in the third book. It feels like it unravels all the fun and whimsy of the first 2 books with the message “your parents are always right and you should listen to them” which isn’t the worst message you could send to middle school aged kids. But this book doesn’t earn that ending. It happens so fast at the end of the book and just doesn’t quite fit the phenomenal pacing of the first two books. I wish we had 2-3 more books with these characters because they’re extremely well written and create an extremely fun world, that unfortunately fell apart in about 50 pages at the end of this book.

[Gavin Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch Your Step by T.R. Burns is an action/adventure book about five middle school kids that go on an all-expense paid trip where things gets a little weird. Parents aren't acting how they usual do and they decide to come together to get to the bottom of it all. As they go through with their plan, there are a few things that get in the way.
To be honest, there was a lot I didn't like about the book. It’s kind of like how Mocking Jay was the last book in the Hunger Games series and nothing really happened there. Everything seemed pretty average and dry. It didn't really talk about the setting too much. Only slightly when they first arrived at the retreat. The one thing that was especially dry was the plot. It felt like the author was forcing this entire book. As if he absolutely had to write this book. Which he really didn't. For example, in chapter 13, all Seamus and Elinor did was talk to his Dad. Quite frankly that makes for a very monotonous chapter. Also, in chapter 18 the only thing the group did was talk about what they planned to do about Shepherd Bull (a random kid they didn't know). Another thing that bothered me was that the characters were very static. They showed very little to no development over the last two books. And lastly, the resolution was very typical to a middle school level book. It reminded me of a few movies I've seen in the past. However, the only thing I did like was how everything started to connect. Confessions were made and things finally started to make sense.
In the end, Watch Your Step is a decent book for those who are just looking for something read. If you are looking into reading the last book of the series, it is suggested that you read the first two. The only type of people I would ever recommend this book to is if they read the first two. Despite the lack of excitement in the first two book, it does a really good job at wrapping up the series.