What do you think?
Rate this book
Death by Whoopee Cushion
A whoopee cushion turns deadly in this new middle-grade mystery from acclaimed author Vicki Grant.
The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke store. But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She's not interested in the cheap laughs at Pranks a Million. She loves science. She wants to save the world. The only thing she finds even vaguely interesting about her parents' shop is the science behind the pranks. After all, there's chemistry at work even in itching powder and stink bombs.
Manya and her best friend Isaac are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science, an after-school course. It's everything Manya has dreamed the class is fascinating, and their teacher, Dr. C. Michaels, is both smart and charming. She can just about forget that her parents drive a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle with a red clown nose on the hood and headlights that look like googly eyes. Maybe.
But one day Manya comes back from their Serious Science class to see two police in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks a Million blew up in a customer's face and burnt off his eyebrows. Then there's a poisoning incident. And when a whoopee cushion explodes, actually killing an innocent bystander, things become very serious Manya's parents are arrested for murder.
It's up to Manya to prove their innocence—and she may have to use some of the science behind the pranks to do so.
The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke store. But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She's not interested in the cheap laughs at Pranks a Million. She loves science. She wants to save the world. The only thing she finds even vaguely interesting about her parents' shop is the science behind the pranks. After all, there's chemistry at work even in itching powder and stink bombs.
Manya and her best friend Isaac are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science, an after-school course. It's everything Manya has dreamed the class is fascinating, and their teacher, Dr. C. Michaels, is both smart and charming. She can just about forget that her parents drive a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle with a red clown nose on the hood and headlights that look like googly eyes. Maybe.
But one day Manya comes back from their Serious Science class to see two police in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks a Million blew up in a customer's face and burnt off his eyebrows. Then there's a poisoning incident. And when a whoopee cushion explodes, actually killing an innocent bystander, things become very serious Manya's parents are arrested for murder.
It's up to Manya to prove their innocence—and she may have to use some of the science behind the pranks to do so.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published July 29, 2025
9 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Vicki Grant
30 books137 followersAfter a long and messy adolescence, Vicki Grant stumbled into writing. She worked her way up from 30-second ads to 30-minute television scripts to full-length novels. She's written sixteen young adult, middle-grade and high-low novels. Her most recent YA novel, 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You, has been published worldwide in over twenty territories.. Vicki lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2006): Quid Pro Quo
Red Maple Award: Not Suitable For Family Viewing
CBC Young Canada Reads: The Puppet Wrangler.
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2006): Quid Pro Quo
Red Maple Award: Not Suitable For Family Viewing
CBC Young Canada Reads: The Puppet Wrangler.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 12, 2026
Good mystery! It's a little slow going in the beginning. I was expecting it to be funnier than it was. But I'm an adult like the main character (who is in middle school) and don't particulary like fart jokes. Middle graders may find it more humous than I did.
August 21, 2025
I literally did not know where to turn in this book. There are so many movie parts - what starts as a silly, slice-of-life book about a weirdo family morphs into a murder mystery and then into a frame-up with high powered lawyers, serial killers, explosions... It's an absolutely wild ride. I can't wait to toss it to the kids!
September 18, 2025
A parrot with fart jokes, two parents framed for murder, and notes written in secret ink made of...well, you should just read it.
Read
November 26, 2025Pre-reading for Battle of the Books
February 24, 2025
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Manya's parents are rather embarassing. They run a joke shop, Pranks a Million, and are very enthusiastic about their work, even driving a car that is decorated to look like a clown. The family lives in an apartment over the shop, which is next door to Delia's Divine Diva's, a lingerie shop owned by Manya's best friend Isaac's single mother. Business isn't great, but her father uses the extra time working in the "Funcubator" coming up with premium, high quality, "artisanal" pranks to set the shop apart. Two older, retired gentlemen, Gary and Sarge, often hang out in the shop, dusting and straightening merchandise. Both Manya and Isaace are very interested in science, and when a Serious Science camp is offered at the local Natural History Museum, they really want to attend, even though the $100 registration fee is a reach for their families. The camp goes well, but when Manya's parents plan a visit to her school, things go badly wrong. Their gravy blaster gun explodes, killing a newly hired custodian, Mr. Honig. Both parents are arrested and taken to jail pending an investigation, and Manya is left in Delia's care. When forensics show that a lethal chemical was added to the prank, things don't look good, despite the high priced attorney Delia has hired. When Isaac and Manya start investigating, they find out secrets about the parents past that may have some bearing on what happened. Will they be able to count out suspects like Gary and a troublesome school mate and prove the parents' innocence?
Strengths: Murder mysteries are absolutely the number one request I get from students, which shouldn't be a surprise to the publishing world, based on how many ADULT murder mysteries are published every year, and on how many television shows have a CSI bent. There is a nice set up to the story before the murder, so I came to know and like Manya and Isaac, and to want Pranks a Million to succeed. When the murder occurred, it was clear from the beginning that the parents were innocent even though the situation looked bad, so it made sense for the kids to investigate and to try to figure out who framed the parents. The mystery was very well developed, and explained a lot about the parents, but I don't want to ruin the surprises there. This was rather dark in the end, and there are multiple off page murders; it would make a great episode of my current guilty pleasure, the German SOKO Potsdam mysteries. I especially appreciated that Delia was there when Manya's parents were taken into custody; when I was in middle school, one of my friend's fathers was taken into custody for tax evasion, and it was very traumatic for her.
Weaknesses: While I loved the mix of humor and murder mystery, my students who really like murder mysteries might not want a book with a whoopee cushion on the cover. Still, this is better than another mystery about missing dogs. I also wish we knew a tiny bit more about Mr. Honig so his death was more wrenching.
What I really think: We need more murder mysteries, so add this to a short but effective list that includes April Henry's work, Souder's Coop Knows the Scoop or The Radcliffe Riddle, Sorrell's First Shot, or McDonald's Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing. We're so desperate for this genre at my school that Ferguson's 2006 The Christopher Killer series still circulates really well.
Manya's parents are rather embarassing. They run a joke shop, Pranks a Million, and are very enthusiastic about their work, even driving a car that is decorated to look like a clown. The family lives in an apartment over the shop, which is next door to Delia's Divine Diva's, a lingerie shop owned by Manya's best friend Isaac's single mother. Business isn't great, but her father uses the extra time working in the "Funcubator" coming up with premium, high quality, "artisanal" pranks to set the shop apart. Two older, retired gentlemen, Gary and Sarge, often hang out in the shop, dusting and straightening merchandise. Both Manya and Isaace are very interested in science, and when a Serious Science camp is offered at the local Natural History Museum, they really want to attend, even though the $100 registration fee is a reach for their families. The camp goes well, but when Manya's parents plan a visit to her school, things go badly wrong. Their gravy blaster gun explodes, killing a newly hired custodian, Mr. Honig. Both parents are arrested and taken to jail pending an investigation, and Manya is left in Delia's care. When forensics show that a lethal chemical was added to the prank, things don't look good, despite the high priced attorney Delia has hired. When Isaac and Manya start investigating, they find out secrets about the parents past that may have some bearing on what happened. Will they be able to count out suspects like Gary and a troublesome school mate and prove the parents' innocence?
Strengths: Murder mysteries are absolutely the number one request I get from students, which shouldn't be a surprise to the publishing world, based on how many ADULT murder mysteries are published every year, and on how many television shows have a CSI bent. There is a nice set up to the story before the murder, so I came to know and like Manya and Isaac, and to want Pranks a Million to succeed. When the murder occurred, it was clear from the beginning that the parents were innocent even though the situation looked bad, so it made sense for the kids to investigate and to try to figure out who framed the parents. The mystery was very well developed, and explained a lot about the parents, but I don't want to ruin the surprises there. This was rather dark in the end, and there are multiple off page murders; it would make a great episode of my current guilty pleasure, the German SOKO Potsdam mysteries. I especially appreciated that Delia was there when Manya's parents were taken into custody; when I was in middle school, one of my friend's fathers was taken into custody for tax evasion, and it was very traumatic for her.
Weaknesses: While I loved the mix of humor and murder mystery, my students who really like murder mysteries might not want a book with a whoopee cushion on the cover. Still, this is better than another mystery about missing dogs. I also wish we knew a tiny bit more about Mr. Honig so his death was more wrenching.
What I really think: We need more murder mysteries, so add this to a short but effective list that includes April Henry's work, Souder's Coop Knows the Scoop or The Radcliffe Riddle, Sorrell's First Shot, or McDonald's Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing. We're so desperate for this genre at my school that Ferguson's 2006 The Christopher Killer series still circulates really well.
July 23, 2025
Manya's parents run a prank and joke store, and spend a lot of time in the "funcubator" in the back, coming up with more and more products. Though Manya loves them, she's tired of fudge that looks like dog poop, and of having parents who show up at school in a clown car, etc. She and her best friend and next door neighbor Isaac are fascinated by actual science, and are thrilled when their parents let them take a science class after school. But then, while Manya's parents were preparing for a presentation at her school (which Manya is horrified by), a whoopee cushion explosion kills a bystander, and suddenly Manya's parents have been arrested for murder. Protestors yell hateful things and damage the store every day. Manya moves in with Isaac, and she decides it's up to her to solve this mystery and save her parents.
Despite the pranks and jokes, I wouldn't recommend this below middle school, because there are multiple deaths involved, which isn't really funny. I liked the science parts of this, and think kids who love science will get a lot out of it, and it might make others more interested. The plot unfolds at a good pace, with red herrings and useful clues and suspicious people who might have secrets, but probably not what Manya thinks. She makes a bunch of mistakes, of course, and breaks a lot of rules, but with her parents' freedom at stake, who can blame her? There are plenty of jokes/pranks/science involving farting, burping, vomit, poop, and pee, which should satisfy those in search of that type of humor. I gave this three rather than four stars because it's marketed as a humorous story, but the murder (murders?) and related incidents are emphatically not funny. Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
Despite the pranks and jokes, I wouldn't recommend this below middle school, because there are multiple deaths involved, which isn't really funny. I liked the science parts of this, and think kids who love science will get a lot out of it, and it might make others more interested. The plot unfolds at a good pace, with red herrings and useful clues and suspicious people who might have secrets, but probably not what Manya thinks. She makes a bunch of mistakes, of course, and breaks a lot of rules, but with her parents' freedom at stake, who can blame her? There are plenty of jokes/pranks/science involving farting, burping, vomit, poop, and pee, which should satisfy those in search of that type of humor. I gave this three rather than four stars because it's marketed as a humorous story, but the murder (murders?) and related incidents are emphatically not funny. Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
October 12, 2025
Vicki Grant’s Death by Whoopee Cushion is a blast! Manya is embarrassed by the immature jokes her parents are always making as the owners of “Pranks-A-Million,” a joke and novelty shop. Her dad has even created a Fun-cubator lab where he is coming up with items that are sillier and grosser than anything ever seen before.
When someone is killed by one of their experimental whoopee cushions, Manya’s parents are sent to jail, and she has to move in with her best friend Isaac’s family. Together, she and Isaac look for evidence to exonerate her parents and find themselves in a complicated web of secrets and danger.
This book has the perfect combination of humor and high stakes. The story maintains a quick pace as Isaac and Manya uncover layers of the plot. Although this is a very plot-driven novel, Manya, Isaac, and their families are given enough character development that I really cared about them. I felt Manya’s heartbreak with the media circus and mob mentality that turns against her parents after the whoopee cushion accident. As more and more new clues turned up, I hoped that each one would help reunite Manya with her parents. Death by Whoopee Cushion has heart and humor. It’s one I will be highly recommending this school year!
When someone is killed by one of their experimental whoopee cushions, Manya’s parents are sent to jail, and she has to move in with her best friend Isaac’s family. Together, she and Isaac look for evidence to exonerate her parents and find themselves in a complicated web of secrets and danger.
This book has the perfect combination of humor and high stakes. The story maintains a quick pace as Isaac and Manya uncover layers of the plot. Although this is a very plot-driven novel, Manya, Isaac, and their families are given enough character development that I really cared about them. I felt Manya’s heartbreak with the media circus and mob mentality that turns against her parents after the whoopee cushion accident. As more and more new clues turned up, I hoped that each one would help reunite Manya with her parents. Death by Whoopee Cushion has heart and humor. It’s one I will be highly recommending this school year!
January 17, 2026
This middle grade novel is from the perspective of Manya, a super serious 12 year old girl rebelling against the family business, Pranks a Million, and her parents who come up with and sell practical jokes. Wanting to do something that matters instead of synthesising fake vomit in the "Funcubator", Manya and her best friend Issac join "Serious Science", an extracurricular class with another serious, though distant, kid from school. When a joke from the shop backfires and Manya's parents are arrested for murder, Manya and Issac start to investigate her family history and unravel a scientific conspiracy that makes Manya think she might not be the only serious one in her family after all. There may even be a serial killer on the loose.
The novel starts slow as a typical middle school drama with Manya feeling like an outsider at school and even within her own family. It builds into a rather compelling murder mystery with Manya taking on the lessons learned from her kooky family to help save her parents and herself.
I didn't love all the toilet humour, but that may hit with the intended audience. I think it's a good intro for kids into the murder mystery genre for those curious, but it wasn't a personal favourite for me.
The novel starts slow as a typical middle school drama with Manya feeling like an outsider at school and even within her own family. It builds into a rather compelling murder mystery with Manya taking on the lessons learned from her kooky family to help save her parents and herself.
I didn't love all the toilet humour, but that may hit with the intended audience. I think it's a good intro for kids into the murder mystery genre for those curious, but it wasn't a personal favourite for me.
September 4, 2025
A MG mystery that will bring more LOLs than terror.
🃏
Most kids would love it if their parents ran a joke store, but all it does is embarrass Manya to no end. She wants to be seen as a serious scientist, but it’s hard to do when she’s surrounded by jokers. When Manya and her best friend, Isaac, get to attend Serious Science after school, it just reinforces that this is the work she wants to be doing. But when her parents are arrested for one of their whoopee cushions exploding, killing a school worker, she now must fight hard to clear their name, no joke.
😜
This is not my kind of book whatsoever. I hate potty humor, always have. I knew it wouldn’t be for me, but I read it through a tween’s eyes and definitely see why they would find it appealing. Lots of fart, poop, etc jokes which will have a mass appeal, but also it dealt a lot with science facts and info, which was interesting to learn about. I also loved the murder mystery aspect because we don’t see that a lot in middle grade This novel is for 5th and up! Thanks @librofm for the ALC.
CW: death, cancer (discussed), murder, explosion, fire
🃏
Most kids would love it if their parents ran a joke store, but all it does is embarrass Manya to no end. She wants to be seen as a serious scientist, but it’s hard to do when she’s surrounded by jokers. When Manya and her best friend, Isaac, get to attend Serious Science after school, it just reinforces that this is the work she wants to be doing. But when her parents are arrested for one of their whoopee cushions exploding, killing a school worker, she now must fight hard to clear their name, no joke.
😜
This is not my kind of book whatsoever. I hate potty humor, always have. I knew it wouldn’t be for me, but I read it through a tween’s eyes and definitely see why they would find it appealing. Lots of fart, poop, etc jokes which will have a mass appeal, but also it dealt a lot with science facts and info, which was interesting to learn about. I also loved the murder mystery aspect because we don’t see that a lot in middle grade This novel is for 5th and up! Thanks @librofm for the ALC.
CW: death, cancer (discussed), murder, explosion, fire
August 9, 2025
Twelve-year-old Manya is totally embarrassed by her parents. Their joke and prank shop used to be fun, but her parents are too extreme, even teaching their parrot how to make farting noises and driving around in an all-too-noticeable car. Most kids Manya's age are embarrassed by their parents, but when police come to the store to investigate an exploding cigar that explodes too much, and then a death at Manya's school from an exploding whoopee cushion, Manya becomes unsure of who her parents really are. With help from her best friend Isaac, Manya races to discover information that will prove her parents aren't sinister pranksters out to murder anyone. In their investigations, Manya and Isaac uncover a plot devised by someone who seeks to murder former scientists who took part in a discredited cancer study years before, a study that Manya's parents were part of. Are Manya's parents the people she thinks they are? Manya and Isaac's detective work using intriguing facts from science, as well as the dangers and pitfalls of conspiracy theories, make for an absorbing and hilarious read.
September 13, 2025
Manya's parents own Pranks-A-Million, a joke and novelty store (much to Manya's dismay). She only wants to be a qualified scientist, not one that develops pranks to play on people. She and her best friend Isaac decide to join an after school Serious Science class.
Again, much to Manya's horror, her parents inform her that they giving a presentation at her school the next day...showcasing their exploding Whoopee Cushion. Things don't go as planned and the janitor at their school dies!
Her parents being hauled off to jail scares Manya. She realizes she must put the puzzle pieces together to find the real culprit. Death by Whoopee Cushion is a fun whodunit for the younger set with plenty of red herrings and gags.
Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Tundra Books, and Vicki Grant for this ARC.
Again, much to Manya's horror, her parents inform her that they giving a presentation at her school the next day...showcasing their exploding Whoopee Cushion. Things don't go as planned and the janitor at their school dies!
Her parents being hauled off to jail scares Manya. She realizes she must put the puzzle pieces together to find the real culprit. Death by Whoopee Cushion is a fun whodunit for the younger set with plenty of red herrings and gags.
Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Tundra Books, and Vicki Grant for this ARC.
November 25, 2025
Manya (named after Marie Curie) lives with her parents above their joke shop next door to her best friend Isaac who lives above his mother’s lingerie shop. When her parents are setting up to do a presentation at her school (how embarrassing), something goes awry and their giant whoopee cushion explodes and kills the school custodian. Her parents are immediate murder suspects and are arrested. Protesters vandalize the shop and social media is out of control calling for the heads of Manya’s parents. Can Manya and Isaac solve the murder, clear her parents, and avoid the joke shop watch dog parrot who makes a fart noise everytime someone enters the joke shop while also working on their science projects?
September 26, 2025
You may think having your parents one a joke shop would be great but, if you live above the shop it can be too much. Manya and her friend are able to sign up for Serious Science, an after school program. But when odd things start happening, they start to wonder what was going wrong. The final straw was when Manya's parents are arrested for the death of the janitor at Manya's school before a school program. Manya knows her parents didn't do anything wrong, so she and Isaac try to find out what is behind the pranks going so wrong. This was an enjoyable read and a great cozy mystery for all.
August 17, 2025
Manya and Isaac are interesting characters, believable but not your usual tween characters. The family dynamic between the two friends and their families is comfy and loveable. I was less interested in the mystery element and found the resolutiona bit far fetched. However, mysteries for kids are always difficult, walking a fine line between big enough consequences, but low enough stakes that kids are the ones left to solve them.
November 10, 2025
Being a middle grade librarian I try to keep up with books in this age range. This one was so good! There is a lot of science references in the book, but nothing too difficult to understand. The author did a great job with the mystery part of the story. I had no idea who done it! The characters were very relatable and had a lot of heart. Thank you to Libro.fm and Tundra Books for the ALC. I will definitely be purchasing this for our school library.
July 28, 2025
A decent middle grade read. Lots of potty humor and dumb jokes, plus a few deaths. The book does not take itself too seriously, which is good. I liked that there were plenty of red herrings along the way. Thanks to libro.fm for another ALC! This book isn't even out yet, so this is just its 3rd goodreads review!
September 1, 2025
I tried to cancel this on my Follett list since I read it, and know it won't circulate, but too late, I'm stuck with a copy. Sigh. 45 books I actally wanted won't be shipped, but I'm stuck with this one--oh, the life of a librarian.
September 4, 2025
3.5, but rounded to 4. It was an engaging mystery, but might be a little young for my middle grade students.
September 21, 2025
An engaging mystery that is very funny and sweet. I loved the relationships and genuine heart in this story.
September 28, 2025
Kids will love this! Manya’s parents own Pranks-a-Million, a joke shop. When they’re accused of killing someone w a whoopee cushion,Manya thinks someone else did it. Can she prove it?
September 29, 2025
Funny middle school humor with a mystery tied in. Kids will love it.
October 16, 2025
Silver Birch 2026
October 28, 2025
Manya thinks her prank-loving, joke shop-owning parents are . . . well, a joke. Until items from their shop are linked to murder.
December 3, 2025
It takes a little too long to get the mystery, but it’s satisfying once we get there. Props for a great title!
October 28, 2025
Wacky and dangerous.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews