Hijinks

by Anne Social

Mercedes wants everyone to leave her alone—especially her stalker.

Ephraim is looking for a distraction from his crumbling life—something bigger than a sugar addiction.

January is done being the perfect role model—she’s burned her tuba and isn’t turning back.

Old scars make it impossible for Walden to rely on anyone but himself. After years of living under his father’s obsessive control, Walden is desperate to shrug him off. Escaping military school was the easy part. Now he’s stuck in his decaying hometown with no cash.

When Walden is pulled into strange events by an unlikely group—his childhood crush, a fanny-pack-wearing candy addict, and a tuba-hating rat enthusiast—he has two options: stay tethered to dear old Dad or depend on his new friends. Tough choice.

As lighthearted shenanigans morph into a disturbing mystery, Walden risks more than losing his sanity. He must find a way to trust again—or die trying.

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2025

About the author

Anne Social is the pen name of three sisters who write novels together. They have a deep love for character-based storytelling and all manner of absurdity. Their stories center on themes like mental health and loneliness but include heavy doses of optimism.

Reviews

[Anne Social · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this, so those five stars might be little slanted, but how could you not love a book filled with all this good stuff?

- Character-driven
- Small town mystery
- Misfit squad
- Humor
- Hope
- Friends-to-lovers
- Found family
- Hypochondriac emo
- Pizza!
- Enemies-to-brothers

Content warnings:

- Depictions of mental illness
- Animal death/animal harm
- Mild violence
- Kidnapping
- Trauma/grief
- Alcohol and drug references
- Infrequent, mild swearing

What's NOT in this book:

- Sexual content
- Graphic violence
- Blasphemy


ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are not the “good” kids in this small town. These are the outcasts, the oddballs with troubled lives. Waldon, aka Wally, hair dyed goth black, has recently escaped the military school his controlling dad sent him to, only to have his dad steal his money upon his return home and conspire to have Waldon fired from his job he desperately needs. Ephraim’s dad physically left and his mom mentally left him long ago, leaving him to fend for himself with dubious “homeschooling” and candy to eat. Mercedes’ parents leave her alone for weeks at a time. Mercedes, aka Mercy, puts up a shield of a tough girl and pretends to shrug off their absence. January, or “Jam” as she now wants to be called, is the only one with a “normal” family. But she is done with her family deciding who she should be, which is a boring normal kid. She wildly rebels to become as odd as possible. These four kids loosely come together over the strange closure of the town’s only pizza parlor and a missing girl, events that may or may not be related. They are not crack investigators. Wally and Mercy are at odds, with each accusing the other of not writing while Wally was in military school. The kids disagree over what’s important: pizza investigation or missing girl? They are not even sure it’s worth looking for the missing girl, as these sorts of things are hopeless anyway. Jam’s over-the-top weirdness rubs the others the wrong way. The instability of their lives, and often crushing financial problems, interfere with any mystery investigating. Even so, they do the best they can in their chaotic, disorganized way, even though the adults around them dismiss them and are more hindrance than help. “Hijinks,” written by three sisters under the pen name Anne Social, is not a traditional mystery novel. This is a darkly humorous novel about the challenging lives of four teens. The mystery is a backdrop. I can see this book as having a strong appeal to teen and young adult readers who seek stories that aren’t sugarcoated, stories that reflect the tough “real” lives that many kids must deal with.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways this book has a lot going for it, and I really wanted to like it. Life is tough when you are an adolescent. ‘Hijinks’ provides a likeable bunch of characters for a mixed-up young reader, who is trying to sort out what life is all about, to identify with. Mercedes wants to make something of his life which up until now has been under the obsessive control of his father. Having escaped from military school, which I understand to be some kind of reform school, although this is not made clear, he returns to the sleepy, down at heel town of Losville. There he teams up with a bunch of kids from his past, Mercedes, January (Jam) and Ephraim, and together they are pulled into an uncanny mystery, which centres around an abandoned pizzeria. The book is written for 12-18 year olds, and the rambling mixed up style of the writing, well conveys the tough talk of unsure kids who are bluffing their way to maturity. So far so good. Sadly, the writing left me almost as confused as the characters themselves, in trying to fathom out who was who, and what exactly was going on. I felt that there was too much information overload, which impeded the progression of the plot. However, this is an interesting and unusual writing project, peppered with some imaginative descriptive writing and a lot of empathy with its characters. I wish the three sister authors all the best with their future writing projects.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Anne Social's debut Run Away, I definitely came to this second book with high expectations. I was not even the littlest bit disappointed.

First, you'll love Anne's books if you like:
- tinned soup
- ravens and/or rats
- teens who probably need a little therapy
- a good opportunity for a small cry
- honestly what more are you even looking for?

This book is both sad and sweet, with the perfect amount of humour mixed in too.

The characters are all amazing, well developed and completely captivating. As the story alternates between the four main characters' POVs, there is time to get to know each of them. And not once was I disappointed to reach any of their chapters (you know how it can sometimes be with multiple POVs).

And, on top of a perfect collection of characters who could have just sat in The Diner the entire time and still been an utterly interesting story, there is a fascinating mystery. It was great fun to pull at all the treads to slowly piece together what is actually going on in this supposedly sleepy town.

Overall, a fantastic read, and know I'll be signing up to read anything that Anne writes.

[Elizabeth Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Hijinks follows four characters, each dealing with their own struggles, who meet under unusual - and often hilariously misunderstood - circumstances. Despite the misconceptions, they somehow form an unlikely group of friends that you can’t help but root for.

The tone is a delightful mix of depth, humour, and outright absurdity at times, making it a fun and light-hearted read - until about two-thirds in, when the underlying mystery truly kicks in. From that point on, it becomes completely gripping. I finished it in record time, and I’m normally a slow reader!

If you love character-driven stories that build to a powerful climax, Hijinks is definitely worth a read.

[Chris Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hijinks by Anne Social is a fast-paced, darkly humorous read that follows four memorable outcast teens tackling life’s challenges and a quirky mystery. With a clean, immersive ending and standout characters. Fun story that is well told.