Operation Trick Shot

by Dude Perfect, Genevieve Kote (Illustrator)

Dude Perfect brings tricks, flips, fist bumps, and that puzzling panda to middle school in this funny fiction series from YouTube's biggest trick shot stars. In Operation Trick Shot, eighth graders Cory, Coby, Tyler, Garrett, and Cody have a growing video channel, mysterious new skills, and a knack for saving the world--one sport at a time.

In this first book for 8 to 12 year olds, the young dudes plan a trick shot show to raise money for the struggling neighborhood rec center where everyone plays basketball. But they airball at every move as they battle a shooting slump, twin jealousy, and a corporate big wig who cares more about charting profits than community spaces for kids. Plus Panda keeps disappearing! Can the Dudes make the shots, score a world record, and save the neighborhood court? And what is Panda planning behind the scenes?

This comedy-adventure

expands the world of Dude Perfect into a hilarious fictional realm where evil forces are trying to steal the joy of sports, backward hats have special powers, and cookies make anything possible;features Panda as a behind-the-scenes mastermind who is always one step ahead of the guys;combines sports, mystery, clean humor, and old-fashioned teamwork;keeps kids reading to find out what crazy situations and stunts the dudes will get into next;is the next favorite read for fans of Spy School and Last Kids on Earth; andfeatures graphic novel-style illustrations in each chapter.Kids won't want to miss this non-stop adventure with their favorite dudes and Panda. (Will we finally find out Panda's true identity?) Parents will appreciate the wholesome themes that emerge as the Dude Perfect team navigates sticky situations.

This fast-paced, hilarious adventure story is a perfect gift for birthdays, holidays, or motivating your summer reader.

Genres: Middle Grade

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 12, 2026

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


I really like watching the Dude Perfect videos, I haven’t watched all of them, but I watched several. From their quizzes and who has the best item to trickshot videos and collabs with other Youtubers. So when I spotted this book I just had to get it. And I am so happy I got approved to read it.

And I have to say I had fun while reading even if it took several sittings to read the book. So instead of good, let’s start with what didn’t entirely work for me.
😫 The nicknames. While I do appreciate that they added them in the story, reading about a teen boy calling himself The Beard just was a bit weird. Not to mention that the story just seemed to go from nickname to normal name sometimes in the same paragraph. Sometimes without any reason at all. We would be reading about Tyler and suddenly he is The Beard.
😫 At times the story just seemed to miss some steps, the pacing just felt a bit odd at times.
😫 The ending. While I was clapping and applauding at what the boys achieved, I didn’t like Tyler’s record. Throughout the book we see him struggle with his shots, worrying about it, trying to defeat the, I guess you could call it this, fear. So I was eager for the ending to see him, on his own, defeat his worries and become the awesome dude that doesn’t fail. Instead he uses the hat that gives him superpowers. Otherwise known as, in my eyes at least, cheating. I would have much rather see him do a shot, pray, and then score. That would have felt much more honest.

What I did like:
😍 The boys! Seeing them try their hardest to figure things out for the sake of good. See them try to save a place they love and see them figure out how to best handle this. From selling tickets to figuring out a program to training and practising to get perfect shots. From telling their viewers to check them out. I loved seeing one of the twins try to figure out where he stood in life as he felt like he was the lesser twin, and while I don’t approve what he almost did, I could also understand.
😍 The spy stuff. Because Panda is just not any Panda, he is a spy! For the boys he is just someone that tagged along with them one day and is there with them, but in reality Panda is a spy for a big network and throughout the book we see him go on a mission, see him try to help out the boys, give them gadgets, and much more. I really loved the spy stuff as it added a layer of awesomeness + I loved seeing the boys get involved even if they didn’t know they were a part of something. Which makes me wonder if in the next book they will be told about the whole thing. Or if the next one is more covert stuff.
😍 The trick shots and seeing the boys attempt all sorts of fun things. From golf to basketball to bottles and more.
😍 The fundraising event at the end with the boys doing all their best trick shots and wowing the crowd. I wish I could have been there!
😍 The illustrations were just oodles and oodles of fun. I really love the style, it made everything come to life.

All in all, it took me a bit to read this book, but I did have fun despite some of the issues I had. I think this book will be a hit with the kids who love/are fans of Dude Perfect.

Review first posted on https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Tiffany Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this as a family read aloud (kids ages 9, 7, & 5). I will give each individual child's short review & a short parent review.

9 year old boy: I thought it was a good book that was full of action. If you like Dude Perfect, sports and superpowers, I think you would like the book. It was very funny and had a lot of parts that were surprising in it. I liked how things they talked about in the book were from their videos. It was fun to watch them work together to save the gym.

7 year old boy: I thought it was perfect like Dude Perfect. I liked that they got super powers to save the gym. I liked the sports and I thought the book was funny.

5 year old girl: I liked the pictures in it and it was just like on YouTube

Parent review: this was a fun book for anyone familiar with Dude Perfect. There were lots of references to their YouTube videos so it was cool to come across those little nods to their channel. This story followed the Dudes, as tweens, trying to save their beloved community gym by throwing a fundraiser trick-shot event. I appreciated the battle one of the characters (don't want to give anything away) had in making a choice in either doing the right thing or something bad. The battle between good & evil was handled with care & wasn't portrayed in a way that made that particular Dude look bad (one of my kids was worried people would think differently of him for almost making the wrong choice). I loved the Panda sections. They were subtle & not overpowering the storyline, but we all looked forward to them.

📖: 3rd person POV + Panda POV wirh Agent Anya
⚠️: a little magical realism as they received "powers" from items (this did not bother us, but I know some people avoid any magic so I did want to mention just in case). if you have a sensitive child, there is a scene with an alley fight & a capture so take care if you know your child is sensitive (these scenes had my kids on the edge of their seat, but they did not mind them)

Thank you to NetGalley, Dude Perfect (& Panda), & Tommy Nelson for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the lives of Dude Perfect, 5 former college roommates from Texas who really did make trick shots and now hold Guinness World Records, this illustrated chapter book is a really fun read.

Tyler, Garrett, Coby, Cory and Cody are 5 eighth graders who are on a mission to save the local community gym from an evil businessman. It’s full of mayhem, learning to overcome challenges and temptations, and stepping up when your community needs help.

Oh, and did I mention they have a Panda as a friend, who is a spy? He “recruits” them to be spies as well…except they don’t know they are spies…what could possibly go wrong?

This book will be loved by 8-12 year olds and fans of books similar to Spy School.

Publication Date: May 11, 2026

** Thank you Tommy Nelson for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Tommy Nelson through NetGalley.
As I was not familiar with Dude Perfect, I was glad to see the information at the end. This is the start of a fiction series showing this fivesome as kids. Readers will enjoy the camaraderie amongst the team as well as their trick shots and slumps. The wholesome theme of saving a neighborhood gym will resonate as well. I appreciate the way they showed one of the characters struggling with his basketball shots and losing confidence. This will resonate with their intended audience and boost their confidence that others struggle and overcome this too. By the end, they figure out how to save the local gym and lead the way to capture the criminal involved in trying to close it.
For a debut novel, this works but the pace is choppy at times and the points don't flow together at all times.

[Susy C. *MotherLambReads* · Rating 5 out of 5]

😊 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺! 🎉

𝗗𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 +𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘁

This book made my “𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥” books dude so happy. He absolutely loved this book and giggled the whole time. He snuck it into church, read it in the car, and promptly let his little BF borrow it.

Target audience: 8-12 year olds
Publication Day: May 12

Thank you so much for this book Tommy Nelson- it made his day and we will be looking for more!

💬*𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠.*⁣
💬𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵:𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴/

[Elise Gilmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has watched every Dude Perfect video with her kids, I was excited to find out they were writing a series of books.

Just as in their online content, this book was funny and completely appropriate for younger readers, encouraging them towards teamwork, honesty, and generosity.

If you are a DP fan, you'll enjoy coming across some inside jokes and fictional origin stories of their nicknames, etc. which was a fun surprise.

I'm looking forward to my boys reading this series!

+++

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up watching and loving Dude Perfect, I was so excited to get this ARC. I found this to be a cute and immersive story that gives more insight to each one of the guys.

I am rating it five stars purely based on the fact that I believe this to be a very good book for the age that it is targeted for. I truly would have loved this when I was like 9 or 10. That being said, the writing was very simple, so I found it a bit difficult to get into. But overall, a nice book for young fans of Dude Perfect and Panda.

[Aish]

You have to be a Dude Perfect fan to understand the fun references within this book but I definitely still think this is a book many will enjoy! I could tell the Dudes had a big part in planning this story. The writing itself sometimes felt a bit clunky in places but overall, coupled with the fun graphics, this was a great book with a powerful message for kids - 4 stars!

Thank you to Dude Perfect, Allan Woodrow, Tommy Nelson, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

#OperationTrickShot #NetGalley

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I love watching Dude Perfect so Operation Trick Shot was the perfect book for us to read. Our favorite part was definitely Panda. We loved all the references to real life Dude Perfect videos, The idea of them saving the gym was perfect. We loved reading about their perseverance and I loved the Panda investigation story line. Thank you to Dude Perfect, the publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy. A big 5 stars from my almost 8 year old.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book popped up in my email and I was immediately curious because there for awhile I spent quite a bit of time watching Dude Perfect videos so I was familiar with the group and wanted to know how a book based on the this group would be.

The introduction of the boys and what the group does was decently written and there was some fun dialogue that I think might make it a good book to suggest to sports fans. I would say it wasn't written any better or worse than other books that are for the targeted age group and had some good messages. The plot was also interesting enough.

But I'm honestly not entirely sure it would keep a child's attention unless they were actually familiar with Dude Perfect themselves. I feel like a lot of the little funny things that I enjoyed were because I understood the references already and that would be harder for a younger audience. So if a child has seen some videos or if the adult would take the time to watch some of the trick shots with DP I think it would be a worthwhile recommendation.

[Courtney Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for kids! I read it to both of my kids and they both loved it. My son loved the basketball references. My daughter loved everything about it. Over all great read for kids

[Ginny Yurich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loooooove the premise here!!! It’s all about saving play and there are so many plot twists. It’s a page-turner. Love this new book series from Dude Perfect!

[Noah Johnstun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awsome I have been watching dp for over 7 years and they havet disappointed me this time either
The dudes with powers panda a secret agent the only make it better is if SPARKY was in it *forshadowing*

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for its target audience. If you have a young fan (7-9) of the Dude Perfect videos, this book may be an entry into reading for them. It is silly, a bit slapstick, the characters are the guys they already know, and the panda is a secret agent.

This is no literary masterpiece, to be sure, but young DP fans will find fun here.

[Clean Book Hoarders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dude Perfect and Panda Operation Trick Shot

I was so excited to be approved to read this book. It is a fun middle grade book. (8-12)
It was clean and just a quick read. The illustrations were funny and really made the chapters feel more interesting. We can't wait for the next one. 5 ⭐️ read

Thank you Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.