THE GIRLS GET EVEN

In the rivalry that began with The Boys Start the War (1992), the Hatford boys once again square off against their neighbors, the Malloy sisters, when both agree that the winner of the school Halloween costume contest can exact a month's "slavery" from the losers. After fruitless attempts to winkle out each other's ideas, both sides resort to sabotage, which gets them disqualified. As in the first book, the Hatfords and Malloys are evenly matched and their pranks generally backfire, causing fury or embarrassment but no harm. Naylor's young characters are lively and distinct (adults are seldom seen, existing only to avoid or manipulate), but the "war," again, seems forced. Generally, the combatants want to call it off, but each time it's about to flicker out, some contrived circumstance heats it up. The plot is episodic, with an extraneous subplot—Caroline makes a long-awaited stage debut in a fourth-grade production—and no single climax. The versatile Naylor seems to be treading water with this aimless series. (Fiction. 11- 13)