The Boys Start the War

The Boys Start the War is the first of many novels in the series of children's books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The series is centered on two families, the Hatfords, who have four sons, Jake, Josh, Wally, and Peter, and the Malloys, who have three daughters, Eddie, Beth, and Caroline. The names Hatford and Malloy are probably a reference to the Hatfields and McCoys, actual West Virginia families who famously carried on a feud. The Malloys are temporarily staying in a house across the street to the Hatfords, which was once owned by a family of boys (the Bensons) who were best friends of the Hatford boys.

Plot
Wally plays with his pancakes and wishes he could just do nothing. His brothers call him up to the attic so they could spy on their new neighbors, the Malloys. They find out that all three kids are girls, and are very disappointed. To get rid of them they dump dead animals on their side of the river to make them think the river was polluted. To get back at them, Eddie and Beth pretended Caroline had died, and tossed her into the water, to the amazement of the Hatfords. Later, Caroline appears again, and the boys are shocked. The Hatfords give the Malloy girls a cake their mother baked as a welcome. The girls believe it's a trick, and Caroline throws the cake into the river. The girls realize they need to bring back the plate. While the boys laugh, Caroline dives into the water to retrieve it. (I forgot what happened in chapter 7 so I'll skip it). The boys climb a ladder up to Beth's window at night. They get flashlights and shine them on scary masks, causing Beth to scream in fear. (I also forgot what happened in chapter 9). For revenge, the girls climb onto the Hatford's roof and sing a song that resembles a siren. The boys figure out what's happening and take the ladder, trapping the girls on the roof with the pouring rain. They manage to open a door in the roof and enter the hallway, leaving it open so the rain poured in. As the boys scramble to close the door, the girls make their exit right when the Hatford's parents get home. (The plot is not complete)

Chapters

 * 1) The Aliens
 * 2) Burial at Sea
 * 3) Ghost
 * 4) Conversation
 * 5) Peace Offering
 * 6) The River on Caroline
 * 7) Free - for - all
 * 8) Floating Heads
 * 9) Ransom
 * 10) Siren Song
 * 11) Trapped
 * 12) Letters
 * 13) Kidnapped
 * 14) Hornswoggled
 * 15) Bamboozled

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