The Reckless Club

On the last day of middle school, five kids who couldn't be more different commit separate pranks, each sure they won't be caught and they can't get in trouble. They're wrong. As punishment, they each have to volunteer one beautiful summer day-the last one before school-at Northbrook Retirement and Assisted Living Home, where they'll push creamed carrots into toothless mouths, perform the world's most pathetic skit in front of residents who won't remember it anyway, hold gnarled hands of peach fuzzed old ladies who relentlessly push hard candies, and somehow forge a bond with each other that has nothing to do with what they've done and everything to do with who they're becoming. All the action takes place in the course of this one day, with each chapter one hour of that day, as the five kids reveal what they've done, why they did it, and what they're going to do now.

"A unique and thoroughly entertaining read by an author with a genuine flair for narrative storytelling." --Midwest Book Review, "Beth Vrabel proves herself a master of middle school milieu with this updated take on a classic story of breaking boundaries and finding common ground, brought to life with a diverse cast by turns funny, infuriating, and ultimately caring, that readers will be sure to identify with."--Melissa Wyatt, author of Funny How Things Change, "Reading Beth Vrabel's The Reckless Club, immediately transported me back to my youth. I had seen the book described as an updated Breakfast Club, and the comparison nailed it. It captured all the warmth and charm of a beloved movie from my youth and made it fresh for a new audience. Just about every reader can identify with someone in this book. FYI: I identified with more than one." --Jonathan Rosen, author of Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies, "The novel is tender, and it goes where Hughes' film never could have with its multicultural cast"--Kirkus Reviews, A five-problem novel that entertains and provides some life lessons.--School Library Journal

Beth Vrabel is the award-winning author of Caleb and Kit, A Blind Guide to Stinkville, A Blind Guide to Normal, and the Pack of Dorks series. She can't clap to the beat or be trusted around Nutella, but indulges in both often, much to the dismay of her family. She lives in Texas, in the Dallas area.