Dorothy “Doe” Saltpeter is back at The Weston School for her senior year, and she has no doubt that it will be epic. She has one last year to win before she can move on. And she and her friends are determined to leave their mark on the prank war that has been going on since long before their time at the school.

Doe, Gemma, Jade, Sumi, and Shawn first rose to prank celebrity their first year at Weston, when they unleashed ping pong balls over the basketball game at Winfield Academy, the boys’ school right across the street. Winfield struck back, and Doe and her friends answered. As the years went by and the pranks stacked up, and Doe lead the girls while Nathaniel Emeric Wellborn III, also known as Three, has lead the boys. Doe considers him her nemesis, and she comes up with a great idea to get under his skin.

The Wellborns are one of the most prominent families at Winfield, and there are several cousins and brothers there, like Wells. Wells isn’t into the prank war, but Doe knows that if she were to start going out with him, that would get to Three. She decides to go to Wells and see if he’ll go along with it. He agrees, but he wants something from her too. Three has a family watch that was supposed to go to Wells. He wants Doe to help him get it back, and he’ll go along with their fake dating.

Doe knows that there is a flaw with her plan—she may have to lie to her friends about the nature of her relationship with Wells, but when Weston’s headmistress stands up at their first assembly and announces that this will be the last year the schools are separate—that next year Winfield and Weston will combine into one coed school—Doe knows she has to do whatever it takes to win the prank war. She is against the merger, worried that the voices of the young women will be quieted. But Doe is determined to stay loud, to make sure that her voice and all the other students at Weston can be heard.

This May End Badly is the debut novel by Samantha Markum, and she is hitting the YA shelves with a bang. This story takes a playful look at friendship, loyalty, and pranking while also exploring more challenging topics of divorce, gender identity, and sexual predators. It makes big promises with its premise, but it delivers with bright characters, thoughtful surprises, and belly laughs.

I absolutely loved This May End Badly. I was rooting for Doe and her friends from page one, admiring their willingness to take risks as well as their passion for their school and its values. These young women are strong and smart and are willing to get into trouble for what they believe in, and it feels like no matter what they choose to do with their lives, they will be seen as leaders and mentors. I know I loved getting to spend time with them, and I think any reader who loves a good YA story or a good prank war will enjoy this read.

Egalleys for This May End Badly were provided by Wednesday Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.