A kid's novel by Jory John, Mac Barnett, and Kevin Cornell, published in 2018. The third in the The Terrible Two series.
School's out and pranksters Miles and Niles have retreated to a perfect hideout in the woods. After stealing the flag of the nearby Yawnee Valley Yelling and Push-Ups Camp, they feel on top of the world. But their leafy, lazy days darken when bully Josh Barkin and fellow cadets vow to get their flag back.
It was the sequel to The Terrible Two Get Worse and was followed by The Terrible Two's Last Laugh, the fourth and final book in the series.
Tropes:
- Ballad of X: While lost in the woods, Principal Barkin makes up a song called "The Ballad of the Wandering Principal".
- Brains Versus Brawn: Written in the book's synopsis. Josh and his friends are bigger and stronger, as they are all in the same boot camp. Being 5'1 and 4'9 respectively, Miles and Niles must rely on their wits and imagination to prank them.
- Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Mudflap and Splinters play this role for Josh Barkin.
- Derailed Train of Thought:Josh’s mom always said Josh was the kind of kid who “would rather eat his dessert first.” But what was the dessert here? Stealing a bunch of gold, or beating up a couple of nimbuses? They were both dessert! And you know what, Josh’s mom was wrong. He wouldn’t rather eat his dessert first. He’d rather eat his dessert first and last. Otherwise you’re just eating something gross like carrots at the end of the night, when you should be eating dessert. In fact, why eat carrots at all? Why not just eat all dessert? And that was the great thing about the options that lay before him: They were all dessert!
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Bertrand Barkin donates all of his son's fantasy books to a rival school and admonishes him for reading the comics section of the newspaper.
- First-Name Basis: Principal Barkin says that because they aren't in school anymore, Niles can call him Barry. Miles, however, is not allowed this privilege.
- Fun with Acronyms: To a pathological degree. Notable examples include PLOP (L and O stand for the same word), NIMBUS, RETCON, and NOMBUS.
- Pants-Pulling Prank: Once again, a Barkin is pantsed. This time it's Josh.
- Prank Gone Too Far: Josh tries to force Niles to eat rocks and, when that plan fails, shaves off half of his hair.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: At the end of the book, Miles delivers this to Josh after the latter torments Niles under the guise of "pranking" him.
