In this laugh-out-loud gross-out comedy, 16-year-old Dan Weekes is forced to participate in a survivalist camping trip with his mother's new fiancé, and his attempts to sabotage the bonding experience go hilariously, horribly awry. Dan would rather draw comics than catch and cook his own dinner, and he certainly doesn't want handsome dentist Hank to become his new father. So Dan and his best friend Charlie launch an all-out campaign of terror designed to drive Hank away. But as the trip becomes a nightmarish struggle to elude hungry bears and survive in the wilderness, it's Dan who suffers the most, from food poisoning to poison ivy and wasp stings in unwelcome places. If their ragtag group—which also includes a hyper-smart, no-nonsense girl named Penelope—is to make it, they'll have to work together. Calame (Call the Shots) utilizes every juvenile humor trick in the book (body odor, flatulence, awkward sex jokes, regurgitation) to draw guilty laughter from Dan's onslaught of shameful experiences. The result is coming-of-age by way of catastrophe. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Apr.)

Sixteen-year-old aspiring graphic novelist Dan Weekes is dismayed when his mother gets engaged to Hank. He and his friend Charlie concoct a scheme to chase Hank away while on a survivalist trip. Along the way, they meet up with Barbara and her daughter Penelope. Dan and Charlie try to push Hank to the breaking point through various antics. When the survivalist team is attacked by a bear and the party becomes separated, Dan realizes that Hank is not at all like the father who left him behind. Charlie and Penelope develop an attraction to each other, and Dan's triumphant return helps him to finally connect with the girl of his dreams. For readers who like their stories laced with gross-out humor and teenage boy hi-jinks peppered with sexual situations, this book will fit the bill. The antics drag on at times before Dan reaches a turning point, but the book's humor is infused with real growth and the characters are likable.

Gr 10 Up—Dan Weekes, a budding graphic novelist, and his geeky, germophobic best friend, Charlie, are just trying to survive high school, their main goal being not getting beat up by the jocks. Meanwhile, Dan's mother has made a point of dating almost every man in California. Then she meets Hank, to whom she gets engaged before Dan even meets him. The teen's first impression is that Hank is the living version of Wolverine, leaving him checking his hand for fractured bones after their initial handshake. For Dan's 16th birthday, his mom gets him two tickets to go on a wilderness adventure to bond with Hank. To make matters worse, Dan is assigned to take Baby-Real-A-Lot (a mechanical baby) the same week as the trip. Dan convinces Charlie to go on the trip, with Charlie coming up with a series of increasingly raunchy pranks designed to scare Hank off from marrying Dan's mom. Calame throws a twist in when Penelope, a smart and adorkable teen, and her mother end up on the same trip. Full of uproariously funny scenes and foul language typical of today's teens, this is a journey through the wilderness that readers will never forget. The pranks include doctored-up chili, doe urine, rainbow barf, and an unplanned stalker. Under the surface, Calame touches on deeper issues, including Dan's absent father, Hank's own father issues, jealousy, and expectations of what makes a family. VERDICT Perfect for the most reluctant of readers, this book is a sure-fire hit.—Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN