The Funniest Book I've Read in a Long Time!
Calame, Don. Dan vs. Nature. Somerville, MA, Candlewick Press, 2016.
The. Funniest. Book. Ever.
Seriously, this book kept me laughing from the first chapter until the last. Dan Weekes is a shy, skinny teenager who only wants two things: to date the gorgeous Erin Reilly and to be a famous graphic novelist. His best friend and fellow victim of chronic bullying and harassment is Charlie Bungert, an aspiring journalist. Dan's mom, Sarah, is a serial dater only whose only goal is to find and marry the perfect man after dating a string of losers.
After an afternoon of particularly brutal (and gross) bullying, Dan's day goes from bad to worse. He arrives home to find his mom with the very handsome Dr. Hank Langston. His mom and Hank announce they are getting married and Dan knows how this will end: a broken heart for his mom. He has to do something to break up Hank and his mom.
Before Dan can talk to his mom about how his feelings over the engagement, she surprises Dan with a birthday present. It's a survivalist camping trek for him and Hank in Idaho's backcountry so they can bond. Dan and Charlie come up with Operation Torment Crusade, a plan so devious that Hank is sure to flee and leave Dan and his mom in peace. Operation Torment Crusade is full of pranks and stunts that escalate in grossness, embarrassment and hilarity. Somehow through intestinal distress in front of a pretty fellow camper and being stalked by a psychotic bear, Dan's survival now depends on Hank, the very man he's sworn to get rid of.
This book makes me think of Hatchet and Diary of a Wimpy Kid all rolled onto one book. If crude humor doesn't bother you, then you will definitely enjoy this book. Come see us in the library to check in out.
