Dan vs. Nature by Don Calame


Dan’s divorced mom has never had the best taste in men, Dan’s dad included. So when she tells Dan that she has arranged a hardcore camping trip for him and her newest beau Hank so that they can “get some quality guy time in,” Dan is obviously less than thrilled. Dan is sure that Hank is going to be just “another one of Mom’s freeloading man-child boyfriends eating all our food, shedding body hair in the shower, and stealing money out of my change jar.” At least Dan is able to convince his sarcastic brainiac best friend Charlie to come along as a buffer. But Charlie has other ideas–“You need to convince Hank that he’s in way over his head with the stepdad thing. Be creative. Have fun with it.” So the boys plan a serious of disasters intended to drive Hank as far away from Dan as possible. These include, but are not limited to: an extreme B.O. situation, a puking event, and an intense case of flatulence + diarrhea + poison ivy–all while trying to survive in woods “Man vs. Wild” style. After putting himself through bodily fluid hell, Dan hopes that will be enough to make Hank head for the hills. But when the camping team is forced to scatter due to a crazed bear attack, Dan and Hank have to depend on each other to make it out of the woods alive, and Dan starts to wonder if his scorched butt campaign was really the smart way to go. This scatologically funny comedy could only have come from the hilariously warped brain of screen writer Don Calame. The last time I was so completely amused and grossed out simultaneously was when I read his equally raunchy and highly entertaining Swim the Fly trilogy (which I recommend unequivocally to anyone aged 14+) If you appreciate witty dialogue, drawn out fart jokes and quick tips about how to survive in the woods with minimal supplies (and honestly, who doesn’t?) you are going to want to catch, snare or trap Dan vs. Nature when it comes to library, bookstore or e-reader near you April 2016.

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