Don CalameRezensionen

boy humor
somewhat raunchy
probably best for 9th graders
absolutely hilarious

A fun book to remind you of the awkward time of being a boy at 15.

Funny book about a young man named Quinn who loves performing magic tricks in his two-man act with his best friend Perry. Quinn wants to become a professional magician after graduation. The two guys plan to audition for a prestigious magic fantasy camp, which will help Quinn's longtime dream come true, but complications ensue when Quinn develops a crush on a girl who is also auditioning for magic camp. If they are rivals, will they ever get to date? And, it appears he and Perry will have to audition separately--will they even be able to do a good solo magic act after so many years as a team? And, could that weird old derelict guy in the diner doing Three Card Monte scams really be the famous magician (and Quinn's idol) The Dazzling Lazlo? Will Quinn be able to convince him to reveal his greatest trick for Quinn to use? There's some potty humor and a couple of f-bombs but otherwise a great book for older middle school readers, especially boys.

As a child, there were a bunch of things I wanted to be when I grew up. High up on that list was the career of magician. That history alone had me interested in The Delusionist. As the synopsis outlines, this book is about a teenager named Quinn who has a lifelong goal of being a magician. He is working towards earning a spot at a super exclusive Magic summer camp but naturally there will be a few obstacles in the way.

Quinn generally performs magic with his best friend Perry and even though it seems clear that Quinn is the mastermind behind the magic, Perry is the outgoing crowd-pleaser who always gets everything right. Quinn generally doesn't feel jealous or resentful of Perry but it's clear throughout the book that Quinn feels like he's a second class person, especially next to his best friend. As the camp audition rules arrive, the wording seems to suggest that they are looking for SOLO performers rather than group acts like the friends have. Quinn is both excited and a little sad about splitting up to try out. At about this same time, the boys meet a girl that recently moved into town who also has a passion for magic. Watching her tricks, they are quickly in awe of her talent and it's clear that she could be their main competition in the camp tryout. Add to this that Quinn has an immediate crush on her and things are really starting to get complicated for this competition.

The book is filled with a lot of Quinn's inner monologues as he tries to work through his emotions and struggles with his feelings of inadequacies and doubt. His parents are supportive but they are super quirky and hyper involved in their performance project. And with Quinn's friend and hopefully-girlfriend as his main competition, Quinn is left to try and figure out the path forward on his own.

Through a strange twist of fate, Quinn stumbles across a man that he hopes can help. From his early childhood, Quinn idolized the magician known as the Dazzling Lazlo and he has fond memories of an amazing closing act that Lazlo did. One evening, Quinn meets a man in a diner and is sure that he is the now washed-up Lazlo masquerading as a down-on-his luck man named Bob. Quinn attaches himself to Bob and pressures him into teaching him the mystical trick. I was expecting some sort of Karate Kid moment with Mr. Miyagi teaching Daniel-san how to paint the fence or wash the car. I won't spoil their interactions but let's just say that things get even more complicated the longer the two work together.

I didn't have any specific expectations when I picked up this book other than it being a teenage book about wannabe magicians. I was pleasantly surprised to find a book with some meat to the plot and some interesting character development and pacing. The author did a good job of portraying the world from the point of view of a teenager. It had some of the gritty language and situations that teenagers face without being either too cheesy or too obscene. It felt like a realistic balance. I also loved the insights we had into Quinn's thought process. Getting into magic camp is the spoken plot device but the story is really about Quinn trying to figure out his identity and his place in the world especially as it relates to his friends, family, community and hobbies. He struggles with legitimate insecurities and works through them with the impulsiveness and confusion that a teenager (or any human) has when faced with similar troubles. Quinn's parents felt a bit like caricatures, though they did also have some moments of substance and they worked well for the part they played in the story.

My biggest struggles with the story were the interactions between Quinn and Bob/Lazlo and the use and descriptions of the magic tricks. Regarding the magic tricks I felt like it was a weird balance between being absolutely unbelievable and being rather mundane. The descriptions of the tricks was fine generally but it felt a little strained at moments. My bigger struggle was with the activities that happened with Bob/Lazlo and Quinn. Again, I don't want to spoil things but even with Quinn's seemingly hopeless situation I had a hard time believing that Quinn would go through with some of the things Bob asked him to do. It felt out of character and unrealistic (especially when our young looking/acting Quinn was in the bar scene). These scenes were fun and exciting and certainly gave Quinn more introspective memories but they felt rather strained to me.

Overall this was a fun book. The reading level and pacing would be solid for middle graders although parents may have some complaints about the language (again, it wasn't excessive and felt fairly realistic and equitable to the language I sometimes heard around the middle schools I've visited, but it is still pushing the PG-13 language realm). The plot is enjoyable and the wrap up makes sense even though the denouement and conclusion were a bit cheesy in my opinion.

Even if you're not a big magic fan, if you're looking for a fun book about teenage struggles with friendship and goals, you'll probably enjoy this.

****

3.5 out of 5 stars½

The Delusionist is fun, funny, and with that touch of heart-warming that's needed to make the characters truly likeable. A solid YA story that fits into a great niche topic - magic - but an enjoyable read for all ages. The quirky main character Quinn was relatable and the magic acts felt real - a great combination of reality and magic!

4.5/5

I really enjoyed this fast placed book with likeable and relatable characters. Quinn, the main character, is doing everything he possibly can to get into this coveted magic fantasy camp alongside his best friend and fellow magician. Quinn, who is the brains of the group, always sees himself as less than Perry, the 'beauty' of the pair, especially since it seems that Perry has everything going for him.

It has been their dream to go to this camp together and it seems to be becoming reality when they each finally get their invitations to try out. But there is a twist, the official rules say that they cannot have a partner, this seems to both a problem ans a blessing for Quinn as he navigates a way to stay friends with Perry but also reach his dream of getting into the camp.

Dani, a fellow magician who happens to also be a cute girl, comes into the whole scene and is also vying for that coveted spot. She uses some of her tricks to persuade Quinn in a certain direction without necessarily making him actually do anything. She is a nice mix in this whole thing as she is a great challenge to Quinn.

There are many ups and downs and people finding themselves in this story and I think it is a really great read. It explores friendship, growth, and the way jealousy can sometimes lead down a darker path (hint: a sketchy ex-magician who Quinn absolutely idolized for his super secret magic trick). And that communication is key and not everything is always as it seems.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.½

A funny story about a young magician balancing many desires: maintain the relationship with his best friend, preparing to audition to get into a coveted magic camp, become closer to the girl of his dreams without letting her manipulate him, and work with his magician idol to learn his best trick while not getting arrested, and endure his parents. All of these plots intertwine to make a compelling, enjoyable, and quick read, all while being entertained by the descriptions of the tricks performed by the magicians in the book.

I received this book as part of the early reviewers program.

This is the first book I have read about magic, and while I was skeptical, I really enjoyed reading this book. The book spoke a lot about the friendship between the main character and his best friend and magic partner. I find that characters in YA books can come off too angsty. The main character Quinn came off angsty enough to be believable as a high school kid, but not so angsty that he comes off unlikeable. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it, especially to someone with an interest in magic.

Given that this is a YA book about a 15 year old magician I was not expecting so much blood in the opening chapters. Don’t worry, no one gets hurt.

15 year old Quinn is trying to win a spot at a magic camp with his magic partner Perry. Then new girl Dani shows up, and she could be even better than Quinn! How far will they all go to secure their spot?

After the exciting opening chapter, the pace slowed down a bit. It took a while for me to become invested in the story. This story focuses on friendship, and how how we treat our friends matters. It also explores how jealousy can be a part of a friendship. The final showdown at the magic audition was the best part of the book. I think this book also explores themes of how people and things are not always what you think they are. I thinks kids who enjoy magic will enjoy this book very much.

I received a free review copy from LibraryThing and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a cute book! It was a fun and easy read. It is a nice middle school-early high school book and I loved it!

Quinn is a 16 year old kid in high school that is trying to win the audition for Magic Camp with his friend Perry. Unfortunately, the Magic Camp is only looking for solo acts so they have to audition separately.

An interesting story about friendship and Magic with some bumps along the way that make for such a good read. Love the characters, relationships, and situations that Quinn found himself in through the book. Add on the Magic tricks and shows and it makes for a fantastic - or MAGICAL story. Get it? Magical? Classic comedian right here. Anyways I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to check it out!

I loved this book so much. When I was a kid, my brother was an aspiring magician and used to do magic shows for all of my birthday parties! So I'm familiar with how unusual and neat it is for a kid to be interested in that. I really thought this book did a great job of capturing high school dynamics and feelings and loved all the characters.

Quinn Purcell and best-friend to Mr. Perfect-in-every-way Perry perform in a magic act together in the hopes of securing a spot at the Masters of Magic Fantasy Camp. But when the rules are unclear about partner acts, the duo must decide whether to continue together and be disqualified or attempt solo gigs. And to make matters worse, a newcomer magician, Dani Darling, appears on the scene capturing Quinn’s attention (and heart) and threatening their spot at camp. So now Quinn has a difficult decision to make: Is his potential future career as a magician worth his best friend and possible new girlfriend?

Although, I’ve never read a book about non-fantasy magicians or magical acts before, I have seen my fair share of ‘Magic for Humans’ and ‘Brain Games’ to be invested enough in the intrigue of sleight of hand and misdirection, and this book kept me engaged and made it feel as though I was watching the acts unfold in front of me (And I still want to know how they do it!).

This book was the perfect amount of teenage angst, complicated relationships, and fascinating magical stunts. Quinn was such a relatable character that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him while at the same time wanting him to get his shit together and stop feeling sorry for himself.

The Delusionist by Don Calame

Quinn loves magic, he has always performed with his best friend Perry. He wants to compete in the Masters of Magic Fantasy Camp. He is delighted to find he is invited but as a solo act. Also, he may be up against Dani Darling. Dani is very good at magic and a that is rare for young ladies. Then he meets his idol Dazzling Lazlo, a man he hopes can help him. Life is taking some interesting turns for this young magician as he is faced with decisions.

A fast paced story with likable characters and fun plot. Quinn has his best friend Perry, a new girl that he likes, and the chance of a lifetime. Then there is infamous magician Lazlo, is he going to help Quinn or does he have another agenda? Friendship, competition and fun abound in this magical read. I highly recommend The Delusionist to Y/A as well as Adult readers.

This is a direct sequel to the first, except this one takes the POV of the group’s Stifler.

There’s a reason that Stifler is a secondary character in the American Pie series and not one of the main four/three. You can only take him in small doses. As comic relief, he’s not supposed to learn anything or grow. The Stifler in American Pie is the Stifler in American Wedding (I didn’t see American Reunion). He’s the trickster, the shapeshifter. He challenges the status quo. He’s the foul-mouthed friend with the crazy schemes. He’s a little bit the enemy — how far will he drag his friends down to pursue his own self-interests?

And you’re going to make a novel about him?

I almost quit in the beginning. Cooper is chauvinistic in a way that doesn’t mesh with 2020 culture. He’s the same character as the last book–obsessed with who’s cool and who’s not. Staring at boobs. Making constant sex jokes and double entendres. Wanting to get with the hotties and naught with the notties. Trying to prove he’s a macho man, almost to the point where he’s a bully. Spending more time and effort avoiding work than actually doing the work. And wanting to bone everything in sight, even if that’s not how teenagers are.

But…

It gets better. The big conflict is that, for his Health class project, he’s paired with a “persona non grata” girl. All he’s worried about is how this will affect his reputation and how to either get out of it or do as little work as possible. And as you’d expect, Coop’s journey is him learning to see women as people instead of weird objects indicative of status and pleasure. And that there are more important things than how you are seen by other people. And I guess I’m a sucker for that kind of story, as that was a common trope in during my teen years (e.g. The Outsiders, She’s All That, American Pie 2, Carrie, Harry Potter). If you can get used to the constant sex references, there’s a decent story in here–a romance and a comedy.

Most times when I read a sequel, I usually don’t have much to say. My oft-repeated tagline is “If you’ve read the first one you’ve probably already decided whether or not you’ll read the second one.” But in this case they’re different books. The first has a butt-monkey as the main character and this one stars the “jerk with a heart of gold”. You don’t need to read the first one, but why not? They’re both good books.

Pretty raunchy at time but always pretty funny especially with an annoying dad who is just as bad as the high school boys whom this book is really about. A good and funny read.

Surprisingly touching. I thought this wouldn't be my kind of book (I'm not into humour of the vomit, B.O., and explosive diarrhea variety), and I guess I was right. But I got really invested in the characters, and... I cried a little by the end. Go figure.

So, if you are looking for a wilderness survival book involving gross humour and some great characters, then hey, maybe pick this one up.

Hilarious adventures of friends trying to see a naked girl.

Dan gets to spend his spring break bonding with his step-dad-to-be in a wildlife trip. Dan and his best friend Charlie are determined to sabotage him and invent all types of gross-out pranks to try to bring him to the brink. When the group is all separated, the teens are stretch to survive all manners of outdoor turmoil - weather, an angry bear, cold, and hunger.
Laughable moments and gross-out scenes make this for an entertaining read that just confirmed that camping is not really for me.

Dan is a 16-year-old student whose main interest is creating graphic novels. His best friend, Charlie, is a super-bright geek interested in photojournalism. When Dan’s Mom announces her engagement to her latest boyfriend – a dentist named Hank – Dan is unhappy but resigned. When Mom gives him a “survival week” experience to share (and bond) with Hank, Dan and Charlie concoct a plan to scare Hank away. But they weren’t counting on a bear stalking them ….

This sounded like a decent premise for a YA novel but Calame’s reliance on scatological humor and descriptions that only a 13-year-old boy will find funny just lost me. I couldn’t believe that Dan and Charlie would remain BFFs through all this; I didn’t buy Dan’s “true love” for Erin; I really didn’t believe in the totally inept adventure outfitters (especially Max running off into the woods to kanoodle with Barbara when the rest of his party – including Barbara’s daughter – were out in the wilderness with no life skills); he is, after all, responsible for their safety.

It should have been a fast read, but it didn’t hold my attention, and as I was reading while we were on a long cross-country trip, it took me a full week to finish it. I think my nephew would have liked it when he was in his early teens; at eighteen, I think he’s matured beyond this stage.

The book,"Swim The Fly" by Don Calame tells the coming of age story of a boy named Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Sean and Coop. Every summer the boys challenge themselves to complete a task and this time they decided they were going to see a girl naked in person. While Matt struggles to accomplish this goal, he must also worry about competing in his swimming team's butterfly race. The book is a humorous tale of teenage boys going through the motions of life while still trying to deal with personal goals. In my opinion, it has great pacing as well as memorable characters, such as Matt's grandpa who is desperately trying to score a date with their neighbor whose husband just died. It is an enjoyable read that will keep you coming back just to find out what happens next. I rate it 4/5 stars.

A fun book to remind you of the awkward time of being a boy at 15.½

Don Calame's first book, Swim the Fly, while irreverent and filled with (gross) 9th grade boy teasing, fantasies, and crassness, made me laugh out loud. This second book, as the threesome are sophomores, seemed to dip further into male crassness, outright lewdness, and often made me squirm not laugh. It righted itself eventually - Cooper emerges from his skulking, total lack of respect for his friends' feelings, and responsibility- dodging obsession to be with the "hot" girls of the school- and stands up for his newfound friend Helen, the mocked and shunned girl of his sophomore class. But it took a long time to get there. Thus the two stars; not recommended for every student, only those who can look beyond the aforementioned yuck factor and hang in there for the guys' triumphant band performance as a team, and Cooper's eventual moral compass to realign.

Refreshingly funny and engaging. Calame has a good ear for dialogue and a keen sense of humor, capturing the essence of the situation perfectly. Great details and characters.

Received via Candlewick Press in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif

Dan vs Nature is a hilarious novel with plenty of raunchy humour that kept me laughing out loud. It's rare to find a novel that actually catches me off guard and makes me laugh in delight, but Dan vs Nature, as the cover promises, is an "outrageously funny and wickedly raunchy romp in the woods".

In terms of novels, Dan vs Nature is probably one of the more "out there" Novels that deviates from my traditional female lead characters, romance and intrigue - but it deviates in a good way. What starts out as a story about a boy trying to thwart his mother's suitor with a less-than-devilish prank plot, becomes a hilarious and genius tale of acceptance and growing up, complete with a heart warming ending to leave a reader with a smile on their face. Dan vs Nature is a ligh-hearted novel that will appeal to readers from all back grounds and age ranges - a particularly impressive feat - with some fantastic surprises. At no point in this novel was I bored nor was I aware that Calame was following a well-trodden plot in an already saturated Young Adult novel market.

I particularly loved how Calame wrote a tale about wilderness survival from the point of view of people with various issues with wilderness and daily living. Charlie is afraid of contracting serious diseases from internalized conditions, Penelope just wants to get through the weekend without her mother embarrassing her and Dan just wants to get rid of Hank, who just wants Dan to accept him as a potential father figure. During their adventure each character faces their fears, reveals secrets and in the end conquer some very real issues. Not bad for a novel written for 16 year old boys (or at least more than I was expecting).

My only issue with this novel was that over use of words of which most 16 year old kids probably have never been exposed. The dictionary worthy, spelling bee words used by (best friend) were particularly challenging and hindered the novel's realism a tad. Granted, this intellectual exercise and witty banter only added to the appeal for myself, but was a bit out of place for a novel written for teenagers. In retrospect, perhaps the use of challenging and unique words is a writing device the author utilized to not only keep adults interested in the novel, but also to develop young reader's vocabularies (something I definitely support).

In the end I loved Dan vs Nature for its fresh ideas, unique plot that also followed the cliché acceptance of a new father figure, but didn't go over board with the message of family.

This book would appeal to readers who enjoy outdoorsy literature, contemporary young adult novels and novels that hark back to the early days of young adult before the market was over come with "YA for adults". Dan vs Nature is worth a read if you're feeling down or want a good, childish laugh. A wonderful read for all ages.

This classic tale of pranks gone awry was a fun, quick read with some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments. Sure some of the scenario's were a bit far-fetched and sure, the cliched ending could be seen from a mile away, but it was still enjoyable. I'd recommend it to your average male YA reader.½