ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Sixteen-year-old comics artist Dan Weekes and his nerdy best friend, Charlie, are headed for a week-long wilderness survival adventure with Hank, his mother's fiancé; she wants the trip to be a "bonding" experience between son and future stepdad. Her track record with men is not promising, however, and Dan is worried about Hank's commitment. Charlie, on the other hand, senses opportunity: this wilderness jaunt is the perfect time to sabotage the relationship and upcoming marriage via lots of diarrhea, vomiting, body odor, embarrassing questions, and, well, the unexpected survival realities of a lost wilderness guide, a people-tracking black bear, and a crashed rescue plane ink Gary Paulsen meets Captain Underpants. Technology in the form of a perversely adapted Baby-Real-A-Lot (a lifelike doll that mimics a real baby), scatological and reproductive humor, and teenage boy sexual fantasies team up with tense backwoods situations to create a perfect middle-school read. Be prepared for lots of in-the-stacks snickering.

Horn Book

Dan is blindsided when his mom announces her engagement to the too-perfect Hank and sends the pair out on a wilderness survival trip to bond. Determined to prove Hank unfit for his mother, Dan plans several pranks that backfire spectacularly. South Park levels of gross-out humor mesh awkwardly with Dan's genuine fears and sadness about gaining a stepfather.

Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Budding artist Dan Weekes enjoys the intellectually sarcastic banter of his best bud and uber-nerd, Charlie, so much so that he frequently endures the punishment that comes in response to the barbs Charlie sends toward the varsity wrestlers. Charlie's ability to humiliate seems the perfect anecdote to subvert Dan's mother's plans to marry dentist Hank. The guy is too good to be true, and if the marriage goes through, Dan will have to change schools, away from Charlie and his secretly beloved Erin. Mom's plans to send the guys on a week-long survival camping trip to bond is welcomed by Charlie, who thinks the opportunities to discourage Hank have just grown exponentially. Hilarity ensues.Calame's Dan vs. Nature is sophomoric humor at its best. Tear-inducing guffaws abound on nearly every page. Both Dan and Charlie's characters are beautifully fleshed out and perfectly complementary. Calame's writing makes the reader a trio in their shenanigans by page five. The appearance of fellow camper Penelope, who is Charlie's match in intelligence and acerbity if not nerdiness, proves that sophomoric humor need not be at the expense of half the human race. Calame's story grows a bit predictable and less funny as the group faces real danger and the relationships are forced to reconcile, but the humor never completely dissipates. Readers will need to know how things turn out for the friends they share so many laughs with.Lauri J. Vaughan.Dan vs. Nature is a wonderfully humorous story that combines life-threatening events and personal conflicts. Both problems play significant roles in the plot, creating suspense that makes the book almost impossible to put down. The realistic tone increases sympathy for Dan's plight, even if he seems improbably lucky at times. Dan vs. Nature is definitely worth a read; it creates a relatable story in the most unlikely circumstances. 5Q, 5P.Allison Wang, Teen Reviewer.