My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!)

Tongue-in-cheek debut novel about an irrespressible hero, featuring hilarious, subversive scrapbook entries and almost 200 archival illustrations.

Stan is on a quest to find his father in the logging camps of Michigan, negotiating his troublesome family and a host of lumberjacks in the process. Set in the 1890s, Stan's debacles are chronicled in a scrapbook that is illustrated with almost 200 black-and-white 19th century advertisements and photos, which are defaced, of course, with Stan's abundant commentary and asides.

There are many things that 11-year-old Stanley Slater would like to have in life. A bicycle with vermilion tire rims. Another chance to see Conrad McAllister wearing old Mrs. Cavanaugh's huge pink underdrawers on his head. The means of getting rid of his ancient and crotchety Granny, who is as hairy as Loup Garou and 99.9% evil. Most of all, Stan would like to have a father.

But what if Stan's missing dad isn't "dearly departed" after all? Who better to find this absent hero/cowboy/outlaw than manly Stan himself? Nothing goes smoothly for Stan out in the chilly woods. Not only must he deal with his impossible cousin Geri and bossy Granny, but he must fend off Mama's suitors like Cold-Blooded Killer Stinky Pete, and somehow get himself on to the River Drive, the most perilous adventure of all, where even a fellow's peavey is at risk.

It's a wild ride for Stanley as he finds out a thing or two for himself about true manliness, but at least he has his scrapbook to embellish the tale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Like Stan, ALISON DECAMP grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Unlike Stan, Alison had indoor plumbing and more than two pairs of pants. Her family history consists of stories of life in lumber camps and old scrapbooks. Lots of real people from Alison's history make appearances in this tale of young Stanley Slater. Most of them are made up. But Alison says, "Aren't stories great? Listen to them, because some day you might want to write a book." A graduate of Michigan State University, Alison is a former middle and high school language arts teacher. She now works at Between the Covers, a bookstore in Harbor Springs, Michigan, and spends the rest of her time with her husband and teenage children. My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!) is her first novel.