 Hello there, today I'm here for a short review on a book that I was given an arc copy of. This is called The Quest for the Golden Plunger. And it was actually written by Jackson Dicker, who was one of the minds behind Campfire. And I was not paid for this review, but he did just offer me an advance copy, so now that that's out of the way, let's go. This is the introduction song. It's not very good, but it's not too long. So if the title didn't tip you off, then this book is a comedy. You know, it's a pretty simple story about a bunch of teen boys who are friends and they go off to a summer camp, and they take part in a contest, actually a variety of contests, all to win this prize, which is just called The Golden Plunger. And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a trophy shaped like a plunger, plated in gold, and they get their picture put up on a wall and stuff, and it's great. It'll be like one of the last things they get to do together as friends. You know how this sort of thing works, and then shenanigans ensue. And when I say shenanigans, I mean like regular kid stuff shenanigans, you know? Like they play pranks on each other, sometimes it means spirited pranks, but they're still funny. They play pranks on each other, you know, they go on hikes and have competitions with other campers, they have fights with other campers, they, it's just, you know, stuff like that. There's no magic, there's no aliens or evil vampires or anything. The plot is pretty laid back, I should say, and, well, dare I say, it's not that important to the book at all, because whether the heroes win The Golden Plunger or not is really not that important. I'm just along for the ride, you know? I'm enjoying their interactions, I'm enjoying the jokes and the comedy that's in here. I, I'm just having fun with that. And on occasion, on occasion the book does try to have more serious moments and it's not that those were bad, it's just that they never grabbed me that much and I kind of just wanted things to go back to being funny. Like, you know, kids talk about sometimes heavy stuff and I don't think that something has to be pure comedy or pure drama in the slightest. It's just that in this instance I didn't care that much about the drama because I was just here for the laughs. Now thing about comedies is that they're hard to review because if it's a good comedy then you're just sitting there going, yeah, this was funny and this other thing was funny too and I enjoyed that. That was, that made me laugh. Whereas if it's a bad comedy, you're sitting there going, that wasn't funny. That wasn't funny. That wasn't funny either. Like, there's only so many different ways you can say that. So in the interest of fairness, here's a couple of excerpts to give you an idea of what this book's humor is like. When they're first introduced to The Golden Plunger, it's described like this. The Golden Plunger sparkles in the sunlight, it's verge and surface having never touched a toilet bowl. Looking at it always makes me feel poetic. The Plunger holds some kind of special power to invoke something primal inside me, inside many of us. The Plunger was created for one purpose, to fuel a testosterone-driven contest for simple-minded boys every summer. There's no reward for winning it. No cash, no hoes, no violent video games. The winning troop gets bragging rights and their picture taken, but bragging rights over every other group of guys in camp is enough to turn ranger against ranger, mother against child, and perhaps even Christ himself against humanity. Tis a beautiful thing. And at another point, this happens. Alright people, I'm gonna give you some fast facts. Uncle Ruckus counts them on his fingers. First, if you think about someone while you masturbate, you have to pay them for their intellectual property. Second, eye contact with the ladies is a tricky thing to master. If you use too much, you're creepy. If you use too little, you're shifty. But never make eye contact with another guy while you're peeing at a urinal. And beyond that, there's just stuff like... there's someone called the Waffle Stomper, which is a legend at camp, and people talk about it in hushed tones as though something really bad happened years ago when in reality it's just someone pooped in the shower and stuffed it down the drain. Like, things like that, you know? It's really childish, but occasionally it gets a little more adult as well. And I'm up to minds on that, because on one hand, the story as a whole feels mostly geared towards kids, you know? I feel like I read a bunch of stuff similar to this when I was, like, 10 years old. And so the more mature stuff did take me out of that. But at the same time, I think back to, like, movies and stuff from the 80s and how kids acted in those, like in stuff like The Goonies or The Monster Squad. And I think, yeah, kids kind of are like that, you know? We were kind of little assholes when we were that age. And they do act more adults, even if they don't do it around older people. So I'm up to minds on this on one hand. Yeah, it does feel a little off to me, but it is realistic and it does still make me laugh. So I guess it's not a huge problem. And really, that's that's all I can say here. I think that this it's it's not really for kids. I wouldn't give it to them. But for teenagers and young adults and older and stuff, I think this is a good reminder of what it was like to be young at the risk of sounding cliched. I think it was that. I think there were some really good laughs in there. I had a good time reading it. It's not that long. So if the quest for the Golden Plunger sounds like something that you might have fun with, then go ahead and check it out. It was fun. And thanks again to Jackson for the arc. Thunk to patron names you see here and thank also to $10 and up. Oppo Savalainen, Olivia Ray and Brother Santotys, Carolina Clay, Christopher Quinten, Mbis, Great Gebo, Joel, Carcat Kitsune, Liza Rudecova, Lord Tiebreaker, Madison Lewis Bennett, microphone, Sad Martigan, Samuel Nevin, Tobacco Crow, Tom Beanie and Vevictus. Without you guys, this would not be possible. And if you want to get your name on here and you want to participate in stuff like polls to determine what my next video topic will be or early access to my videos, then consider becoming a patron. If not, then maybe become a channel member because that's a thing now. And I'm not good at outros. So goodbye. See you later. Bye.