Li'l Rip Haywire Adventures: Escape from Camp Cooties

By Dan Thompson

Rip Haywire thinks he's got it made. Instead of going to bed early, doing fractions and eating Brussels sprouts, he gets to accompany his soldier-of fortune dad on laughably dangerous international missions. He's the only 12-year-old in the world with a working knowledge of the Seven Most Common Booby Traps Used by Ancient Civilizations to Protect Their Precious Treasures. It sure beats school, right?

But Rip's life is about to change when his dad, in a sudden fit of responsibility, assigns Rip his toughest mission yet: a historically all-girls summer camp. Will Rip learn how to get along with his feminine camp mates, most of whom have never even seen a flame thrower, let alone used one to fend off a pack of rabid hyenas? Can Rip solve the mysteries that surround the camp and one intriguing girl in particular? Readers will follow Rip's misadventures in his whimsically illustrated journal, helping him to solve puzzles and beat the bad guys, as he learns that friendship can be more valuable than ancient treasure, and more powerful than a well-placed land mine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Release date: Mar 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781449478544

Book preview

Reviews for Li'l Rip Haywire Adventures

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this! Li'l Rip is the son of famous comic book adventurer Rip Haywire. This book is a chapter book with a combination of text graphic novel panels and puzzles which include mazes, word, and logic. Very interactive and a joy to read. Both witty and sarcastic humour along with emotions and characters (especially Rip) learning lessons about himself. The story is amusing: he's his Dad's sidekick on his world adventures in the mode of Indiana Jones and Allan Quartermain. His Dad is a bit worried that Li'l Rip doesn't have any regular kid interests or hobbies or friends so decides to send him to camp just for the summer. On such spur of the moment notice it's hard to find a camp with an open spot so when he does find one he quickly drops Li'l Rip off and drives away fast. As Rip walks up to the main office he finds out why his dad was in such a hurry to get away. He'll be spending the summer at "Pink Powderpuff Summer Camp for Girls". So Rip has plenty of fun and adventure at the camp but the best part is when the story flashbacks to a "This reminds me of the time when..." and we go back and follow one of Rips dangerous adventures around the world in rain forests, deserts, meeting the abominable snowman, in Egypt, etc. Hopefully, this is the start of a new series as it's something a little different in the hybrid text/graphic novel format and I'd love to read the next. Great old-timey comics artwork too.

[paula2childrenslib · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This fast paced fiction hybrid graphic novel is a book full of humor and adventure. Rip haywire spends most of his time accompanying his dad to save the world with his talking dog TNT, the name does not match the dog’s personality. His father thinks it would be a good idea to spend more time with kids his own age and sends him off to summer camp. To make matters worse for Rip, his dad signed him up for a girl summer camp without an escape route. As Rip is getting adjusted to camp, he is reminded of past adventures in similar situations. It even throws in a puzzle here and there. Rip does meet someone who will make camp more interesting for him and might have an escape too.There is no diversity to be found in this book and the artwork looks like comics from the 30’s and 40’s but it probably will appeal to reluctant readers or those transitioning to chapter books.

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an illlustrated journal that is a cross between a chapter book/comic book/graphic novel. Rip's father is a "soldier of fortune". He travels the globe hunting for treasure and Rip and his dog, TNT go with him. One summer, his dad decides he needs to learn how to socialize with kids his own age so send him to summer camp. The problem is that it is a girl's camp and Rip is the only boy there. He decides he needs to escape, but his father has had extra security added so he can not. There are overly protective counselors, a variety of female campers, and lots of trouble. Rip has many flashbacks to his adventuring days and his conflicts with the Doofus brothers. He realizes that he is somewhat of a bully, but can not seem to help himself. With the help of Breezy, one of the campers, he finally settles in to camp and makes some friends. This is heavily illustrated which will appeal to those reluctant readers. There is a silly feel to the book that I think middle graders will enjoy. As long as the children can keep the actual camp adventures and his flashbacks/dreams separate they will enjoy this book. I liked the various puzzles that were scattered throughout the story for the reader to solve. This is a great book for a school and classroom library.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.