The Quest for the Golden Plunger: The Misadventures of the Adventure Rangers

By: Jackson Dickert

Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

If you put trouble-making teenagers in summer camp without adult supervision, you know what to expect...comedy, chaos, and someone crapping in the shower.

Troop 99 will have to survive a twisted game of paintball, outrun a rabid buck with tasers mounted to its antlers, and avoid getting in trouble with the camp staff if they want to stand a chance at winning the Golden Plunger.

Fifteen-year-old Do-Over wants to win Camp Winnebago's coveted Golden Plunger to score a free trip to a high-adventure camp with his fellow Adventure Rangers. But when the rival Troop 100 shows up, he knows it's going to be an uphill battle. Do-Over and the rest of Troop 99 are notorious for their terrible behavior, and they start living up to their reputation as soon as they get to camp.

Turbo Cakes falls in love with the camp nurse, Uncle Ruckus tries to get rich quick with chocolate laxatives, and Shovel becomes a walking target for bullies. Their antics snowball into an unstoppable sequence of events that may get them banned from camp forever...

Join Troop 99 on their annual summer trip to Camp Winnebago and experience their epic misadventures as they try to win the Golden Plunger. This fast-paced story is full of hysterical male adolescent humor that will make you laugh out loud, so don't listen to it in public or people will definitely give you strange looks.

This audiobook is perfect for anyone who's ever known a Boy Scout, gone camping, or still laughs at poop jokes.

If you enjoy books like Swim the Fly, Dan Versus Nature, or Spanking Shakespeare, then you'll love this one.

If you enjoy shows/movies like American Vandal, Camp Camp, or Superbad, then this audiobook was straight up written for you. What the heck are you waiting for?

Don't forget your swim trunks as you set off on The Quest for the Golden Plunger, the funniest YA novel out there!

©2021 Jackson Dickert (P)2021 Jackson Dickert

Critic reviews

"In his debut novel, Dickert nails that particular summer-camp combination of earnestness and anarchy.... A laugh-out-loud comic novel that's also psychologically astute about the inner lives of teenage boys." (Kirkus Reviews)

"The Quest for the Golden Plunger is a rare breed of book - a YA comedy that's heartwarming, hilarious, and deep with meaning at every turn. A fast, fun, and fearless tale, reading this book made me wish I hadn't dropped out of Cub Scouts, or, rather, that I attended camp with this bunch of rambunctious adventurers as my guides. Jackson Dickert is a master storyteller." (Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month and author of Pep Talks for Writers)

"Take the attitude from The Sandlot, throw in the charm of Moonrise Kingdom, and polish it off with a balance of absurdity that would make anyone's inner delinquent give a devilish grin, and what you have is The Quest for the Golden Plunger. A delightful tale of youth, exploration, and comradery, Jackson Dickert has written a story that will make even the meanest old coot think fondly back to their days away at camp." (Daniel Greene, author, YouTuber, and disheveled goblin)

funniest book I've ever read

Loved this book, there was a lot of funny teenage boy type jokes but the characters would often surprise me with the depth of their backstories. The plot was pretty straightforward, but gosh it was a lot of fun getting to accompany Troop 99 on their misadventures. Definitely a character driven book

You will laugh your butt off!

Of course anything with Todd Haberkorn, I'll listen to! This book had me in stitches. Quite a bit heavy on toilet humor but nonetheless, this book was adorable!

Hilarious book, insanely good narration

I will start by saying that I am a woman in my 30s whose favorite VA is Todd Haberkorn and I am slowly making my way through all of his audiobooks. Even though the target audience for this one is likely young adult males, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, though it did get a little gross for me at times 😂 Again, I’m not the target reader lol.

If you just want to laugh and relive the randomness and strife of your teen years, def give this book a try. The dialogue is very believable and the whole story flows very nicely. It is clear that the author thoroughly remembers what it was like being a kid. I love that it focused on not only the flaws of the kids, but the flaws of all their parents and the adults in their life as well. Parents are ppl too and they are not perfect, even though some insist that they are lol.

I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives of the characters and how we got tiny peeks into all of their lives in various chapters. I personally prefer books where the story is told from various perspectives. The only thing I found strange was that Do Over’s scenes were mostly told from the first person instead of the third, I would have gone with third person for all while still making him the clear main character.

The book is very meta, I feel like I have been to this camp after reading it and it is very believable how much teens would covet something like a golden plunger lol. The use of nicknames for all of the boys was very clever and I enjoyed slowly finding out most of their real names. The story shows an interesting duality of how rowdy yet sensitive boys can be. As a girl, this is something that I always noticed about them haha. I was also a girl scout for most of my childhood and teens so that is prob another reason why I enjoyed this book.

Todd Haberkorn’s narration is flawless, I daresay his best delivery of any audiobook that I have read. He did an amazing job distinguishing the different characters and he never ceases to amaze me with his comedic delivery. I particularly enjoyed his Mama Hackett voice and the voice of the kid’s puppet lmao. Really cracked me up on the way to and from work all week.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for young boys but there may also be some teen girls out there like Banders who would enjoy it too. Again, I enjoyed it as a full grown woman and not just bc of Todd Haberkorn’s amazing voice though that was admittedly the initial draw.

I think this book had enough going on that a sequel would be possible. Either way, looking forward to whatever else this creative author may write!

Feels like I'm back at camp

Jackson does a wonderful job of taking you back to being a teenager at summer camp. I was never a boy scout but related to almost everything just by having gone to summer camp. The story itself is compelling and the narrator does a great job giving a unique voice to all the characters. Would recommend.

Hilarious awesome story with amazing narration.

I just loved this story. it was so funny and also had a point about growing up and how to deal with issues. I know this for young adults, and I am very far from that, but I could truly relate and enjoyed the story thoroughly. The story was even better with the amazing voice work of Todd Haberkorn. He really brings the story to life, and I feel like I can see each of the characters. The work it must take to give each character a different voice is stunning to me. I am a huge fan of Todd, and I am glad he narrates stories like this. It gives me something new to listen to and thoroughly enjoy, that I probably would have overlooked.

hilarious good hearted trouble makers

I loved this story about camp. I instantly related to the characters because of my times at camp as a youth, a troop leader and a camp staffer.
this book had me mostly laughing but it also managed to pull the heartstrings.

Best YA comedy out there

The quest for the golden plunger was a heartwarming story full of witty humor. After finishing this book I think it’s safe to say Jackson Dickert may just be my new favorite author.

where crude potty humor meets heartfelt morals

this book brought me back to bygone years when I was in boy scouts, a true adventure filled with friendship, peril, and just the right amount of swear words. simply put, a waffle stomping good time!