Super Troop

The Bad News Bears meet the Boy Scouts in Hale’s (Switched) snarky, family-centric adventure novel. Aspiring cartoonist and animator Cooper “Coop” McCall is still coming to terms with his parents’ divorce two years back, but he’s looking forward to a Summer of Awesomeness with best friend Ignacio “Nacho” Perez, especially a weeklong cartooning camp. Everything is thrown into disarray, however, after a characteristic but egregious misstep at a theme park lands the rising seventh graders in hot water and, to enforce “responsibility and impulse control,” a stint in the Boy Rangers. Led by retired Marine Rockwell Pierce, the two friends and their equally reluctant troopmates work to earn merit badges and qualify for the annual Wilderness Jamboree, in which troops compete for esteem and stature. But they must endure the scoutmaster’s drill-sergeant discipline, penchant for creative insults (“rancid fridge biscuits”), and utter negligence, all played for laughs. Though some motivations strain the plot’s believability, and occasional commentary about women strikes on odd note, brisk pacing and surly narration (according to Coop, the Rangers are “for dorks and rejects”) make for a tidy paean to adolescent responsibility. Occasional b&w illustrations take a caricature style. Biracial Coop is of Japanese descent; Nacho is cued as Latinx; Rockwell is portrayed with “walnut-brown skin.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (June)