PRAISE

"A witty and inventive tale that smart kids, and kids who want to be smarter, will love to read and make other people read too." World Fantasy Award winner John Crowley, author of Little, Big and The Aegypt Cycle

Despite the playful premise and deceptively devil-may-care tone, Dawson isn't screwing around. He's a serious writer with serious talent." Lev Grossman, author of the New York Times bestsellers, The Magicians and The Magician King

"Like Little, Big colliding with Jules Verne, The Rapscallion Club is a rollicking tale, joyful with the love of danger, of learning, of camaraderie, of family, of digression, of places both on the map and beyond it. It makes you want to keep your eyes wide, your wits about you, and your compass close at hand." Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside

“A kid of the eighties, I grew up on The Goonies, and the highest compliment I can pay The Rapscallion Club is to say it reminded me of that boyhood favorite. I loved the quirky, questing spirit and youthful heart of the story.” Greg Attonito, frontman for the American punk band The Bouncing Souls

"Positively Proustian! Dawson writes about penknives and pocket compasses the way Marcel did his madeleine. Half Tom Swift, half Swann's Way." Alethea Black, author of I Knew You'd Be Lovely, a 2011 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick.

“Exotic and exuberant…Dawson’s colorful prose easily evokes the rich, vibrant panels of a Tintin adventure and his precocious protagonist brings to mind a certain boisterous blonde boy by the name of Calvin.” Robert Kaplow, author of Me and Orson Welles

"The Rapscallion Club is so smart and witty, you'll want to sink into your Explorers Club arm chair and savor every word with a good glass of bubbly. Bubbly root beer, that is. An erudite adventure for readers nine to ninety. Chris Grabenstein, New York Times best-selling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and co-author (with James Patterson) of I, Funny.

"A passport to adventure for the young and young-at-heart, Dawson's rip-roaring Rapscallion Club is tons of swashbuckling fun." Jason Rekulak, editor/publisher of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and author (writing as Charles Gilman) of the Lovecraft Middle School series.

"The eccentric feel of a Cornell box filled with fascinating and singular curios in the form of vivid, frequently brilliant sentences and paragraphs." Askold Melnyczuk, founding editor of Agni and author of The House of Windows.

"A really entertaining adventure with a cool, underground tunnel, some great cliff-top action, and a hilarious twist at the end that no one will see coming. He had me at viking!" Felix Phillips, 10, son of, and with total agreement of, Arthur Phillips, author of the New York Times Notable book, The Tragedy of Arthur, and the international bestseller, The Egyptologist (note: the word "viking" is in the third line of the book).

"Wild fun. The Rapscallion Club is one grand and delicious piece of storytelling--a tall tale with a sweet heart." Penn/Hemingway award winner Gabriel Brownstein, author of The Man from Beyond

"Extraordinary. Dawson's swashbuckling young adult novel is cause for celebration. Seen through the eyes of ten year old Percy, The Rapscallion Club follows the adventures of a hapless family in search of fortune and glory and ultimately, of course, in search of themselves. Against backdrops as varied as suburban New Jersey and the jungle of South America, young Percy helps to unravel the riddle of a treasure hidden deep within the mysterious island of Chincha Norte.” Booker Prize finalist Paul Watkins, author of The Ice Soldier and Stand Before Your God

"Alex Dawson’s romping Rapscallion Club is a smart, funny, fast ride of a young adult novel that leaves you wanting more." 2012 Caldecott honoree Patrick McDonnell, creator of MUTTS and author of the New York Times bestseller, Me...Jane.

“A rip-roaring boys own adventure with a healthy dose of the absurd. Rudyard by way of Roald.” Clay McLeod Chapman, creator of The Pumpkin Pie Show and author of the forthcoming YA trilogy, The Tribe.

“Indiana Jones meets Harry Potter!” Eric Zala, director of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation

"Johnny Quest meets The Royal Tennebaums. Wes Anderson should make a movie out of this!" Oscar nominee Robert Festinger, co-writer of In the Bedroom

“Dawson has turned out a grand adventure tale in classic tradition, complete with a brainy but daring boy at the helm, spiced up with secret tattoos and a plot resolution that manages to be at once piratical and scatological, and larded throughout with interesting arcana, historical facts and out-and-out silliness.” Elizabeth Gaffney, former advisory editor for The Paris Review and author of Metropolis

"Dawson's The Rapscallion Club is a first-rate adventure that crackles with wit, mystery, and an eccentric flair for description. The characters and locales within are so vivid that I was immediately transported back to the days when children (like me) were free to roam the woods without parental supervision, when attics and basements (especially mine) were places to be both feared and explored, and when every object found in a strange drawer or closet (especially someone else's) was tinged with wonder, history, even magic. If you loved, say, Treasure Island or The Dangerous Book for Boys, then get your hands on The Rapscallion Club and enjoy the ride." John Hulme, co-author of The Seems series, a top ten Amazon pick for children