Uncle Arctica

Dear Mom, Blake thinks. Zoo? Museums? Chicago? No, Mom. I've been fighting pirates, werewolves, and psychopaths. I've done fifteen-thousand dollars in damage and got seven stitches to prove it. I've got a job. I've got pretty girls who keep grabbing my behind, and one who says she's not my girlfriend but is still crazy jealous of all the others. Uncle Carson walked out on me like the rest of my family, but I've been adopted by an ancient Highlander, who lets me do just about whatever I want, as long as I speak respectfully, stay out of the Mangrave Branch, and come home by 11:00. None of which I have managed to do... Blake Barber's family is spending the summer in France, courtesy of his father's employer. But the company will only cover expenses for two additional family members - any more costs extra. And Blake, as always, is extra. The plan is to leave him in the care of his uncle for a few days, until his grandmother arrives to claim him. But she never does. The rigidly-sheltered, twelve-year-old Blake must adjust to the unorthodox lifestyle of his slacker uncle, and the touchy temper of a cantankerous old Scotsman; all while learning to deal with the outlandish, and frequently dangerous inhabitants of Highland Creek Reservoir (including an independent young kayaker who may or may not be his girlfriend.)