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"This is so unfair, " laments Gus McCarty, a twelve-year-old who first struggles at school with an obnoxious bully named Al, and then is reeled back in time to a lumberjack camp with an equally troublesome acquaintance named Alex. Added to Gus' dilemma are a camp full of rugged lumberjacks who think the youngster needs to know a few things about being a real 'jack.

Gus' misadventures in lumberjack camp lead him from hilarious encounters with a three-legged cat named Betty, an army of lice and bedbugs in the bunkhouse, to a more serious and chilling escape from a cougar.

But even in his misery, everything is not all trouble for Gus. Tommy, the camp's Irish barn boss, and Miss Addie, the camp cook, befriend the boy, and even the meanest 'jack in the camp, Rat-hole Andy, comes to Gus' defense.

"Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp " has much to say about the lumbering era in the 1800s western Great Lakes region, rich in detailed historical information, with a story and cast of characters that will keep readers smiling long after they have finished the last chapter.