The War of 1812 and a strange little boy

I walked up to the librarian with my phone, displaying a photo of Baxter, my very bad dog.

I wanted him to see who was responsible for chewing up my library copy of "Mad Boy," by Nick Arvin. My sincere hope is that, once I pay the replacement cost, my local library will indeed replace the copy Baxter destroyed, because it's a great read. 

Mad Boy follows the adventure of a 10-year-old boy named Henry Phipps as he roams around the battlefields during the War of 1812. The character is thought by some to be insane, but he's also pretty quick to anger. So you can take the title any way you want.

Along the way, Henry meets up with a young prostitute, a British soldier who has deserted his army, a childless couple who are travelling merchants with no wares and, by the way, he's hauling his dead mother around in a pickle barrel most of the time.

I don't want to give up the plot, but the story reminded me of some Spanish picaresque novels, with its array of characters that seem so true to life. 

It doesn't seem as though Nick Arvin has published many books, but I will certainly be on the lookout for his next book, and hope it's as enjoyable as Mad Boy.