Early Review - Chomp by Carl Hiaasen (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fiction
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0375868429
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from publisher
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the fourth of Hiaasen's middle grade/YA eco-themed books. I loved Hoot and Flush, haven't read Scat, yet. This was another fun read that tackles some interesting social and ecological issues. This book wasn't as much of a mystery as the previous books, it was more of a eco-thriller of sorts. I didn't like it quite as much as Hoot, but I liked it just as much as Flush.

Wahoo Cray lives with his father and mother and a ton of animals. His father is an animal wrangler and as such has numerous snakes, gators, etc living in his backyard. After being hit in the head by an iguana who fell off a tree Wahoo's dad has been having horrible headaches and trouble working. When Wahoo's mom takes a two month job in China to make ends meet, Wahoo is concerned about how he will manage his dad. Then his dad takes a job as an animal wrangler with a reality TC show called Expedition Survival! Now they have paying work, but when a girl named Tuna joins the team while fleeing her abusive father, things start to get a little crazy.

Like normal with this series of books there are some societal issues discussed: reality TV, cruelty to animals, alcoholism, and abuse. Also like normal all of these issues are meshed in with a story that is quirky and humorous at times.

The fake survivalist that Wahoo's dad is working for is an absolute hoot. He is so crazy and funny and quirky. Wahoo and Tuna are great characters as well; they are faced with some tough situations and do a bang up job of making it through everything fine.

With the crazy survivalist trying to do stranger and stranger survival stunts Wahoo's dad has his hands full keeping the guy alive. Add to this Tuna's drunk gun-slinging dad and you have a book that is more action and thriller than mystery. I did miss the mystery a little bit, but I also enjoyed all the action and zaniness throughout this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was an entertaining light read. If you have enjoyed Hiaasen's previous YA books (Hoot, Flush, and Scat) then I think you will also enjoy this latest story. It was just a lot of fun and full of crazy situations and quirky characters. A great read for any middle grade or older readers out there, a wonderful action-packed eco-thriller of sorts.

Review - Flush by Carl Hiaasen (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult/Middle Grade
Genre: General Fiction/Environmentalism
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Yearling
Release Date:  May 11th, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0375861253
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through paperbackswap.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I read Hoot by Hiaasen and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to continue on with Hiaasen's middle grade series and read this book.  I didn't like Flush quite as much as Hoot, there just wasn't as much mystery.  That being said it was still a very good and entertaining book; it touches heavily on environmentalism, corrupt business practice, and family issues.

Noah Underwood's father has sunk a gambling ship and been thrown in jail.  Noah's dad is positive that the gambling ship is emptying sewage into the ocean.   It is up to Noah and his sister Abbey, to prove their father's allegations, to help get him out of jail.  With Noah's dad's history of taking extreme action against people who commit environmental crimes, things are also becoming stressful on Noah's parents' marriage.  Now it isn't only getting his dad out of jail that is the problem, but trying to keep his parents together.  Noah and Abbey set a trap to catch the owner of the gambling ship in the act, but they are in more danger than they originally thought.

This was a well done book; it is well-written, easy to read, and moves along at a good clip.  I love how Noah's family deals with things and how the theme of environmentalism dominates the story.  I think people of all ages can enjoy this book.  It is witty and well thought out.

Noah learns a lot about corruption and environmentalism throughout the book.  Some of the crazy characters involved keep the book fun.  It was never boring and never slowed down.  As I mentioned, I did enjoy Hoot a bit more.  Hoot had a lot more mystery to it and was more suspenseful than Flush. 

Overall, another great eco-thriller from Hiaasen.  I am looking forward to reading Scat too.  Everyone will find something to love in this book it is engaging, discusses some good issues, and is very entertaining.  Appropriate for all ages; although younger kids will have trouble grasping the complexity of the corrupted business practices that are discussed.

This book went towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (5/5 stars)

I have heard that Hiaasen is a great mystery/humor writer and was eager to read one of his books.  I picked up "Hoot" because it looked good and, guess what, it was really really good.

Roy has just moved to Florida from Montana, he is the new kid at school...again.  He's used to it though, he moves around a lot.  Then on the bus he sees a boy running without shoes and senses a mystery to be solved.  Thus starts a story about mysteries, practical jokes, outwitting bullies, and saving endangered species.

I really loved this book.  All the characters were wonderful and believable.  Hiaasen creates an excellent mystery, with great humor, while tackling a number of social issues that kids and adults can both relate too.  A great description for this novel is eco-thriller.  Between trying to find a place for himself in Florida, Roy gets caught up in a mystery surrounding burrowing owls and the huge corporation trying to take out their home.  It was hard to put this book down, I basically read the whole thing in one sitting while at the airport.

I really have no complaints with this book.  Hiassen's writing is very readable and the dialogue between characters is well done and very natural sounding.  I was impressed that not only did he create a great mystery but he also dealt with issues like bullies, bad home life, the things companies will do to make money, endangered species, and how one person can make a huge difference if they put their mind to it.  It was also nice to read a young adult book where the parents were actual realistic and decent people.  Roy's parents are good people, who help out their son the best they can...too often in young adult books the adults are inept and it was nice to see adults portrayed more realistically.

This was a great book.  I am going to get Hiaasen's other young adult books "Flush" and "Scat" to read as soon as I can.  I would also like to check out his adult books.  I recommend this book to people of all ages and people with all different sorts of interests.   If you like mysteries and eco-thrillers than this book will definitely be right up your alley.  If you don't...well you should read it anyway.  It is one that I am keeping to read again.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge