Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

I recently attended a workshop on the amazing 2012 young adult literature that came out - the presenter spend the entire day talking books, what could be better?

One of the novels she presented (which made it on her top 15 of 2012 list) was Chomp by Carl Hiaasen.  She read an excerpt that was hilarious and it quickly rose to the top of my TBR pile.  I settled in on this rainy weekend to read it and boy was it worth it!

About the Novel:

Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle.  His father is the unpredictable one.

When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself—to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna—a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out.

They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .

It's anyone's guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . 

About the Author:

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family. After graduating from the University of Florida, he began writing for the Miami Herald. As a journalist and author, Carl has spend most of his life advocating the protection of the Florida Everglades. He and his family still live southern Florida.

Check out a recent interview with the NY Times HERE.

 My Thoughts:

Plain and simple, this book is adorable!  I understand that Mr. Hiaasen's novels all have similar covers and are really eye catching, especially for kids.  He is one of those young adult authors who really understands who he is writing for and his novels fit the mold of what a young adult novel should be.

The setting really adds and element to this story as well - the Florida Everglades.  I have read that all of his novels are set there so this makes them all the more appealing in my opinion.

He adds in the perfect mixture of suspense, adventure, and humor and it all fits perfectly together!  His witty one-liners are blended in perfectly and throughout the novel I found myself laughing out loud!

I think beyond the plot and humor the characters are what makes this novel.  I know Wahoo is the center of the novel but Mickey captured me from the start!  I loved his spunk, his no-nonsense attitude and his outlook on life.  He is a great role model for not just Wahoo, but Tuna as well.

This is definitely one I would recommend to my students and children, add it to your collection - it will stay checked out!