Scat

October 27, 2008
Hiaasen reprises Hoot
with a panther in the owl role, an oil company as the villain and a rich renegade named Twilly Spree as the outlaw environmentalist determined to save Florida from developers. The kid hero is Nick Waters, saintly son of a minor league pitching coach who joined the National Guard to augment a meager salary, wound up in Iraq and has come back badly injured. Nick’s ample worries multiply after his science teacher disappears while on a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp. When Nick goes to the aid of a classmate suspected of involvement in the teacher’s disappearance, he stumbles onto dangerous facts about the swamp: an endangered Florida panther has taken up residence, and an oil company has begun an illegal drilling operation. Nick is way too good to be true—he’s more the son every parent dreams of—but Hiaasen’s smooth writing, whacked-out humor and highly entertaining cast of oddball characters keep the plot clipping along. The achievement is in the underlying earnestness—formulaic or not, the story will move readers, and any kid who loved Hoot
will like this. Ages 10–up.

November 15, 2008
During a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, a suspicious "wildfire " breaks out, and much-feared and -reviled science teacher Mrs. Starch vanishes. The school gets a letter stating she is away on a "family emergency, " but no one believes that. Nick Waters and his friend Marta Gonzales are sure bad-boy Duane "Smoke " Scrod, Jr., is to blame for both fire and disappearance. However, there 's more to Duane, Mrs. Starch and the fire than Nick or Marta could ever imagine. This is Hiaasen Country, so the complications include a rare Florida panther, a crooked oil company, a tree-hugging Hayduke of a millionaire and a couple of well-meaning-but-not-as-swift-as-the-kids detectives. Hiaasen 's third outing for young readers might be a little slow in pacing and the character types might be recognizable to experienced readers, but fans of Hoot and Flush (2002, 2005) will not be disappointed by this funny, believable, environmentally friendly tween thriller. (Thriller. 10-15)

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-Once again, Hiaasen has written an edge-of-the-seat eco-thriller. When their unpopular biology teacher goes missing in a suspicious fire during a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp, Nick and Marta don't buy the headmaster's excuse for her absence and decide to do some investigating of their own. Eco-avengers; an endangered, hunted panther; illegal pipelines in the Everglades; and an underachieving student with the nickname "Smoke" all play a part in this gripping novel. From the first sentence, readers will be hooked. The teens' dangerous detective work, with help from some unlikely sources, and the ethics of environmental awareness are well balanced. The emotion and personal changes that Nick goes through due to his father's injury in Iraq are on their own a worthy study of the struggles that military families are facing today. This well-written and smoothly plotted story, with fully realized characters, will certainly appeal to mystery lovers."Dylan Thomarie, Johnstown High School, NY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2008
Grades 5-8 Hiaasen starts off this storya hybrid madcap swamp adventure and cast-driven environmental whodunitwith the disappearance of a biology teacher after a fire breaks out during a field trip in the Everglades. The immediate suspect for the fire, at least, is a young miscreant, but friends Nick and Marta figure something else is afoot: it might have something to do with the nefarious oilmen slinking about nearby, as well as the rumor of an endangered panther and her cubs in the swamp. A generous cast of characterseach imbued with a few unexpected traitsflits about and provides most of the impetus to keep things rolling. Adding some emotional heft is the subplot involving Nicks father; he returns home from Iraq minus his right arm, and Nick binds his own arm so that they can learn to become lefties together. Hiaasens gumbo tastes a lot like his previous efforts, pitting conservation against reckless greed and setting the can-do of youth among determined Floridian quirkiness. But theres a reason why a recipe tastes so good time and again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
Two rapscallions plot to dig a pirate oil well on land inhabited by an endangered Florida panther. A couple of teenagers, a crafty codger, and a demanding science teacher get a whiff not only of the panther's scat but also of the men's vintage-Hiaasen swindle. Don't expect any environmental preaching in this page-turner (although a few science facts cleverly sneak in).

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2009
Ever on the lookout for a fast buck, rapscallions Drake McBride and Jimmy Lee Bayliss have bought land in the Everglades. They plan to dig a pirate oil well on the next lot (which just happens to be the Big Cypress Preserve, but why sweat the small stuff?); run a secret pipe underground to their plot; and siphon off enough crude oil to con the government into purchasing oil and mineral rights. There's only one small problem: a Florida panther, the state's most endangered species, inhabits the area and if discovered will threaten the entire project. McBride and Bayliss try to keep a profile "lower than a rattlesnake's belly," but a couple of all-around good teenagers, an adolescent misfit attuned to nature, a crafty codger, and a demanding science teacher have gotten a whiff not only of the panther's scat but also of the swindle that is vintage Hiaasen. Don't expect any environmental preaching here, although a few science facts cleverly sneak into the story; instead, count on a page-turner that issues its own low-key call of the wild.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 15, 2008
During a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, a suspicious "wildfire " breaks out, and much-feared and -reviled science teacher Mrs. Starch vanishes. The school gets a letter stating she is away on a "family emergency, " but no one believes that. Nick Waters and his friend Marta Gonzales are sure bad-boy Duane "Smoke " Scrod, Jr., is to blame for both fire and disappearance. However, there's more to Duane, Mrs. Starch and the fire than Nick or Marta could ever imagine. This is Hiaasen Country, so the complications include a rare Florida panther, a crooked oil company, a tree-hugging Hayduke of a millionaire and a couple of well-meaning-but-not-as-swift-as-the-kids detectives. Hiaasen's third outing for young readers might be a little slow in pacing and the character types might be recognizable to experienced readers, but fans of Hoot and Flush (2002, 2005) will not be disappointed by this funny, believable, environmentally friendly tween thriller. (Thriller. 10-15)

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)