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Book of the Month
(You can reserve this great book by
clicking on it) Hiassen makes an effortless transition from adult
to young adult novels with his ngeniously engineered and popular
eco-mysteries set in the swamps of Florida. This latest book is no
exception. The hero is a seemingly ordinary middle school boy named
Nick. The mystery begins when Nick’s biology teacher, Mrs. Starch, a
notorious curmudgeon reminiscent of Viola Swamp of The Teacher from the
Black Lagoon (Scholastic, 1989), shepherds Nick’s class on a field trip
to the Everglades. When the students are evacuated because of a fire in
the swamp, Mrs. Starch suddenly vanishes. Nick and his friend Marta
decide to investigate. Along with the mystery of Mrs. Starch’s
disappearance, there are other strange events that puzzle Nick and
Marta. Of course, these mysteries are connected somehow, and that is
what makes the story so enjoyable. But the light and humorous plot is
tempered by more serious concerns. Nick’s father, a soldier serving in
Iraq, has lost his arm in a roadside explosion and has returned home to
recuperate. There are also the bumbling but dastardly villains who have
devised a scheme to make money at the expense of the environment. As the
reader expects, Nick manages to neatly solve the mystery and avert
ecological catastrophe.
Nick’s resilience is quite remarkable, making him an appealing if perhaps a tad unrealistic hero. The many subplots to this complex mystery, however, are skillfully intertwined. Several characters also delight the reader by revealing unexpected sides to their personalities. This book will undoubtedly be a big hit with fans of Hiassen’s other novels, Flush (Knopf, 2005/VOYA October 2005) and Hoot (Knopf, 2002/VOYA October 2002).—Jan Chapman.