Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen, which is the most recent book in the series, was copyrighted in 2012. This book is a comical and weird story that includes mystery, suspicion, and leaves you on the edge of your seat. A boy named Wahoo lives in a zoo - a zoo in his backyard. His father, Mickey Cray, is an animal wrangler. He has a sister, who is a lawyer, who deals with the contracts from the reality TV shows that Wahoo's father signs up for. Wahoo's father has clients who borrow his animals for TV shows and commercials. Wahoo's lives in a backyard zoo. His father is an animal wrangler. Wahoo has grown up with all sorts of exotic animals including gators, snakes, parrots, you name it. One day, Wahoo's father was walking, and a frozen, dead iguana falls from the tree and knocks his father out. Ever since, Wahoo has had to take care of his father and clients that request his father's assistance. A man named Derek Badger sends his secretary to borrow a few animals for his hit reality TV show, Expedition Survival!. During the shooting in the Everglades, Derek is bitten by a bat, and goes missing in a storm. Later, search parties are sent to look for him and actually get lost themselves. Survival is the main theme of the book. It is shown through the TV screen that he is actually risking his life to survive in the wilderness, when actually animals come from animal wranglers and the props are made by the crew.

The story is told in first person. For example, Wahoo's explains what is going on from his eyes. It also explains what he thinks and his conversations. Also, he speaks in third person when talking about his sister or father. The author's point of view is Wahoo's experience throughout the whole story and what he thinks about the job he signed himself and his father for. The intended audience is all ages, but mostly anyone who loves a mix of comedy, suspicion, mystery, and cliffhangers. The general field is comical with a weird twist to it. From the dead iguana hitting Mickey Cray in the head, to Derek Badger disappearing after getting bit by a bat. The author kept me interested by starting with one idea, and then in the next chapter starting another one to add on. That is how he develops the story. He begins with the dead iguana, continues to Derek Badger, then to the search parties getting lost. The author's style is ending the chapters with cliffhangers and adding on another idea to the next chapter. I believe it is effective towards the intended audience because that is how he keeps the readers attention.

It didn't really affect me, but the book in my opinion was a really good story, just like his other books for young readers. It included everything I look for in a good book. Cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, and a new idea added on to the next chapter. It helps keep my attention and makes me want to keep reading. In the beginning, I didn't expect what was coming. Also, when Derek Badger got lost, it totally changed my thoughts about the show. I think it fits in with what I think because the cliffhangers helped make it a good story. The character names and personalities helped with the idea of the story. It brings up memories from the second book Flush. All of his books have a different story, so there is no ideal order of reading the stories, yet each one includes different ideas to make each of them well written.

I enjoyed learning about each characters' personalities and how each person contributed in some way. Also, cliffhangers was a good touch. The author added cliffhangers to Flush, which is why it was a good book as well. The fact that each chapter had a different idea added on to the previous ideas also made it a good story. I definitely want to continue on with the series. I recommend this to all ages who love a mix of different general fields and story ideas. If you liked Flush, Scat, and Hoot, then you will definitely enjoy Chomp.



Nadia Soufi
12/14/13
RATING: 5/5 *****