Chomp

Review by Booklist Review

You can't knock Hiaasen for inconsistency. In his fourth monosyllabically titled book for young readers (after Hoot, 2002; Flush, 2005; and Scat, 2009), he keeps to the same formula: set up a cast of plucky, lovable Everglades kooks, pit them against greedy, wildlife-hating outsiders and buffoonish swamp villains, and mix it all up with offbeat humor, swift plotting, and heartfelt environmentalism. Here, our heroes come in the form of Mickey and Wahoo Cray, a father-son team of wildlife wranglers who get hired by a hit reality show starring survivalist Derek Badger. It's immediately clear that Badger is nothing more than a well-edited fraud who'd rather bite the head off a bat to spike ratings than paint an honest picture of Florida wildlife, but that's only the beginning of their troubles, which are amped up by a pistol-toting drunk, a scheming producer, and the entirely justified lashing out of the animals themselves. Hiaasen is particularly adept at making the preposterous just barely plausible, and again turns in a finely tuned mix of satire and madcap adventure. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hiaasen's built a sizable cadre of young fans, and his adult readers will also take notice of a new book for kids.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

An animal wrangler named Mickey Cray and his son, Wahoo, whose Florida home and yard house alligators, snakes, and other wildlife, reluctantly take on the job of supplying animals for a reality television show called Expedition Survival!-the host of which, Derek Badger, is actually a dimwitted fraud. Contrasting with amusing scenes of Badger's less-than-successful tangles with wildlife is a tense plot about Jared-the abusive father of Wahoo's friend Tuna-who comes to the Everglades with a gun looking for his daughter. But it all has a happy ending, thanks to some heroics from an unlikely source. Narrator James Van Der Beek strikes exactly the right note in his narration: a dry, ironic delivery that lets both the humorous and tense moments play out effectively. He also creates distinctive character voices, particularly memorable are his renditions of Derek (who switches from a petulant American accent to a cheery, fake-Australian accent for the television camera) and the gravelly, menacing Jared. This is an entertaining audio romp with an enjoyable mix of comedy and action. Ages 10-up. A Knopf hardcover. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 6-9-Things are looking bleak for Wahoo and his animal wrangler father; the mortgage is months overdue, and Wahoo's mother has left for the summer to work in China. They think it is the answer to their financial frustrations when the hit reality TV show Expedition Survival! wants to hire Mickey and Wahoo to help their star, more prima donna than rugged survivalist, film their Everglade episode. On the first day, Derek Badger ignores Mickey's sage animal-handling advice, attacking a python and trying to ride a croc. The result is an infuriated handler and some excellent footage. The show, however, loves the realistic feel and decides to head to the wilds for some unscripted shoots. Wahoo runs into a physically abused schoolmate and is inspired to take her with them to save her from her father. Tuna's father pursues her, and suddenly keeping Derek safe isn't Mickey's only potentially deadly task. Chomp reads at a good pace and has some unique, lovable characters. The author manages to sustain a comedic mood with the inept survivalist and the budding romance between two fish-named youngsters while simultaneously developing an underlying sense of tension. Mystery, action, humor, and exotic animals and settings, all tied together by a writer with an exceptional grasp of language, makes this a sure hit with any mystery-loving readers.-Devin Burritt, Wells Public Library, ME (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Hiassen's many fans will cheer for Chomp, his sharp and multifaceted send-up of reality TV. Wahoo and his father, Mickey, caretakers of a private South Florida zoo and desperate for income, take the job of providing host Derek Badger animals for his popular reality show, Expedition Survival! There's just one problem: Badger isn't remotely up to interacting with the dangerous creatures of the Everglades, despite his show's premise, and unpredictable Mickey cares deeply for his animals. Hilarity ensues. Narrator Van Der Beek uses his gravelly voice to create compelling personalities for Wahoo, his father, unlikely accomplice Tuna, and the uproariously incompetent Badger; he is particularly effective at contrasting Wahoo and Tuna's sensitivity with Badger's ineptitude. While delivering Hiaasen's wacky brand of humor and offbeat characters without a trace of campiness, Van Der Beek seems truly to be having a good time. Listeners will, too. rebecca kirshenbaum (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Expedition Survival!, a "reality" show starring Derek Badger (actually a former stepdancer named Lee Bluepenny with a fake Steve Irwin Australian accent). The Crays, however, draw the line at harming any animal; and Derek doesn't think the scenes are "real" enough. The production company hires Mickey and Wahoo as guides on an Everglades location shoot, which is complicated in true Hiaasen fashion by an abused, runaway girl from Wahoo's class, a toothy encounter with a jazzed-out snake, a disastrously unsuccessful live-bat brunchand a vanishing star. Hiaasen's best for a young audience since Newbery Honor Hoot (2002) features a shy, deep-feeling protagonist who's also a pragmatist and plenty of nature info and age-appropriate cultural commentary. Humorous adventure tales just don't get any more wackedor fun to read than this. (Fiction. 10-15)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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ONE Mickey Cray had been out of work ever since a dead iguana fell from a palm tree and hit him on the head. The iguana, which had died during a hard freeze, was stiff as a board and weighed seven and a half pounds. Mickey's son had measured the lifeless lizard on a fishing scale, then packed it on ice with the turtle veggies, in the cooler behind the garage. This was after the ambulance had hauled Mickey off to the hospital, where the doctors said he had a serious concussion and ordered him to take it easy. And to everyone's surprise, Mickey did take it easy. That's because the injury left him with double vision and terrible headaches. He lost his appetite and dropped nineteen pounds and lay around on the couch all day, watching nature programs on television. "I'll never be the same," he told his son. "Knock it off, Pop," said Wahoo, Mickey's boy. Mickey had named him after Wahoo McDaniel, a professional wrestler who'd once played linebacker for the Dolphins. Mickey's son often wished he'd been called Mickey Jr. or Joe or even Rupert--anything but Wahoo, which was also a species of saltwater fish. It was a name that was hard to live up to. People naturally expected somebody called Wahoo to act loud and crazy, but that wasn't Wahoo's style. Apparently nothing could be done about the name until he was all grown up, at which point he intended to go to the Cutler Ridge courthouse and tell a judge he wanted to be called something normal. "Pop, you're gonna be okay," Wahoo would tell his father every morning. "Just hang in there." Looking up with hound-dog eyes from the couch, Mickey Cray would say, "Whatever happens, I'm glad we ate that bleeping lizard." On the day his dad had come home from the hospital, Wahoo had defrosted the dead iguana and made a peppercorn stew, which his mom had wisely refused to touch. Mickey had insisted that eating the critter that had dented his skull would be a spiritual remedy. "Big medicine," he'd predicted. But the iguana had tasted awful, and Mickey Cray's headaches only got worse. Wahoo's mother was so concerned that she wanted Mickey to see a brain specialist in Miami, but Mickey refused to go. Meanwhile, people kept calling up with new jobs, and Wahoo was forced to send them to other wranglers. His father was in no condition to work. After school, Wahoo would feed the animals and clean out the pens and cages. The backyard was literally a zoo--gators, snakes, parrots, mynah birds, rats, mice, monkeys, raccoons, tortoises and even a bald eagle, which Mickey had raised from a fledgling after its mother was killed. "Treat 'em like royalty," Mickey would instruct Wahoo, because the animals were quite valuable. Without them, Mickey would be unemployed. It disturbed Wahoo to see his father so ill because Mickey was the toughest guy he'd ever known. One morning, with summer approaching, Wahoo's mother took him aside and told him that the family's savings account was almost drained. "I'm going to China," she said. Wahoo nodded, like it was no big deal. "For two months," she said. "That's a long time," said Wahoo. "Sorry, big guy, but we really need the money." Wahoo's mother taught Mandarin Chinese, an extremely difficult language. Big American companies that had offices in China would hire Mrs. Cray to tutor their top executives, but usually these companies flew their employees to South Florida for Mrs. Cray's lessons. "This time they want me to go to Shanghai," she explained to her son. "They have, like, fifty people over there who learned Mandarin from some cheap audiotape. The other day, one of the big shots was trying to say 'Nice shoes!' and he accidentally told a government minister that his face looked like a butt wart. Not good." "Did you tell Pop you're going?" "That's next." Wahoo slipped outside to clean Alice's pond. Alice the alligator was one of Mickey Cray's stars. She was twelve feet long and as tame as a guppy, but she looked truly ferocious. Over the years Alice had appeared often in front of a camera. Her credits included nine feature films, two National Geographic documentaries, a three-part Disney special about the Everglades and a TV commercial for a fancy French skin lotion. She lay sunning on the mudbank while Wahoo skimmed the dead leaves and sticks from the water. Her eyes were closed, but Wahoo knew she was listening. "Hungry, girl?" he asked. The gator's mouth opened wide, the inside as white as spun cotton. Some of her teeth were snaggled and chipped. The tips were green from pond algae. "You forgot to floss," Wahoo said. Alice hissed. He went to get her some food. When she heard the squeaking of the wheelbarrow, she cracked her eyelids and turned her huge armored head. Wahoo tossed a whole plucked chicken into the alligator's gaping jaws. The sound of her crunching on the thawed bird obscured the voices coming from the house--Wahoo's mother and father "discussing" the China trip. Wahoo fed Alice two more dead chickens, locked the gate to the pond and took a walk. When he returned, his father was upright on the sofa and his mother was in the kitchen fixing bologna sandwiches for lunch. "You believe this?" Mickey said to Wahoo. "She's bugging out on us!" "Pop, we're broke." Mickey's shoulders slumped. "Not that broke." "You want the animals to starve?" Wahoo asked. They ate their sandwiches barely speaking a word. When they were done, Mrs. Cray stood up and said: "I'm going to miss you guys. I wish I didn't have to go." Then she went into the bedroom and shut the door. Mickey seemed dazed. "I used to like iguanas." "We'll be okay." "My head hurts." "Take your medicine," said Wahoo. "I threw it away." "What?" "Those yellow pills, they made me constipated." Wahoo shook his head. "Unbelievable." "Seriously. I haven't had a satisfactory bowel movement since Easter." "Thanks for sharing," said Wahoo. He started loading the dishwasher, trying to keep his mind off the fact that his mom was about to fly away to the far side of the world. Mickey got up and apologized to his son. "I'm just being selfish. I don't want her to go." "Me neither." Excerpted from Chomp by Carl Hiaasen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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