Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Chomp

by Carl Hiaasen

Wahoo Cray has grown up with a zoo in his backyard - alligators, snakes, rats, monkeys, parrots, but it's his dad who's the unpredictable critter. 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 the show's inept star Derek Badger, who insists on using real 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 promptly get lost themselves. And Tuna's dad shows up with a gun...It's anyone's guess who will actually survive 'Expedition Survival!'

Reviewed by elvinagb on

5 of 5 stars

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Book courtesy of Net Galley.

Wahoo (names after the fighter, not the fish)Cray lives with his parents and an assortment of wild creatures in Florida's Everglades. Wahoo's father is an animal wrangler and has landed a job with the reality show "Expedition Survival" but after suffering a concussion from a falling frozen iguana is in no shape to get the job done. The show's star, Derek Badger, begins to believe he can stop faking his adventures and get out into the real wildlife and do his own stunts.
It isn't long before Hiaasen's usual cast of outlandish, slightly twisted and insane characters show up and the plot moves into high gear with a missing reality star who thinks he's turning into a vampire, a run away girl named "Tuna" with a deranged, gun toting father, and airboat chases through the Everglades.
A great read by Carl Hiaasen that both readers of his adult novels and children's books will enjoy.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 April, 2012: Finished reading
  • 3 April, 2012: Reviewed