Book Review: SCAT

Author: Carl Hiaasen
Number of Pages: 384
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 27, 2009

"Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.
But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.
And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture."
                                                                                                                - Goodreads.com

I have to say that this book really surprised me. It's an easier reading level than I normally read, and so I thought that the plot would be predictable and simple. Was I wrong! This book had many twists and turns that I totally didn't predict, and the this novel was written very well. The characters were very developed and the the main character, Nick Waters, changed a lot by the end of the book. My favorite character was "Smoke", one of Nick's classmates with a reputation for starting fires and being an idiotic jerk. It was really interesting to see deeper and deeper into this character as the plot progressed. Needless to say, first impressions aren't always correct.

However, compared to Carl Hiaasen's popular novel Hoot, this one was definitely not my favorite of the two.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys. This book was great, but it didn't make me go WOW! like Hoot did.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes. This book is not a young adult book and is probably more along the lines of an elementary to middle school interest. I don't mind reading easy books like this, but some people might. I would take that into consideration when recommending this book to someone.

Hugs,
NutFreeNerd