Scat Review

I've wanted to do this post for a while now, but something keeps getting in front of it.....
Abigail Adams Paper,
Blogger Dying,
A Room That Was Cleaned Last Night,
The Power Going Off This Morning Before I Could Get On.....
Etc. 

(et ic ca)  XDDDDDD  Chibi will get that.  :P

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Review: *****
I'd give it 5 out of 5 stars.  I honestly LOVED this book!!!

Pros:
It took place in Florida.  That was like, my favorite thing.
The characters were interesting and fun.
I loved Nick and Marta, and Twilly Spree for that matter.  Smoke wasn't bad either, and when it all boiled down to the climax, I even liked Mrs. Starch!!!  I could recognize with the characters and they seemed genuine.  The bad guys were a mix of humor, stupidity and down right villainry.  Great mix.
It had action!  Mystery!  Drama!  Weird things that make you go "Whaaaa???"!!!  Animals!!  Panthers! 

Cons:
There aren't many cons!  XD
The language was kinda that of a South Floridian.  Hehe.  Actually, the language wasn't all that bad.  For me, it made the characters seem even more 'real'.  More believable.  Maybe two or three words that I wouldn't use on an ever basis, but still.  :P

Summary:
(from Carl Hiaasen's website)
Mrs. Starch – fearsome biology teacher – never returned from a field trip to Black Vine Swamp.

The principal says she was called away on a "family emergency," but Nick and Marta don't buy it. They think Smoke, the class delinquent, has something to do with her disappearance.

And he does! But not in the way that 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'll really begin to see the big picture.

That's life in the swamp, kids.

(from me)
Nick and Marta are best friends who are thrust into a crazy adventure when their hated biology school teacher Mrs. Starch goes missing in the Black Vine Swamp in Big Cypress Wildlife Reserve after a wildfire.  Nick and Marta kinda take it upon themselves to see where Mrs. Starch is, and why she hasn't returned.  And why/how is Smoke, the school delinquent involved?!?  Banding together with wildlife preservationist and naturalist Twilly Spree, the kids save a baby panther cub, and the fate of the Everglades!
Jimmy Lee Bayliss and Drake McBride need to make money, fast.  They illegally try to drill for natural oil in the middle of a panther preserve in the Big Cypress Reserve.  Drake McBride's stupidity mixed with Jimmy Lee Bayliss's cunning and needs-this-job attitude, makes for pretty hilarious bad-guys. 

My thoughts:
I really, REALLY loved this book!!!!  I read it in one day.  :)  The plot is fun, and it's environmentally friendly/centered, but it's not shoving 'Green' in your face.  :P  It had awesome characters, and the back stories of Nick, Smoke, and Mrs. Starch are super interesting.  I cried (well, almost cried) for Nick in this book.  Smoke is actually a likable character once you get to know him.  :P  The author (Carl Hiaasen) did a great job writing kids.  He usually writes adult novels, but in this book (and Hoot and Flush) he really gets the kids and their dialogue down great.  I was pleasantly surprised.  ;)

Would I recommend it to anyone? 
YES!!!!!!  You all should read this!  XD  Well, it may be different for everyone.  For me, I could picture where and when everything was happening, but that's because this took place in my state, and I know it pretty well.  For some other people, it may be a bit foreign and hard to picture.  It's described REALLY well though.  ;) 

So there is my first real review.  XD  Sorry it took me so long!  LOL!  Hope y'all enjoyed it!  Lemme know what you think!  I'm off to hi-jack Abigail Adams' blog.  :P

Love ya! (all my 37 followers!!!!  Yay!!!)