Yesterday I finished Flush, by Carl Hiaasen.
What I liked about it:
- Love that it's about a rogue environmentally vigilant family. Their native Florida Key waters have been polluted, and the Underwood family is going to make it right by proving it was that unscrupulous Dusty Muleman and his Coral Queen casino boat.
- It's a little bit of a mystery.
- The kids' parents are having marital problems (which gives us kids something to relate to.)
- Noah and Abby (the Underwood children) live a kid's dream-life. They live right on the water and fish and boat all summer.
- I love the Shelly character. She's a large peroxide blonde with tons of tattos who occasionally beats up her live-in boyfriend. I like her because she's rough around the edges. It's a nice reminder that someone whose lifestyle makes us nervous can still stand up and save the day.
- Noah and Abby have too perfect a relationship for a brother and sister. It was too syrupy.
- I didn't like when Shelly took back Lice, even after he stole her money and ran away.
- I HATED that even though the Underwood family finds proof that Dusty Muleman is contaminating their water, and even though it's a big crime, and even though he should be locked away and his business license revoked, he gets nothing more than a slap on the wrist. This part of the fiction was too realistic for me.
1 comment:
i love the illustration--reminds me of another book cover, but i can't recall which. i'm thinking stargirl, but that seems too sparse. i'm interested in finding titles that incorporate some element of social justice, so i like that this family pursues environmental activism. i'll have to check this one out.
you teach 2nd grade? the sweetest grade ever, in my estimation. i really need to take my k-5 praxis. in my state, certification is either 6th-12th grade or k-5.
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