Written by: Anushka Basket - 24001, Grade X
Posted on: 22 February, 2022
Author: Carl Hiassen
Published on: March 27, 2012
Genre: Novel, Mystery, Young adult fiction
Plot:
Wahoo and his father Mickey, take care of the wild animals from the Florida Everglades. They keep their animals in their backyard and make money by training the animals enough to be on Tv shows. Wahoo lives with his father and mother in Florida. His mother had recently gone to China for her job. Wahoo’s father Mickey gets an offer from a TV show called “Expedition Survival”. The show is about a man surviving in the wild and the TV show staff want to rent some of Mickey’s animals for the show. They did not want to take the job but because they were short of money, they took the job. The host for Expedition Survival, Derek Badger, was not much of a good person. The entire show was scripted and the host never really survived in the wild: he was basically on a vacation shooting his days.
Derek had come to Mickey’s house to visit the animals he would be working with where he had near-death experiences with the animals due to his carelessness. He decides the experience was TV-worthy and hires Mickey and Wahoo to work with him. Along the way, Whoo meets Tuna, a girl from school who had an abusive and drunkard father. She decides to follow Wahoo and Mickey to the Everglades where they wrangle the animals for Derek’s show. Darek was in the wild when he tried eating a bat which led him to be sick. Drek thought he was turning into a vampire. Tuna called her father(Jared Gordon) to inform him that she will not be returning home, and he finds that the caller ID number is from a tourist shack. Furious father comes after her with a weapon. While everyone was hunting for Derek, Jared Gordon appeared, holding his rifle like a cowboy, and shooted an airboat driver who was attempting to take Tuna and Wahoo away. Then Jared kidnapped Mickey and forced him to drive around with him in quest of Tuna. Jared eventually tracked down Tuna, shoots Mickey in the foot, and is then assaulted by Derek, who bites him furiously because he thinks he's a vampire. Finally, Jared is apprehended, and everyone is safe and happy at the end, except Derek, who is rarely pleased in the first place.
Critical analysis:
There were many issues highlighted in the book. Animal exploitation being one of them was shown vividly to the readers. There were many parts in the book where humans were exploiting animals like when Derek was having a bit too much fun with the animals, or the iguanas dying because of the change in the climate. All the injustice we as humans have been exposing towards animals was one of the main themes. Wahoo is a 14-year-old but he is portrayed as a mature person who understands his parents' work and tries to help in every way he can. His character shows that maturity doesn't come with age but it is also sad how some children would be forced to mature at a young age because of their environment. Another example of “maturity doesn't come with age” is Derek. Derek is a fully grown man but his character is still very childish. He does not seem to understand the value of people. Another thing greatly highlighted in the book is “Reality Show”. Of course, some reality shows are real but mostly the shows that we tag as real are all scripted. We can see it through “Expedition Survival”. The show was heavily scripted and most of the episodes were filmed with many shots. There are many examples like these in real-life “reality shows” as well. For example the infamous dating reality show from India “Splitsvilla” where the members fight so much with moving cameras around them. Or, the world-famous idol group survival shows like “Produce” or “Idol School” where the votes were manipulated. Chomp highlighted these everyday issues in it. Things like anger issues, domestic violence, and abuse of power were also seen throughout the book. Tuna’s father hitting her, Derek firing the director because of his own mistake, Derek’s useless tantrums, etc were the examples. All these things sometimes may seem like small issues to some but it is not. These issues are the root cause of many problems. Prevalence of violence even in your own home is not something to be taken lightly.
Opinion:
My first thought or impression of a book was not good. I thought the book was not my genre or something that I would enjoy. I did not enjoy this book that much but my impression did change a lot. By the cover, I thought it was a children’s book. You should not judge a book by its cover. The book covered some very sensitive issues from society which I liked. I liked how the book had sarcastic humor. Derek thinking that a bite from a bat would turn him into a vampire was stupid but also hilarious. It was educational and interesting to some point but personally did not like the book that much. Because there were so many things going on, I would get confused along the way but still, it's a good book for reading while you are bored. Because the book is written for children of grades 4-8, I would recommend it to them only. I don't think adults or anyone above middle school would enjoy it that much. I would rate it 2.5 out of 5 because I did not find it too interesting and it was not a genre I like.
