Chomp

Title:   Chomp

Author:  Carl Hiaasen

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age:  Ages 10 and up

Grade Level Equivalent:  5.3

Lexile Measure:  800

Guided Reading Level:  W

DRA:  60

Summary:  Set in the Florida Everglades, Wahoo's father Mickey is an animal wrangler, hired by movies and TV shows to supply and train animals. In this offbeat story, the reader follows the father and son as they work with a TV show billed as the adventures of a survivalist, while really the host is a blowhard who knows little to nothing about living in the wild. There are several twists and turns in the story that keep the reader's interest, with lots of action involved.

Review:  This story has a lot of Hiaasen's quirky characters and plot lines, keeping the reader's interest and attention. The characters are interesting and the story line generally holds together well, with a few tangents.

With its animal and survivalist themes, it will have strong appeal with all readers, but I think would be especially good for boys, particularly reluctant readers of texts other than tried and true action series.