Chomp

Carl Hiaasen's "Chomp" plunges readers into the wild Florida Everglades with Wahoo Cray, whose animal-wrangling father is hired for a ridiculous survival reality show. The story quickly escalates from humorous satire of reality TV to a suspenseful adventure when the show's star disappears and a classmate, Tuna, flees her abusive father into the swamp. This middle-grade novel tackles serious themes of domestic abuse and courage while maintaining a fast-paced, adventurous, and often funny tone. Parents should be aware of the prominent themes of child abuse and violence, including a character being shot, but the narrative ultimately champions bravery, friendship, and justice.

A New York Times BestsellerA Newbery Honor Award Winning AuthorWhen Wahoo Cray's dad -- a professional animal wrangler -- takes a job with a reality TV show called Expedition Survival!, Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself to keep his father from killing Derek Badger, the show's inept and egotistical star. But the job keeps getting more complicated: Derek Badger insists on using wild animals for his stunts; and Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna -- a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her father and needs a place to hide out. They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .It's anyone's guess who will actually survive Expedition Survival . . . Age Range: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5-6 | Lexile Measure: 800L