Sunday, December 18, 2005

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Noah’s family loves the environment around their home in the Florida Keys. Noah’s dad, Paine Underwood, a fishing guide, especially has always been passionate about caring for animals and the environment—but have you ever heard of somebody sinking a casino boat in the name of Mother Nature? Even Noah’s younger sister, Abbey, and their mother think that Paine has finally lost his marbles. Now dad is in the slammer. When Noah goes to visit his dad, Paine claims that the captain of the Coral Queen, Jasper “Dusty” Muleman, was dumping sewage from the boat’s holding tanks into the ocean. Noah and Abbey are determined to finish what their dad started. Noah goes to the trailer of Lice Peeking, an ex-mate of the Coral Queen, to get him to give his testimony to the Coast Guard. Lice is willing to do it—for a price. Noah painfully offers his dad’s fishing boat in exchange for Lice’s testimony. Lice agrees and tells Noah that he’ll come for the boat the next day, with a contract. The next day, however, Lice’s girlfriend, Shelly, comes over and informs Noah that Lice has been killed! Now how will Noah and Abbey prove that their dad is right and Captain Muleman—not their dad—should be locked up?

I enjoyed reading FLUSH by Carl Hiaasen. It was a wonderful book about family and the environment. It is a pleasingly humorous book, too. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes funny books and books about the ocean, as well as to readers who are interested in protecting the environment. I would also recommend this book to anyone who has read Holes, by Louis Sachar.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Saugerties, NY USA