Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Audience: 9 and up

Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Nothing seems to be going right for Noah, his dad is in jail for sinking a casino boat and he’s refusing to let anyone pay his bail and release him. His mother’s getting fed up and has mentioned the d-word: divorce. Noah’s dad swears he has a good reason for his actions; that the casino boat captain was dumping sewage into the sea, but there’s no proof. Now Noah’s been asked to help gather evidence. Can he stay out of trouble, help save his dad, and help save his family, before things get any worse?

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) Like Hoot, Hiaasen’s second children’s book has a ecological twist. But, also like Hoot, it doesn’t preach at the reader or beat him or her over the head with a ‘save the earth’ message. With that being said, I really appreciated that there was more to this story than just a quick plot and interesting characters.

One thing Hiaasen does well is create unusual and realistic characters. Large and brawny Shelly, louse-infested Lice, Abbey, the biter who’s not as different from her father as she’d like to think, each of these characters has a distinct personality.

And Paine Underwood fits into a category all by himself. I think Noah’s mom deserves to be sainted for putting up with such a crazy husband! I couldn’t believe that he punched holes in all those doors, although that turned out be a good thing since the hospital receipt kept him out of jail.

My favorite part is when Paine ‘escapes’ from the jail. He thinks he’s such a rebel and he’s making a major statement. In reality, the sheriff was going to force him to leave the jail the following morning. I thought this part was so funny!

Questions:

Is it right for Noah’s dad to ask him to do all the work while he’s in jail?

How are Noah and his dad alike? How are they different?

Do you thinking that Grandpa Bobby will be back soon?

Do you think Noah’s dad will get in any more trouble?

Keep reading!

-Paige

Buy Flush from Amazon