A great story and fun read aloud with plenty of action, humor and bizarre touches a la Carl Hiaasen. I can recommend this from about 5th grade to adult. It’s a fast paced search through Florida for a missing girl by her 15 year old cousin and Skink, an extremely unconventional ex Marine, environmentalist, and vigilante. Most of the humor revolves around Skink but he also exemplifies inspiring courage, a passion for justice, and just plain soul. The rebellious girl has made a “friend” on line and plans a getaway with him. This, of course, goes very wrong. There is suspense over her safety and plenty of tense moments but luckily the abuses are fairly mild. A big plus is that the story serves as a reminder about Internet safety for kids. Set in the dangerous Florida wilderness full of colorful wildlife and equally colorful characters this book is really irresistible.
August 31, 2017