Flush

Here’s one thing I loved about Carl Hiaasen’s “Flush:” Despite being an environmental book based on poop there was a surprising lack of toilet humor in this work. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fart joke every now and then, and going into a book called “Flush,” I was expecting to get a lot of that. But instead of giving us poop this and poop that, Hiaasen follows up his Newbery Honor book “Hoot” with a story that has just as much meat as his first foray into YA.

Rather than focusing on saving just one animal, as in “Hoot,” “Flush” focuses on Noah who is trying to save an entire environment. The owner of the Coral Queen, a local casino boat, has been dumping his guests’ doody into the ocean. This obviously causes catastrophically toxic levels of waste that is killing resident sea life. In comes Noah to prevent this guy from doing any further harm. Of course, this is when the you-know-what hits the fan and the action of the story unfolds.

What makes “Flush” stand out from “Hoot” is that Hiaasen covers more grownup themes than in his first YA book. He discusses divorce, parental imprisonment, abandonment, and poverty. Though the tone seems similar to that of “Hoot,” it almost feels as if Hiaasen wants his characters to grow in real time with his readers, acknowledging that younger middle grade children who read “Hoot” are probably now ready to read about slightly more mature themes. While I have yet to read YA from Hiaasen that doesn’t involve the environment, he shows readers of all ages that environmentally focused material doesn’t have to come across as hippie dippie mumbo jumbo worthy of getting figuratively flushed.

Reader reviewed by samantha

Have you ever had your dad in jail?  Well if you didnt, imagine yourself in a little kids life with your dad in jail and you have to get him out. In this story, Flush by: Carl Hiaasen, Noah has to get his dad out of jail, and solve the mystery to prove his dad is innocent

Reader reviewed by Medens

This book is Hilariously awesome!!! This book is one of a kind. It shows kids believing in their belifes while never letting anyone ever tell them their wrong and to stop what their doing. The go though with it all and ends up defeating the bad guy. If you looking for a book to put a smile on you face and make you laugh so hard your stomache hurts, THIS is the book for you!!!

Reader reviewed by Jenna

This book is a touching, humorous story about a boy and his little sister who try to save the islands where they live, the Florida Keys. Noah is a believable character, as is his sister Abbey, and their hilarious dad makes you want to go out and save the world yourself. Don't miss this great novel by Carl Hiaasen.

Reader reviewed by Kyle

Noah Underwood lives in the Florida Keys with his family. Everything is going good until his dad is arrested for sinking the Coral Queen, a gambling ship that dumps sewage into the bay! For the sake of his dad, and the local environment, Noah and his sister Abbey hatch a plan taht's so crazy, it just might work.

And all they have to do is flush.

I liked this book a lot. It had a good storyline, a good message, and a great ending.

Two thumbs up! :)

Reader reviewed by Allison

This was a great book if you like books about saving the environment. All of the books that I have read by Carl Hiaasen have been this way. Im not quite sure why. It does get the message across, though. Its about a boy whose dad is a criminal and they try to stop a Casino boat from dumping their entire sewer system into the ocean. Overall, it was a pretty good book.