Scat

Carl Hiassen has finally arrived, writing a children’s novel that is totally on the same level as his adult ones, albeit shorter and without the sex. His first two, Hoot and Flush, were very enjoyable, but this third one, Scat, surpasses them. I loved it from page one, and didn’t lose my enthusiasm at any point, finishing it in a day.

When you think about it, it’s really strange that it’s possible to combine humour and environmental issues in a crime/thriller educational novel. In a way, all Carl’s plots are very similar to each other, which is because he cares so much about Florida and the threats to wildlife and to the environment.

I particularly like his quirky characters, and the way the most unlikely people get together and do important things. You have the losers in society, who are allowed to grow and make something of themselves, due to circumstance and the belief someone else has in them.

This one has a real battleaxe of a teacher (‘a witch that knows how to teach is better than a fruitcake from Mars’), a rather strong granny and a trilingual macaw; ‘Help! Au secours! Hilfe!’ And one man finds he is employed by a total moron. We all know that feeling.

There is illegal oil drilling going on, there is a panther on the loose, and Nick’s and Marta’s biology teacher is seriously scary, as well as somewhat missing.

The police aren’t as stupid as we sometimes think they are, and being rich can be really useful, and Carl also gets in a comment about the Iraq war for good measure.

Carl’s stories are always very American in flavour, but the Florida environmental setting also make them unusual compared to many other American novels. If this is the way he’s going with his children’s books, I can’t wait for the next one. I trust it too will have a half naked and extremely capable man living in the ‘wilds’, being friendly with crocodiles and wild cats of all kinds.