  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 03/01/2012 Gr 6–9—Things are looking bleak for Wahoo and his animal wrangler father; the mortgage is months overdue, and Wahoo's mother has left for the summer to work in China. They think it is the answer to their financial frustrations when the hit reality TV show Expedition Survival! wants to hire Mickey and Wahoo to help their star, more prima donna than rugged survivalist, film their Everglade episode. On the first day, Derek Badger ignores Mickey's sage animal-handling advice, attacking a python and trying to ride a croc. The result is an infuriated handler and some excellent footage. The show, however, loves the realistic feel and decides to head to the wilds for some unscripted shoots. Wahoo runs into a physically abused schoolmate and is inspired to take her with them to save her from her father. Tuna's father pursues her, and suddenly keeping Derek safe isn't Mickey's only potentially deadly task. Chomp reads at a good pace and has some unique, lovable characters. The author manages to sustain a comedic mood with the inept survivalist and the budding romance between two fish-named youngsters while simultaneously developing an underlying sense of tension. Mystery, action, humor, and exotic animals and settings, all tied together by a writer with an exceptional grasp of language, makes this a sure hit with any mystery-loving readers.—Devin Burritt, Wells Public Library, ME - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2012 Since money is tight for the Cray family, teenaged Wahoo Cray brokers a deal when the reality TV series Expedition Survival! wants the help of Wahoo’s wildlife-wrangler father in gathering animals. Though it’s soon apparent that the show’s attention-loving star, Derek Badger, is more comfortable in a plush hotel than in the Florida swamps where the Crays live, Wahoo and his father stick with the show as it moves into the Everglades, and they’re soon accompanied by Tuna, a classmate of Wahoo’s, who’s escaping her drunken, abusive father. When a bad thunderstorm approaches, a defensive bat attacks Derek (who then becomes convinced he’s turning into a vampire), and Tuna’s father comes after her with a revolver in hand, wilderness shenanigans ensue. As usual with Hiaasen, there’s a folkloric element to the characters, many of whom who are purely good or purely bad, while an easygoing optimism makes the mishaps comic and ensures the darker elements never overpower the story. Wahoo is a good guy with an enviably cool life (even if it did lose him a thumb to a ’gator a few years ago) and cool family, so he’s convivial company, and there’s additional joy to be had from the book’s sly debunking of the miracles of reality survival TV. Hiaasen is an exuberant writer of place and advocate of the natural world, and despite the amusing satire of the media, this is at its heart actually an old-fashioned adventure story satisfyingly concluding with just deserts all around. DS - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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