  | Beast : face-to-face with the Florida bigfoot Author: Key, Watt | |
| Price: $21.88 | ||
Summary:
Haunted by his parents' disappearance and presumed deaths and hounded for claiming to have seen Bigfoot, Jason sets off into the deadly wilderness on a hunt for answers.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.10 Points: 6.0 Quiz: 508585 |
Reviews:
School Library Journal (04/01/20)
Booklist (03/15/20)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 03/15/2020 Adam disappeared in the Suwannee River swamp for two months, and when he resurfaced, he had lost his parents (to a car accident), his friends (after moving away to live with his reclusive uncle John), and his sanity (convinced that the car crashed because of a large, inky, fur-covered cryptid). As the police, his new classmates, and the community question Adam about the “swamp apes,” he discovers a community of paranormal researchers who describe sightings of a similar creature. Key’s adrenaline-packed story chops through palm fronds with a machete, trudges through soul-sucking mangrove mud, and struggles to breathe above the merciless, snake- and alligator-infested currents of adventure as Adam, armed with supplies and a stolen boat, revisits the site of his parents’ accident to track the Bigfoot. While Key deftly crafts a riveting story, the narration feels too adult to be reflective of a 13-year-old explorer. Nonetheless, this will provide readers with a thrilling journey of determination, ideal for fans of Hatchet (1987), by Gary Paulsen, as well as Call of the Wild. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 Gr 5 Up—Adam Parks remembers seeing something in the road that night and despite the policeman's suggestion, it definitely was not a bear. After a car crash leaves Adam in the hospital and his parents missing, presumably dead, the news reports that he saw a Sasquatch and his lucidity is now in question. Adam, not even knowing what a Sasquatch is, looks it up online and finds hundreds of hits with descriptions of "Bigfoot'"and "Sasquatch." Off to prove himself, Adam takes off into the black snake and alligator waters of Suwanee River in search of the mysterious creatures and proof that he is right. There, Adam finds an answer and learns that the secrets of the Suwanee are more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. The heavy topics of losing parents and graphic descriptions of eating from dead carcasses may make this title appropate for an older middle grade audience. VERDICT As with all of Keys's amazing books, give this to the reluctant reader seeking an outdoors adventure or to someone who loves survivalist fiction.—Stephanie Wilkes, Good Hope Middle School, West Monroe, LA - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/15/2020 - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
