Scat

by Carl Hiaasen

Book Overview

Carl Hiaasen takes us deep in the Everglades with an eccentric eco-avenger, a ticked-off panther, and two kids on a mission to find their missing teacher. Florida--where the animals are wild and the people are wilder!

Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.

But when the principal tries to...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375834869
• ISBN13: 9780375834868
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

Definitely for younger readers

I love Hiaasen's books, but I had no idea he wrote Young Adult books as well. So, for me, it was a letdown. For kids aged 12-16 or so it is a good choice.

scat :-) a great book to read

Carl Hiaasen books are filled with a great personal voice that is humorous and makes the books sound like a regular middle school student. From everything from wacky substitutes, writing papers, going on Facebook, great friends, making new friends, surfing YouTube, to text messaging this book contains everything that fills a middle schooler's life. But in Scat, another ingredient is added. Three kids help unravel some of the strange things going on in Black Vine Swamp, a swamp in the Everglades in Florida. Since the books characters are regular middle school kids who like and do many things that I do, it really made a impression on me. This book showed that kids can really make a difference in saving the enviroment, just like the kids in SCAT did.

Perfect for the Classroom

I teach 6th Grade Reading and this book is perfect for this age group. I loved it too so don't be afraid to read it if you are an adult. The school setting and the stern teacher who disappears on a field trip will appeal to young readers. I particularly liked the sub plot with the Iraqi veteran. It added a timely dimension to the story. I live in Florida and I have actually seen a Florida panther in the wild. They are very rare, and you really feel special if you get the chance to see one. If you live anywhere and love wildlife, you will love this story!

Another winner by Hiaasen

Scat is Carl Hiaasen's third book for young readers, following Hoot and Flush. In this novel, like his others, he focuses on environmentalism and Florida, but he also tones down the content compared with his regular novels. Scat follows the story of Nick and Marta, two high school students, who are in Mrs. Starch's biology class. Mrs. Starch is legendary as the strictest teacher in the school, with a singular focus on teaching biology. One day, she takes her biology classes on a vacation to a local swamp. While they are there, a mysterious swamp fire stars, forcing the trip to an abrupt end. After the students return to school, they realize that Mrs. Starch has not returned. The next day, principal reassures the students that Mrs. Starch had to leave due to a family emergency, but this excuse does not sit well with Nick. First of all, he is not aware of Mrs. Starch having any family, and also she had been previously threatened by Dwayne "Smoke" Scrod, a rebellious student who had a run-in with her. Nick decided to investigate Mrs. Starch's disappearance and brings Marta along to help. They begin by visiting her house on the outskirts of town, but are chased away by a mysterious man named Twilly Spree. Although they (as well as the police) suspect Smoke to be involved with Mrs. Starch's disappearance, Nick is baffled when Smoke suddenly visits to borrow his biology book. To further this improbable connection, Smoke seeks out Nick to tell Nick that he is innocent as he runs from the police who have come to apprehend him at school. Nick and Marta's search for Mrs. Starch adds a new dimension as they try to figure out if Smoke was telling the truth. Then of course, there is the environmental element. A man named Drake McBride from a rich family is determined to prove to his father that he is not a total failure, even though everything he has ever done suggests this. He stakes out a claim to drill for oil, then comes up with a scheme to make money from the government even though his claim has not panned out. However, he runs against obstacles as his project is repeatedly sabotaged and his employees have strange things happen to them. Like all of Carl Hiaasen's books, Scat is filled with a variety of eccentric characters. Nick and Marta are the regular people, who get sucked into the plot to help save the environment. Drake McBride is funny, with his faux Texas cowboy act, while Dr. Dressler, the principal of Nick and Marta's school, is a stereotypical administrator who is solely out to cover his own butt when anything goes wrong. The list goes on, with the Scrod family (including a rich grandmother), Dr. Waxmo, a very strange substitute teacher, and of course Mrs. Starch. The plot of Scat moves very quickly, as Hiaasen weaves in various subplots, such as Nick's father serving in Iraq and Nick's fascination with the Florida panther. Hiaasen also takes care to help readers picture the Florida setting he cares so much about. It adds up to a thorough

Maybe For Kids, But Not Watered Down Hiaasen Humor

Hiaasen's many adult novels have a particular form of insanity to them. No matter just how you think you've figured out what's going on or about to happen, he throws a knuckle ball that threatens to become a bean ball, aimed right at your head. When he began writing YA books, he brought some of that with him, yet tempered for a younger audience. Scat is the story of Nick and Marta, whose biology teacher didn't return from a class field trip to the Black Vine swamp. Not that Mrs. Starch is going to be missed; she was the most fearsome teacher at Truman School. But neither of them believe that she was called away on a "family emergency," but instead was the victim of foul play, probably by Smoke, the class delinquent. Very quickly, and in typical Hiaasen fashion, the plot gets not only complicated, but ever-stranger players in this mystery come fast and furious. The story is appropriate for middle school and older, enjoyable to read, and reflects Hiaasen's love of the Florida wild lands.

Great Novel for Young Readers

Newbery Honor Winner Carl Hiaasen returns to Middle Grades Fiction with SCAT (following Hoot and Flush) a mystery/comedy set in Florida. It is ideal for readers age 10-13, but has a well-plotted mystery that could entertain adult readers as well (particularly Hiaasen's fans). It all begins when Mrs. Bunny Starch, feared Biology teacher, disappears during a school field trip to the Black Vine Swamp -- where an illegal and undercover oil-drilling operation is taking place. Mrs. Starch regularly embarrasses and intimidates her students, so there's no shortage of suspects who may have had a hand in her disappearance. It's up to two adventurous students -- Nick and Marta -- to solve the mystery. They must navigate a web of weird characters -- an eccentric eco-avenger, a juvenile delinquent named Smoke, a crooked oil prospector, and an endangered Florida panther -- in order to solve the mystery. SCAT is a page-turner with heart, humor, and adventure. A good book for both boys and girls, filled with the kind of wacky characters with which Hiaasen has built his career. You might consider checking out the film version of Hoot (New Line Platinum Series), too. Enjoy! Stacey Cochran Author of CLAWS available for 80 Cents