Customer Reviews

Scat

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Nick and Marta are two of the lucky eighth-grade students in Mrs. Starch's (who just happens to be the most feared teacher in the history of the world!) biology class. Every day they sit and pass notes back and forth to each other, discussing their fear of being called on.

The day after their field trip to the Black Vine Swamp, something mysterious happens. Mrs. Starch doesn't come back, and she is never absent, and people start to wonder. While there might be a scrawled note and a message on her answering machine that states that she has had to deal with a family emergency, people, especially Nick and Marta, aren't buying it.

They are all convinced that Smoke, the kid in Mrs. Starch's class that she dislikes the most, has something to do with her disappearance.

In a whirlwind adventure filled with arson, endangered animals, the Iraq war, the Florida wet lands, a money hungry wannabe oil rigger, and panther poop, Nick and Marta set out to find their missing biology teacher.

Carl Hiaasen definitely has a knack for adventure. Every story he creates always has some crazy plot that makes you think as well as laugh! In this case, Hiaasen poses the problem of destroying the environment for monetary gain and how it affects the ecosystem in a hilarious manner. He also throws in some other great themes to think about: not judging people by their history/the way they look, believing in yourself and never giving up, learning to live with what you've got, and working as a team.

These themes are so important for younger readers (and sometimes older!) to learn, and Hiaasen did such a great job of incorporating them into the book without blatantly stating them. While this book has more of a middle-grade audience, it is great for all ages of readers, although there is a tad bit of language. Overall, I think the book was masterfully written and was a worthwhile and entertaining read.

Reviewed by: Tasha

Don't miss this book!

I admire Carl Hiaasen's messages, story-telling ability, and writing skill as expressed in Scat. While the story is slightly gentler than what an adult version might read like, Scat doesn't talk down to younger readers. Instead, Mr. Hiaasen assumes that all his readers are caring, concerned, idealistic, and dedicated to doing the right thing. We need more books like this one.

In weaving his tale, Mr. Hiaasen shares a point of view that what seems to separate us is less important than what should draw us together: Selfish, inappropriate desires drive us apart and everything else is good glue. The book is populated by selfish people (both present and not present, but referred to) and people who find that their concern for others (including all the animals) is greater than their concern for their immediate comfort.

If you aren't in favor of protecting endangered species when you start Scat, you may well become one after reading this story. In addition, you'll realize that you can play a role in helping: You just have to reach out to find and do something useful.

Teachers will love the way that Scat shows that teachers can be better and worse than their students and administrators. Students may learn not to judge teachers too quickly by their appearances and mannerisms in the classroom. I didn't learn that lesson until I was almost 16 when I had a teacher who was terrific to and for me, but whose quirks made her a source of humor for many of my classmates. I honor to this day what Mrs. Verna L. Reynolds did for me. In some ways, she could have served as a prototype for Mrs. Starch (don't you love that name?) in the book. I wish I could share this book with her, but she's passed on to a better place.

I also think that this book could be a big blessing to families where a member has served in the military and the results of that service weren't always what were hoped for.

The book also has a lot of the trademark Hiaasen humor. There are two scenes involving Smoke and Mrs. Starch that cracked me up causing gales of laughter to erupt.

As the book opens, there's a tense scene in biology class as Mrs. Starch tries unsuccessfully to find a student who has read the assignment and is willing to answer a question. When she chooses the grumpy Smoke, it gets rougher for everyone. How could a teacher humiliate a student like Mrs. Starch did to Smoke? That scene is followed by the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Starch at the end of a biology field trip cut short by a wildfire. Smoke cannot be found either. There's an old saying: Where there's smoke, there's fire. Is that the case here?

The mystery takes all kinds of twists and turns, including the unexpected delivery of a student's inhaler in the middle of the night.

And what did Nick see and hear in the swamp?

Be prepared to learn two meanings of the word, "scat."