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Chomp

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 4,768 ratings · 685 reviews

Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one.

When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself—...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published March 27th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published February 27th 2012)

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Mar 26, 2012 Newengland rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-in-2012, ya

Fun -- for a bit (there's a chomp joke in there somewhere). Hiaasen hits the right notes humor-wise in this Steve Irwinesque takeoff of a prima donna phoney Aussie hosting a reality wildlife survival show. His name is Derek Badger and he isn't the best thing about this novel by any means. Unfortunately, just when you think he's as bad as it gets, ANOTHER caricature (um, CHARACTER, I mean... I think) snatches defeat from the gator jaws of infamy by taking his place.

What's to like: the Mickey Cray...more

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May 13, 2013 124kafayat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alligator. Girl named Tuna. Boy named Wahoo. Falling Iguanas. Toeless dad. Crazy dude named Badger.

Chomp perfectly combines these out of sort topics into one glorious, fun-filled, adventure filled novel. It starts off with Wahoo, a boy raised in a zoo who only owns 9 fingers due to an accident, and he figures out that his mom will be living in China for a while trying to raise money for the house. The reason being for this is the fact that Wahoo's dad had gotten hit by a frozen iguana upside hi...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads

From the book description … “Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself—to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over....more

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Apr 19, 2013 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-booktalks

Danger. Laughs. Pythons. Vampires. Reality tv. A girl named Tuna.
It’s all right here, in Carl Hiaasen’s new book, Chomp.
Mickey Cray is a professional animal wrangler. He’s created a warm, loving environment for Alice the 12-ft long alligator, a python named Beulah, Galapagos tortoises named Gary and Gail, and an assortment of other animals – monkeys, snakes, even a bald eagle. “Treat ‘em like royalty,” he’d tell his son Wahoo. This is even after he allows his leg to be nearly swallowed by the py...more Danger. Laughs. Pythons. Vampires. Reality tv. A girl named Tuna.
It’s all right here, in Carl Hiaasen’s new book, Chomp.
Mickey Cray is a professional animal wrangler. He’s created a warm, loving environment for Alice the 12-ft long alligator, a python named Beulah, Galapagos tortoises named Gary and Gail, and an assortment of other animals – monkeys, snakes, even a bald eagle. “Treat ‘em like royalty,” he’d tell his son Wahoo. This is even after he allows his leg to be nearly swallowed by the python – he felt sorry for it because it was hungry.
Wahoo Cray helps his dad with the animals – especially since a frozen iguana fell out of a tree and gave his dad a serious concussion. This left his dad seeing double and unable to wrangle. You see, the Crays hire out their animals for all sorts of things – movies, documentaries, birthday parties. Now they’re broke and Wahoo’s mom has to take a job teaching Mandarin to American executives in China.
Enter Derek Badger, Australian reality star of the show Expedition Survival. He’s arrogant, clumsy, and looking for a new project. His producer, Raven Stark, offers the Crays a lot of money for the use of their animals, so they can stage the next episode of Expedition Survival. Wahoo takes the phone call, and agrees to the job, and only afterwards tells his dad about it. Magically, his dad recovers from his time spending weeks on the couch, and they begin their work with the tv show.
Of course, the tv show is completely fake, but not to Derek. Up till now, the scenes used in the show were staged. But now he insists on using the biggest wildest animals and doing everything for real. Derek nearly drowns when he attempts to tussle with Alice the 12-ft gator. And when he wants to shoot on location in the Everglades (instead of the very realistic set the Crays have built), Derek gets bit by a bat, becomes convinced he’s a vampire, and goes missing in a storm.
Will anyone from this expedition come home in one piece?(less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, juvenile

I can always trust Hiaasen for a great read - either juvenile or adult. An interesting mix of fact, fun, danger and outrageous characters made this a straight through read.
Wahoo and his father are animal wranglers, providing gators, snakes, turtles and monkeys for filming. A dead iguana, killed by unusually cold temperatures, fell our of a tree on his father's head giving him a severe concussion that results in blinding, debilatating headaches. This does not work well with running his busines...more

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Dec 26, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

First, please understand, my rating of a book is based on how it affects me, nothing else. A book does not have to be great literature to get high marks from me, it just has to catch my interest and involve me, and get me to enjoy the experience in the process. This is what makes "Chomp" a five star read for me.

Carl Hiaasen is one of my all time favorite fiction authors. Unfortunately, for his loyal readers, he's been keeping a fairly low profile in recent years after a creative explosion in the...more

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Dec 10, 2012 M K rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: 4th grade boys

Shelves: kids, 2012

My son came home dying to read this book after the school librarian showcased it at school. We soon realized it was above his reading level, so I read the book to my 4th grade son and 2nd grade daughter. In short, my son loved it and my daughter, well, not so much.

One of the things I love about my kids getting older is watching their personalities come into their own. Unfortunatley (she says with a smile), my son leans toward the silly, slapstick humor filled books. And this fit the bill. The c...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Momina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Momina Mustaquim
Cooper
Language Arts 6th
29 November 2012

CHOMP by: Carl Hiaasen
Summary: Wahoo Cray is anything but normal. Named after a wrestler, having an animal wrangler as a dad and a backyard filled with animals, he has a unique lifestyle. Wahoo’s family is struggling with money, so Wahoo’s mom goes to China to teach Chinese and bring back more money. Mickey Cray, the father who is recovering from a concussion is having trouble with bills and can barely feed himself with the migraines causing...more Momina Mustaquim
Cooper
Language Arts 6th
29 November 2012

CHOMP by: Carl Hiaasen
Summary: Wahoo Cray is anything but normal. Named after a wrestler, having an animal wrangler as a dad and a backyard filled with animals, he has a unique lifestyle. Wahoo’s family is struggling with money, so Wahoo’s mom goes to China to teach Chinese and bring back more money. Mickey Cray, the father who is recovering from a concussion is having trouble with bills and can barely feed himself with the migraines causing him to have double vision. Until Wahoo gets a call from the director of “Expedition Survival” a big T.V. show on the untamed channel. The director, Raven Stark is offering seven grand to use their animals on the show. But when they find out the trip is to go to the Everglades, there’s no predicting what happens next. Even worse, they find out Derek Badger, the star survivalist of the show is all a scam. Soon, Wahoo’s perspective changes when Tuna, a girl from his school with a drunken father who punched her, comes along on the trip. Then, Derek Badger goes missing in the Everglades after a brutal storm hits. This thrilling book has kept me attached and I could not take my eyes off it.
In the book CHOMP it reminds me of many other mystery books I have read such as scat which is written by the same author. I can make a text-to-text connection between these two books because they both involve animals and adventure in a forest. The best part of CHOMP was having connections because Wahoo loves animals just as much as I do. I would rate this book with five stars. It includes great dialogue that puts personality into the characters. One of my favorite characters is Tuna, the girl who comes along to the Everglades. She is different to me because she is struggling with her dad who gives her hard time. I find her the most interesting too. I would also recommend this book to others for people who like animals and adventure. Although some people may dislike this book, it does go into detail about how to wrangle and handle animals. One thing I would change about this book is more descriptiveness about the jungle. Once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to set it down!

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Oct 30, 2012 Wandering Librarians rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, audio-book, boy-appeal, family, fiction, friendship, graphic-novel, humor, realationships, realistic-fiction

I would first like to say that I listened to this on audiobook, and it's read by James Van Der Beek. That's right Dawson was reading the book, and he did a marvelous job. His portrayal of Derek Badger was fantastic, but he really made Mickey Cray become someone I wanted to get to know. It was crazy good.

I'll be honest and say that I haven't ever read any of Carl Hiaasen's books before this. First impression? He's incredibly funny, with a lovely grasp of the depth of emotions that children can la...more I would first like to say that I listened to this on audiobook, and it's read by James Van Der Beek. That's right Dawson was reading the book, and he did a marvelous job. His portrayal of Derek Badger was fantastic, but he really made Mickey Cray become someone I wanted to get to know. It was crazy good.

I'll be honest and say that I haven't ever read any of Carl Hiaasen's books before this. First impression? He's incredibly funny, with a lovely grasp of the depth of emotions that children can latch on to. I think it's easy to make middle grade books rather shallow in the emotion department, but Hiaasen definitely touches on darker themes that are engaging and thought-provoking. I especially liked his view of Derek Badger and the corporate machine of television. Not to say that this was a complete discourse on the corruptness of media or anything like that, it just made suggestions that added to the depth and tone of the story.
The main plot line of Expedition Survival coming into Mickey and Wahoo's animal reserve and essentially tearing everything apart was delightful, over the top, and hilarious. I especially loved Mickey's response to Derek, his resigned knowledge that things would inevitably go badly. Derek's bull-headed decision making, and the thought process behind these decisions, that ultimately put his life in danger over and over were extremely well done. How could I not giggle on my way to and from work when I got to hear about Derek's tongue being bitten by a wild bat that left him with an infected tongue and delusions of vampirism?

While I keep mentioning the adult characters, Wahoo was also a well written character. He's a bit hard to call a child when most of the book his is put into the decision-making role and taking care of his father. It put a very interesting spin on the entire outlook of the book. Wahoo is obviously wise beyond his years, and obviously should not have to be put into this position but you feel for him. You want Wahoo to be allowed to be a child, and still support him in this adult undertaking of making sure his family is able to survive. He is endearing and sympathetic, though he doesn't really get the laughs that everyone else does.

Let me tell you about my one little quibble: the Tuna storyline. I liked Tuna as a character and I was interested in the aspects of her personal growth, but I wasn't sure if it was necessary for the story. It seemed like an addition that made the ending a bit farcical. So many bad things happen at the end that Tuna's alcoholic father showing up with a gun just made me shake my head. And not in a good way. It was an interesting idea, but I didn't think it made for a great addition to the story. If it hadn't been a part of Chomp I wouldn't have missed it wouldn't be making the comment that it made the plot seem a bit fatty. You know?

Anyway, I would highly recommend the audio book, James Van Der Beek does a spectacular job and this book was quite hysterical. Awesome. (less)

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Sep 12, 2012 Gayle Swift rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wahoo's dad is an animal wrangler who keeps exotic pets: an alligator, boa constrictor and other wild critters. Pretty exciting until an over eager alligator helped herself to his thumb, mistaking it for a tasty appetizer. Dad's extreme love for animals clouds his judgment and his job provides meager income. Financial difficulties drive father and son to sign on to assist a Crocodile Hunter wannabe film his so-called reality show. Mr. Badger is more interested in fame than the animals he pretend...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: acting, adventure, alligators, animals, bats, florida, snakes, reality-tv, everglades, alcoholism, family, friends, friendship, wildlife-refuge, ar-5-2, humor, nature, environment

I didn't think I was going to like Chomp as much as I did, but it's great! There's lots of action, humor, and animals. I think this would be a great book in order to reach out to boys who may not be readers...yet.

This story is about a boy named Wahoo who helps his dad take care of a variety of animals at the family's wildlife refuge. The animals are often used on reality TV and nature shows. Wahoo's dad, Mickey, is suffering from a concussion when he accepts a job with a reality TV show called...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Fiona added it

#2Chomp-Carl Hiaasan
The Story
Wahoo Cray has literally grown up in a zoo. His father, Mickey is an animal wrangler in southern Florida. In their back yard, they have all sorts of snakes and monkeys and alligators every animal that you could find in the Everglades. Commercials, magazines, anything that would have an animal from Florida in it, would call the Crays. Everything was all fine with business and such until they got an odd job from a hit survivalist show Expedition Survival! who has a bo...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Beverly rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: 11-14 year olds

Recommended to Beverly by: indie next list/indiebound.org

Shelves: good-reads-for-reluctant-readers

Carl Hiaassen created a winning formula for his YA novels, and he holds true to that formula with Chomp. Set in the Florida swamps, the story has drama, slapstick, witty sarcasm, a buffoonish antagonist, numerous eccentric characters, strong themes on friendship and family, and a young protagonist who appears to be the only normal character in the whole book. It is also a biting satire on the phoniness of reality TV and the pompous people in the TV industry responsible for what ends up on the ai...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Kitty Bullard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book Title: "Chomp”
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Published By: Self-Published
Age Recommended: 10+
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5

Review: I am one hundred fifty percent a Carl Hiaasen fan and will definitely be picking up the rest of his books. This particular story had it all, humor, drama, excitement and adventure. His writing is superb and his characters come alive, jumping right off the page to dance around in the readers head. There is no doubt he is one of the greatest middle grade/children’...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Yakety Yaks rated it 3 of 5 stars

There is no doubt that this book is for middle grade boys. And I mean that in the best way possible. It was fun and exciting and never too itself too seriously.

Wahoo is in that odd place between childhood and adulthood. Though he is only in middle school he feels responsibility to take care of his injured dad, their mortgage, and all their animals. One thing I loved about Wahoo was his level headedness in even the most frightening situations. And no, I'm not just referring to the paunchy and pal...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite authors of quirky adult and children's novels. This one was no disappointment! Wahoo Cray, named for his dad's favorite wrestler and NOT the fish, lives with his animal wrangler father and language teacher mother in what can only be called an exotic zoo. His home is filled with everything from mischievous monkeys to a twelve-foot gator named Alice. Things aren't so great in the Cray household, however, not since Wahoo’s father was hit in the head by a frozen Ig...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Emmet O'Neal Library- Children's Department rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, adventure, animal, humor

Alligators, pythons, and bats, oh my!

Wahoo (Yes Wahoo! Named after a famous wrestler not the fish) and his father are completely unprepared for the adventure waiting for them in this book. Wahoo's father rescues and re-releases the animals back into the wild or keep them to train and use for various endeavors.

One such endeavour is the television show "Expedition Survival." The show follows Derek Badger as he braves the wild, alone and tries to survive only on his instinct and wit. In reality, D...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Betty-Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, realistic-survival

Like Carl Hiaasen’s other books, this book continues his tradition of writing ecological mysteries for young adults. This story is also set in Florida; this time in the Everglades. Wahoo Cray and his father, Mickey, run a wildlife sanctuary/zoo in their backyard. Mickey is a professional animal wrangler so when TV shows want wild animals like snakes and alligators they turn to Mickey and Wahoo to provide real animals in a safer setting.
Mickey takes a job for a reality TV show called Expedition S...more

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May 22, 2012 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hiaasen returns with another fun read for younger reader with this novel, which explores the interesting hypocrisy of reality television. Wahoo (he is named after a fish) Cray and his father Mickey find themselves being hired as animal specialists to help with Expedition Survival!, a quirky television show that is clearly modeled after The Crocodille Hunter. The main difference is that the star, one Derek Badger, is a major fake.

Wahoo's father owns a nature preserve, where they care for a number...more

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May 21, 2012 MS Student rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chomp, by Carl Hiaasen, an adventure book, is based in present time in the United States of America. The story is in third person. The protaganist, Wahoo, is a brave young boy who wants to help out his father. The antagonist is Jarad Gordon, a crazy man that is out to get Wahoo for his hatred of him and he does not want him near his daughter. Derek Badger is a fake Australian that is a bit stupid and does survival shows and wrestles big animals such as alligators. His father takes many injuries,...more

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May 05, 2012 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

I read this book on two levels: one as a book for kids and one as a huge fan of Hiaasen's adult fiction. Hiaasen as a writer for kids is a hip choice for reluctant readers. In his young adult books, he sets them in south Florida and has troubled kids from dicey unconventional backgrounds becoming eco warriors championing animals and their habitat over the greedy absurdity of adults. For Chomp one can insert here Everglades, reptile wranglers, and slimy Hollywood types producing a slimy nature re...more

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May 05, 2012 Charlyn Trussell rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Grades 5 up

Shelves: adventure, animals, ecology, family_story, fiction, florida, humor, realistic-fiction, strong-male-character

Mickey Cray's profession as a wildlife wrangler in Florida has suffered a setback since he was hit in the head by a frozen iguana. His son Wahoo has taken over much of the feeding and care of the animals and his wife has left the country to earn more money. When a reality television show offers big bucks for the use of the animals, Wahoo sees it as an opportunity to help his dad's ailing business and bolster the family's economy. Hiaasen's characters and plots are always slightly off-kilter, so...more Mickey Cray's profession as a wildlife wrangler in Florida has suffered a setback since he was hit in the head by a frozen iguana. His son Wahoo has taken over much of the feeding and care of the animals and his wife has left the country to earn more money. When a reality television show offers big bucks for the use of the animals, Wahoo sees it as an opportunity to help his dad's ailing business and bolster the family's economy. Hiaasen's characters and plots are always slightly off-kilter, so it is no surprise that Wahoo has lost a thumb to the gator the show wants to use. And reality show star Derek Badger may star in a show called "Expedition Survival," but he is not a survivalist. His idea of camping out is a motor home and meals prepared by a chef.

Now throw in another child named for a fish (although, actually, Wahoo is named for a wrestler, not a fish): Tuna Gordon, a classmate of Wahoo, is physically abused by an alcoholic father. When she decides to run away, it is to go with Wahoo and his father into the Everglades to film the show. The fact that Derek Badger is her idol has some influence on her decision to tag along. Badger's popularity with the crew of the show and with the Cray family is at the opposite end of the scale--Mickey Cray barely tolerates the man and the crew make fun of him behind his back.

Throw this mix of characters into a swamp and the action takes off. The action is ratcheted up when Derek disappears into the jungle in an airboat after being bitten by a bat and Tuna's dad shows up with a gun. In the end, the jaunt really does turn into a survival expedition for Mickey, Derek, Wahoo and Tuna.

In his books, Hiaasen often shows his concern for the ecology of his state and this one is no exception, describing the introduction of non-native species into the Florida Everglades. The topic of child abuse is addressed convincingly and Tuna's dysfunctional family is a contrast to Wahoo whose family remains loving and close even though they are separated while his mother is in China.

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Apr 27, 2012 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kids_books, review-copy

Chomp is a funny book. It is also a little bit crazy and even zany at times. While I love reading books geared for younger audiences, I had trouble not rolling my eyes a few times with this one. It wasn’t so much the crazy incidents that occurred, like Wahoo’s father being hit of the head by a frozen iguana, or the naming his son “Wahoo”, or the fake survivalist reality star that stumbles into trouble at every turn. I was happy to laugh at that stuff and chalk it up to good clean fun, and it was...more Chomp is a funny book. It is also a little bit crazy and even zany at times. While I love reading books geared for younger audiences, I had trouble not rolling my eyes a few times with this one. It wasn’t so much the crazy incidents that occurred, like Wahoo’s father being hit of the head by a frozen iguana, or the naming his son “Wahoo”, or the fake survivalist reality star that stumbles into trouble at every turn. I was happy to laugh at that stuff and chalk it up to good clean fun, and it was. What I had trouble with though, was some of the character interactions.

Wahoo and his father decide to help out with a TV series so that they can get caught up on financial troubles that started after a frozen iguana literally knocked the father out of work for a while. His Mother flew to Asia to earn some money tutoring, so Wahoo and his father work the TV show together. As they are packing up to leave for the wilderness, they run into a classmate named Tuna who is being abused by her drunken father. This was the part that bothered me. Wahoo doesn’t know Tuna very well, but instead of getting her real help, they take her along with them on their trip. It felt so sudden and random. Naturally Wahoo and Tuna become good friends along the trip and are trying to figure out what to do with her father upon their return. Tuna’s absolutely crazy father ends up chasing them into the wilderness all drunk and shooting at people. I also didn’t like that after Wahoo’s father is shot in the foot, he tells his son to lie to the mother and tell her one of their animals got to it. I know it sounds like I am being harsh, I just think we have to be careful with serious topics such as abuse and promote honesty. I loved the crazy reality star that gets lost and thinks he is turning into a vampire. He has absolutely NO business being in the wilderness alone and the story was funny enough and action-packed without Tuna’s abusive gun-wielding father. Overall, the story was entertaining and I think that younger readers will laugh and enjoy themselves.
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Apr 06, 2012 Mal Warwick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Alligators, pythons, vampires, and gun-wielding drunks run amok in the Everglades

They’re maybe 14 years old. His name is Wahoo; he was named after the wrestler, not the fish. Hers is Tuna. Yes, the fish. So, they decide to call each other Lance and Lucille.

They live in the Everglades.

His father is an animal wrangler who supplies docile animals to TV survivalist shows that purport to show men wrestling with alligators or snakes. Hers is a drunken bum who drove her mother away to Chicago and now b...more Alligators, pythons, vampires, and gun-wielding drunks run amok in the Everglades

They’re maybe 14 years old. His name is Wahoo; he was named after the wrestler, not the fish. Hers is Tuna. Yes, the fish. So, they decide to call each other Lance and Lucille.

They live in the Everglades.

His father is an animal wrangler who supplies docile animals to TV survivalist shows that purport to show men wrestling with alligators or snakes. Hers is a drunken bum who drove her mother away to Chicago and now beats her instead of her mother.

They spend a lot of time together, but they are NOT boyfriend and girlfriend.

Now, are you getting the impression that this cockamamie story is a book for young readers?

Welcome to the world of Carl Hiaasen, a long-time columnist for the Miami Herald who has written some of the funniest novels ever on environmental themes. His adult books — there are 16 of them — are all set in Florida. As Wikipedia notes, “Hiaasen’s Florida is a hive of greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb blondes, apathetic retirees, intellectually challenged tourists, hard-luck redneck cooters, and militant ecoteurs.” That “militant ecoteur,” by the way, is a deranged ex-Governor who walked out of the capital one day long ago and went feral. He now holes up in the Everglades, eating what he can scavenge or kill and ever vigilant to threats to its flora and fauna.

Chomp is one of Hiaasen’s four novels for young adults. Like his grown-up books, Chomp is chiefly a satire, with the environment as the beneficiary. Here, the brunt of Hiaasen’s wit is Derek Badger (“NOT Beaver”), the star of a wildly popular TV show featuring him in constant danger in the wilderness from man-eating beasts. However, as Wahoo and Tuna soon learn once Badger hires Wahoo’s father for a show in the Everglades, Badger is nothing of the sort, since every encounter on his show is carefully scripted and contrived, with little or no danger to the star. The REAL danger comes from Tuna’s gun-wielding father.

As a long-time fan of Hiaasen’s adult novels, I unknowingly picked up Chomp expecting more of the same. From the outset, though, the book seemed a little simple-minded, and the humor even broader and more obvious than I’d expected. I wasn’t aware that I failed to qualify as an intended reader. Still, the book was amusing, the characters rooted in a true if cockeyed version of reality, and the plot was rich. No reader should be surprised to learn that alligators, pythons, would-be vampires, and gun-wielding drunks turn up in this story, not to mention a hedonistic Hollywood producer.

Unfortunately, the feral ex-Governor is nowhere to be found in Chomp. I missed him.

(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)(less)

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Mar 31, 2012 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen follows Wahoo a boy whose father is an animal wrangler. When a reality show contacts Wahoo's father Micky about providing animals to set up a survivalist's show he is reluctant but agrees because he needs to pay the bills. Will Wahoo and Micky be able to handle the arrogant Derek Badger?

I loved this book. It was engaging and funny without being afraid to tackle some heavy subjects. I loved the setting with all of the animals and Derek Badger the fake survivalist and his rea...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review copy received from publisher for YA Books Central.

Wahoo's dad, Mickey Cray, has a business renting exotic animals for film sets. While he is recovering from an iguana-induced concussion, Wahoo's mom has to go to China, and Wahoo accepts a contract to supply animals for Expedition Survival! during his summer vacation so the family has some money coming in. The star of the show, Derek Badger, stages most of the show, and there's never any real danger, and Mickey gets so annoyed with his sho...more Review copy received from publisher for YA Books Central.

Wahoo's dad, Mickey Cray, has a business renting exotic animals for film sets. While he is recovering from an iguana-induced concussion, Wahoo's mom has to go to China, and Wahoo accepts a contract to supply animals for Expedition Survival! during his summer vacation so the family has some money coming in. The star of the show, Derek Badger, stages most of the show, and there's never any real danger, and Mickey gets so annoyed with his showmanship that he sabotages the filming in small ways, to the amusement of Wahoo as well as the film crew. Wahoo needs some amusement-- he's still concerned about his father's headaches, as well as Tuna, a girl from his class. Tuna lives with her alcoholic, abusive father in a trailer in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart, and after her most recent beating has sought refuge with the Crays. When one of Derek's stunts goes terribly wrong and he is bitten on the tongue by a bat, the Everglades become dangerous for real. Tuna's father is hunting her down, Derek is roaming about in an infection induced state of paranoia that he will turn into a vampire like Dax Mangold from the Night Wing books, and Wahoo needs to make sure that Tuna stays safe and Derek's injury doesn't ruin his father's business. Sound hectic, complicated, and a bit hilarious? Absolutely.
Strengths: Derek is a great character, sort of the evil, bumbling twin of Steve Irwin. His own hubris makes it funny that Mickey Cray turns animal after animal against him without injuring him. Hiaasen always does great running-around-avoiding-danger; this reminded me a little of the late, great Donald Westlake. I am also glad to see that the publisher has kept the same style of covers-- Hoot came out in 2002, and the cover doesn't seem dated at all.
Weaknesses: There is no mystery in this, which I expected, and some of it does seem a bit mean spirited. Tuna's father is also rather disturbing. That said, I was never a huge fan of Hiaasen's other books, although they certainly circulate well, but this might be my favorite of his middle grade titles. (less)

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Mar 26, 2012 Alice in Readerland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Book courtesy of NetGalley

Filled with hilarity, adventure, and plenty of fangs, Carl Hiaasen’s Chomp is a book readers will want to sink their teeth into.

Wahoo’s father has been out of work since a frozen iguana fell from a tree and hit him on the head. So when Wahoo and his father get asked to be animal rangers for the reality T.V. show Expedition Survival!, the money seems like a good idea. Dealing with the show’s (fake) animal wrangler lead, Derek Badger (or was it Beaver)? Not such a goo...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, abusive-relationships, bullies, fantasy, green-books, ncbla2013

Wahoo Cray has a rather unusual homelife since his father Mickey shares a special bond with wild animals and reptiles. In fact, their backyard is filled with monkeys, turtles, raccoons, snakes and even an alligator named Alice who is twelve feet long. The family has fallen on difficult financial times, forcing Mickey to agree to allow a reality show featuring his animals to film on his property. But the star of the show, Derek Badger, is all about showmanship and his own ego. Given to ordering a...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Sandra Stiles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, humor, middle-grades

One of my favorite places to visit is the Florida Everglades. It is only a few hours south of where I live, and a place I consider to be extremely beautiful and dangerous. There is a particular tourist attraction that takes customers on an airboat ride. My first trip with them was thrilling because we had someone with a Steve Irwin personality. He loved describing everything; birds, plants, gators, the whole eco-system of the Everglades. The highlight was getting to hold a live alligator. When I...more
One of my favorite places to visit is the Florida Everglades. It is only a few hours south of where I live, and a place I consider to be extremely beautiful and dangerous. There is a particular tourist attraction that takes customers on an airboat ride. My first trip with them was thrilling because we had someone with a Steve Irwin personality. He loved describing everything; birds, plants, gators, the whole eco-system of the Everglades. The highlight was getting to hold a live alligator. When I was given the opportunity to read and review Chomp by Carl Hiaasen I was so excited. It had gators, reality TV, and the Florida Everglades. In my mind it was everything you could ask for in a book.

The story starts off funny, with a serious undertone that runs through it. Wahoo’s father has been unable to work since a frozen iguana fell from a tree and hit him in the head causing a concussion. His mother has picked up the slack. Now she has been called out of the country to teach her clients for a few months. With their finances in a mess she takes the job, leaving her husband and the zoo in Wahoo’s hands. Shortly after she leaves, Wahoo’s dad receives a call from “Expedition Survival” wanting to use some of their animals in their reality TV show. Wahoo’s father Mickey accepts and tries his hardest to work through his pain. Then he meets Derek, the biggest jerk.

Derek was one of those characters that you will love to hate. He is so full of himself as a star that he thinks when he snaps his fingers people should jump. He makes decisions that could get him killed just because he believes what everyone on the show tells him. This puts not only himself in danger, but also those around him.

I loved Wahoo’s character. He not only truly cares about the animals but about people. The story is full of bullies. Derek bullies everyone on his show into doing what he wants. Tuna’s father is the biggest bully of all. Tuna is the young girl who shows up to hide from her abusive father. We get a good look at reality TV and it makes you wonder how real it is. Like Hiaasen’s previous books, “Hoot”, “Flush”, and “Scat”, we find environmental themes running throughout this book. It is another great book to add to the shelf, to your collection of books by this great author. I can’t wait to put this on my shelf at school. The timing could not be better. We are currently reading “Flush” as a class. I know I will have students “chomping at the bit”. (less)

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Mar 07, 2012 Rhonda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review: Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
4 STARS
This was a good name for this book. It had animals, humor, adventure,damsel in distress. and guys in distress. I laughed, smiled & felt sad, hated bad guys and loved the good guys. It had a whole range of characters.
Derek Badger was the star of a survival animal show. He was a spoiled brat. His shows were faked and he always killed and ate some bugs or animals he said for survival but he slept in hotels.
Raven was his producer and scoutted for animal wrang...more Review: Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
4 STARS
This was a good name for this book. It had animals, humor, adventure,damsel in distress. and guys in distress. I laughed, smiled & felt sad, hated bad guys and loved the good guys. It had a whole range of characters.
Derek Badger was the star of a survival animal show. He was a spoiled brat. His shows were faked and he always killed and ate some bugs or animals he said for survival but he slept in hotels.
Raven was his producer and scoutted for animal wranglers and places to shoot. Made Derek happy.
Mickey Cray was an animal wrangler and had lots of animals in his back yard. Including Alice a big tame aligator, monkeys, raccoons,pythons, smaller aligators and lots more snakes. In the winter a frozen iguna fell out of tree and gave him a concosion thats left him with bad headaches, double vision and not being able to work.
Wahoo was his son who lost a thumb to Alice when he was younger not paying attention. He fed the animals and helped his father. School just let out for summer.
Wahoo mother trains business men in chinese language, but because they were hurting for money took a two month job in China to teach bunch of business men their instead of having them come to her.
Ravan called to hire Mickey for the job and since they were willing to pay so much more Wahoo excepted the job instead of referring them as they had all winter.
Derek not willing to listen to others when they say he can't do somthing got his nose bit. Then he decided to lay down on top of Alice in the water and hug. Then almost drowned when she twisted and turned in the water and Mickey jumped in and rescued him and it was all got on tape. So it was so good footage that he wanted the rest to be all wild animals instead of tame ones that different animal wranglers used,.
While shopping to get ready to go with the show Wahoo and Mickey were at Walmart and he ran into Tuna a classmate who had a blackeye. Who lived in parking lot of Walmart after they lost their home. Her dad drinks and hits her so they invited her along to go camping with them in the everglades where they were going to be filming.
Things keep getting wilder and more happens to Derek and others while they are trying to finsh the show. I would read more books from Carl based on this book.
I was given this ebook from Netgalley in exchange of honest review.
03/27/2011 Random House Children's Books Alfred A Knopf BFYR(less)

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About Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family. After graduating from the University of Florida, he began writing for the Miami Herald. As a journalist and author, Carl has spend most of his life advocating the protection of the Florida Everglades. He and his family still live southern Florida.

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“Mickey Cray had been out of work ever since a dead iguana fell from a palm tree and hit him on the head.” — 8 people liked it

“Actually it was the mark of the stupid, which is what you get for sitting under a tree during a thunderstorm.” — 7 people liked it

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