Chomp

For all of you people who like animals, zoos, survival shows, and the (occasional) behind the scenes of TV, I would recommend Chomp. Chomp is a book by Carl Hiaasen(same author of flush, I am beginning to notice a pattern here) is one of the ten books that I decided to read throughout the summer months.

Just what is the story about? Well before I begin, I would like to point out something cool about Carl Hiaasen's books, which is that his books tend to provide a useful clue on certain topics without even requiring you to go to the back. Chomp in particular involves alligators. But enough about the title. Wahoo Cray, a kid who is missing a thumb thanks to his pet alligator Alice chomping it off, lives in a literal zoo, full of animals of all shapes and sizes, all started by his father. Unfortunately however, it is on the verge of ending due to them being unable to pay off many things such as mortgage.

But one day, out of nowhere, famed "TV star" Derrick Badger offers them jobs in his TV show, which involves him being out in the wild braving vicious animals, though much of his content is fake. Mickey and Wahoo, though rather reluctant to the job offer at first, realize it could be very helpful to pay off debts, given how the crew gives $200...... A DAY! In addition, Derrick thinks that their little zoo could help with his show. Though soon after the first day, he quits considering he has no actual talent in even wrangling Alice, who is usually very gentle except for when she bit off Wahoo's thumb. Afterwards, Derrick, who is now inspired, chooses to do real animal wrangling. Derrick and Wahoo also bring some girl from school (named Tuna, who is quite the taxedermist) along to help her escape her psychotic father's wrath. Later, in the actual wild, Derrick acts like a complete idiot and tries to approach a bat, which ends up with a bite on Derrick's tongue and him disappearing the next morning. If that's not bad enough, a stranger suddenly appears out of nowhere with a gun, looking for Tuna. Who is this stranger? Is Derrick Badger out there, and still alive? Well, I am not going to spoil the book for you, read it yourself.