School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Things are looking bleak for Wahoo and his animal wrangler father; the mortgage is months overdue, and Wahoo's mother has left for the summer to work in China. They think it is the answer to their financial frustrations when the hit reality TV show Expedition Survival! wants to hire Mickey and Wahoo to help their star, more prima donna than rugged survivalist, film their Everglade episode. On the first day, Derek Badger ignores Mickey's sage animal-handling advice, attacking a python and trying to ride a croc. The result is an infuriated handler and some excellent footage. The show, however, loves the realistic feel and decides to head to the wilds for some unscripted shoots. Wahoo runs into a physically abused schoolmate and is inspired to take her with them to save her from her father. Tuna's father pursues her, and suddenly keeping Derek safe isn't Mickey's only potentially deadly task. Chomp reads at a good pace and has some unique, lovable characters. The author manages to sustain a comedic mood with the inept survivalist and the budding romance between two fish-named youngsters while simultaneously developing an underlying sense of tension. Mystery, action, humor, and exotic animals and settings, all tied together by a writer with an exceptional grasp of language, makes this a sure hit with any mystery-loving readers.-Devin Burritt, Wells Public Library, ME (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Wahoo Cray's pop Mickey is a well-known South Florida animal wrangler, but when he gets a concussion (a dead iguana falls from a coconut palm onto his head), he can't work, and the family is going broke. A lucrative job offer seems like a godsend. All they have to do is offer their backyard zoo and faux Everglades pond for use by the TV program Expedition Survival! starring the bumbling and egomaniacal Derek Badger. Mickey's expertise comes in handy when Derek bungles another encounter with a dangerous animal. And from Mickey and Wahoo's backyard to the Everglades themselves, there are plenty of opportunities for father and son to prove useful during Derek's exploits: a wild ride on Alice, a twelve-foot-alligator; a nasty nip on the nose by a snapping turtle; a bloody attack by a water snake; a bite on the tongue by a mastiff bat. Though there is a serious environmental message behind the madcap antics -- the effect on South Florida's ecosystem of the proliferation of imported exotic animals from Southeast Asia and the tropics -- it isn't heavy-handed; the story sticks to easy laughs and good fun from start to finish. Larger-than-life characters pitted against large creatures of the murky swamp make for fast-paced reading. Like Hiaasen's previous works for young readers -- Hoot (rev. 11/02), Flush (rev. 9/05), and Scat (rev. 1/09) -- Chomp is a story for readers to sink their teeth into. dean schneider (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
You can't knock Hiaasen for inconsistency. In his fourth monosyllabically titled book for young readers (after Hoot, 2002; Flush, 2005; and Scat, 2009), he keeps to the same formula: set up a cast of plucky, lovable Everglades kooks, pit them against greedy, wildlife-hating outsiders and buffoonish swamp villains, and mix it all up with offbeat humor, swift plotting, and heartfelt environmentalism. Here, our heroes come in the form of Mickey and Wahoo Cray, a father-son team of wildlife wranglers who get hired by a hit reality show starring survivalist Derek Badger. It's immediately clear that Badger is nothing more than a well-edited fraud who'd rather bite the head off a bat to spike ratings than paint an honest picture of Florida wildlife, but that's only the beginning of their troubles, which are amped up by a pistol-toting drunk, a scheming producer, and the entirely justified lashing out of the animals themselves. Hiaasen is particularly adept at making the preposterous just barely plausible, and again turns in a finely tuned mix of satire and madcap adventure. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hiaasen's built a sizable cadre of young fans, and his adult readers will also take notice of a new book for kids.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist