Book Review of 'Squirm' by Carl Hiaasen

Premise: 

Some facts about Billy Dickens:
* He once saw a biker swerve across the road in order to run over a snake.
* Later, that motorcycle somehow ended up at the bottom of a canal.
* Billy isn't the type to let things go.
Some facts about Billy's family:
* They've lived in six different Florida towns because Billy's mom always insists on getting a house near a bald eagle nest.
* Billy's older sister is dating a jerk. It's a mystery.
* Billy's dad left when he was four, and Billy knows almost nothing about him.
* Billy has just found his dad's address--in Montana.
This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father. 

Crazy and Intriguing

    This humorous book will be impossible to put down, already talking about the main character’s fascination for squirming snakes on the first page. Using his knowledge of snakes to his advantage, he scares bullies to stop treating others harshly. Although this gets him into trouble from time to time, it serves as a tool when Billy joins his long-lost father who left when he was four and step-sister who belongs to the Crow Nation in some vigilante schemes to protect endangered creatures, and stop a dangerously armed poacher.

My favorite part of the book was when the officer said that they found a rattlesnake in the hunter’s helicopter, and everyone knows who put it there although they all act as if they don’t. All of Carl Hiaasen’s books take place in Florida, probably because he lives there himself. This book, however, does partly take place in Montana, but not all the time. All of Hiaasen’s one word titled books have a boy as the main character, along with an environmental/ecological theme, including this one. I recommend this book, if you like realistic fiction and the other books from the same author. The theme of this story can also be to take risks in what you believe in. This book is intended for 4th-8th grade. The tone of this book is humorous, runs at a nice pace, and doesn’t really drag. Every chapter is exactly 13 pages long, not too short or long. ‘Squirm’ is character driven. A quote that stood out in the book is, “Nature always gets the last word.” The meaning is explained in the book, “... point is that nature is as cold hearted as it is beautiful, and that forces beyond our understanding can deliver a random life-or-death surprise at any moment. It might be a landslide, a flash flood, or a bolt of lightning on a cloudless morning.” I agree with the author on this. On a scale of one through 5, I would rate it 4 stars. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

- Candria 

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