Skink--No Surrender

Skink - No Surrender, by Carl Hiaasen is a great book filled with action and many life lessons. This book is very good with many cliff hangers so it will keep you entertained and waiting to see what happens next. If you like action you will like this book. The characters are kind of odd but that's why I like the book. This book is all about life lessons, for example the action centers around Malley , a teenage girl who sneaks out and gets into a lot of trouble. She is supposed to be sent to a boarding school and instead she meets a man online named T.C., who she believes will save her from going to the school. Without spoiling the story, the plot makes teenagers aware that meeting of with strangers from online can be dangerous. The main character, Skink, is a great example of caring and courage. He is a crazy character that looks out for animals and human rights. He was once the governor of Florida and is a natural survivalist. The story takes place in Florida and travels up the West Coast. The book has a lot of nature/environmental facts, about Florida , which also makes it interesting to read. The main character, Richard, is Malley's cousin and this is his adventure to get his cousin back and out of danger. He is a teenager and travels with Skink.. He has had some hard times, but he learns from Skink to trust and never give up. I had to read this book for my seventh grade class, and I also live in Florida. I was able to connect with the characters, the setting, and the plot. It was a very good novel, and I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy adventure, suspense, and nature.

Because this is a YA (Young Adult) novel, there is a good deal less gross violence in Skink than in the other Hiaasen novels, though there is still a good deal of knocking about and shooting) and the narrative is more straight-forward than usual, This is an adventure story evolving as a teen’s coming of age, even learning to drive—utilizing Steinbeck’s East of Eden as part of his training! (There are also salutary references to Rachel Carson’s environmental powerhouse Silent Spring which might send some younger readers back to a book which has not lost it’s power). Reading Skink No Surrender is a vacation; even if the vacation is spent largely in the swampy marshes of the Choctawhatchee basin, jumping with mosquitos and rife with alligators, even if the destination is a ratty old houseboat populated by nasty little Terwyn Crossley a devious rascal posing as Talbo Chock, the former abducting unwilling hostage Malley, a strong willed young woman with attitude to spare. I had a reading vacation full of near-death adventure, thrilling rescues, and mainly, pages and pages of Clinton Tyree, aka Skink. (I wonder much Hiaasen works at crafting names like Terwyn Crossley so as not to offend any actual living creature who might coincidentally bear such a moniker) Hiaasen neatly captures the voice and attitudes of his burgeoning hero, a young man who readily admits some of his failings (“there’s no Off switch in my imagination”) but whose imagination can conjure up Lola’s Chariot in seconds, and whose courage strengthens his resolve and slowly comes to understand his mother’s clueless second husband, who cluelessly slices brown bananas on the kid's cereal. Richard is a frank, unassuming hero, a likeable kid with little pretension and a developing value system worthy of emulation. His pal Malley, the headstrong and often difficult young woman who resists parental interference, is nonetheless shown to be crafty, intelligent and resourceful, even if a little naïve (which certainly dovetails nicely with her shaky bravado), who can find an FM station that is “Bieber-free.” (a reference that is bound to date quicker than references to, say, An American Tragedy in Horsefeathers). Although the short novel is considered “YA,” most of the expected Hiaasen themes are peppered through the book—environmental concerns, a raging intolerance of litterbugs, a consuming concern for wild things (turtle eggs, rare woodpeckers, blue herons), and an eye for the ragtag individuals that make life interesting—whether the mysterious friend of Skink’s, Officer Tile, who, like Skink himself, materializes when needed, or gar man Nickel, chugging up and down the river on a makeshift boat piled with rotting fish. The vivid setting of the river shore, relatively limited as it is, also creates a believable world in which the kids can struggle with that nasty piece of work called Tommy Chalmers (AKA Talbo Chock), as does Skink, who queries: “Son, why’d you shoot at that lovely bird?...The only acceptable excuse would be a brain injury. Are you afflicted in such a way?” “Shut your trap!” Tommy growled. Those of us who know the author appreciate that Tommy, one way or another, is probably not long for this world. As he does so often, Hiaasen vividly sets up villains who will get just comeuppance before the book is finished. And we can hardly wait. (I did think it odd that young Chalmers didn’t shoot his gun when presented with challenges so frequently by both Skink and the kids, but given his scattered consciousness, the question is moot). And then there’s the real hero, the titular Skink, who appears in his vivid best in a surprise appearance emerging of out of the Choctawhatchee: He had emerged from the river “seeping tooth wounds in his neck, a partial bite imprint on one shoulder, a grid of vivid welts on his chest that matched the armored ridges of the reptile’s tail…sopping and crowned with slimy hydrilla weeds that made him look like some sort of demented sea monarch. Among the sprigs of his beard dangled moist purplish leeches, several of which had attached to his hide-like cheeks….his fake eyeball must have popped out, because the socket was now plugged with a glossy brown snail’s shell….” It’s easily Hiaasen’s most vivid description of our Hero in any of the novels, and makes the YA novel worth reading for that reason alone.

A good, clean read for a long plane ride. This book is intended for a younger audience, as the main characters are 14-year old teenagers. When I bought this book, I did not realize this when Amazon notified me that the new Hiassen novel had just been released. I skipped the reviews and immediately clicked the button for the Kindle version. I was on vacation, so I kept on reading, finding myself enjoying another Hiassen novel. The story is told from the point of view a 14-year old boy who tries to save his best friend, his cousin of the same age but opposite gender, who has been kidnapped by 26-year old male psychopath whom the cousin met in an Internet chat room. The plot includes some of the typical lowlife in Hiassen novels, as well as the good guys (I've read nearly all of them, especially all the ones for adult readers). Skink is his usual self, now 72 years old and going strong, but the colorful (swearing) adult language is absent from Skink, as well as the rest of the characters. In other words, if it were a movie, it would be G rated, or possibly PG. I've been hoping that Hiassen would write a new novel similar to the earlier ones for adults, and miss some of his witty sarcasm, humorous slants to the characters, exposition of their human foibles, and the nearly incredible, hilarious situations they get themselves into. But I understand that Hiassen is trying to get the main moral message that permeates all his books across to the younger generation--because they are the future. I'd highly recommend this book to teenagers, but adults can enjoy it too and pass it on to their children when they're old enough to read it.

Skink No Surrender was an amazing book to read. While this book is mostly for kids, adults would enjoy reading it too. This book doesn't just keep you on the edge of your seat, it makes you want to read more. This is because of the way Carl Hiaasen puts in suspense and humor in the same book. He also conveys a message to teens and adults by making Malley, one of the main characters, falls for a man that says he is someone which he really isn't. This shows teens not to believe what you see online, because it can be anyone. Also, not to meet with anyone you don't know. This is what I think of the book, but I will tell you a little bit about it just so I make sure you believe me. Richard, the main character, is cousins with Malley, another main character. Malley decides to go on a trip with so called '' Talbo Chalk". When she lies and tells Richard she is going to boarding school, Richard soon knows something is up. Before Richard discovers Malley is missing, he meets a strange man named Clint Tyree, or Skink. Richard and Skink journey to find Malley using clues that Malley is secretly telling them on her cell phone. Richard and Skink go through a lot to find her and eventually do. Along the suspenseful yet funny ride, you will find out more about Skink and ''Talbo Chalk". Also see what happens to Malley and Richard! I don't want to be a spoiler, so I encourage you to read this amazing book!

This book was okay. It had a ton of details. The funniest part of the whole book is when malley goes on to the beach and sees a section taped off. She goes under the tape and there was a straw which Skink is breathing out of underneath of the sand. Skink is trying to save the turtle eggs from danger. Richard, the book's teenage narrator, first meets Skink on the beach near his home. Skink has buried himself in the sand, disguising himself as a turtle nest, with hopes of catching someone who has been collecting turtle eggs. When Richard tells Skink about his cousin Malley's running off with an internet predator, finding and rescuing Malley becomes Skink's new mission. The mismatched pair set out together in Florida-wide manhunt.Here are some details on the main characters. Skink- He gets hurt very often, His leg got ran over by a car. His wardrobe is not the best to my opinion. He really doesn’t care what he wears.He wears camo pants they also have dried blood on it. Has a white beard looks like cotton ball. Wears a shower cap. Malley- She doesn’t care about the consequences or what is gonna happen she does what she wants to anyways. Malleys cousin met this guy on the internet and she decides to run away with this guy. She doesn’t even know the guy other than on the internet. Richard- He is the narrator of the whole book. Is Malley upset, scared, nervous or how is she feeling about her cousin running away with this guy she meets online.

There were a few things that I liked about this book. The setting is in Florida, and if you're a resident in Florida, you'll be able to relate to a lot of the things that happen in the book. It made the book more enjoyable for me since I live in Florida. I think it's interesting to read about things that you have experienced or can relate to. I also liked that you can learn some lessons from this book. Such as don't always trust people online, you don't know if they could be lying to you or not. Another thing that I liked about this book is that the author gives some information about Florida's wildlife, such as the ivory-billed woodpecker. One thing that I didn't really like about this book is that it didn't make me addicted to it. With many of the books I've read, I couldn't put them down. With Skink--No Surrender, some parts were a bit dragged out and didn't make me very interested. Sometimes the author included too many details about things that didn't really go along with the plot. I didn't really enjoy that. Another thing that I disliked about the book was that it wasn't very suspenseful. Carl Hiaasen tried making it suspenseful, but failed to do so. I would recommend this book to people from ages 11 to 15. It's not really for adults, because the way the author wrote the book seems it would fit teens in middle school. I chose to give this book 4 stars because it's not my favorite book, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. I genuinely like the book. I'm sure everyone would love to read this book, if they don't mind the parts of when the author drags out the book. This book is a good book.

Very good book.

“Skink No Surrender” is a book written by Carl Hiaasen. The characters in this book are Richard, Malley, and Skink. Richard is the main character that the story revolves around. Malley is the main victim of the story. Skink or Clint Tyree, is a former Florida governor, that was said to be dead but now lives off the streets and eats roadkill. The setting of this book takes place in Loggerhead, Florida. The book “Skink No Surrender” is about a boy, Richard, who goes and takes a kidnapping of his cousin Malley into his own hands, with a help of a friend that is presumed to be dead. Skink, a former Florida Governor, promised Richard that he would find his cousin Malley. Now Richard and Skink are on a manhunt for Malley’s kidnapper knowing when they find him, they will find her. “Skink No Surrender” is a very good book for teen readers like myself, but adult readers can also enjoy this book as well. The book contains mild language, has a detailed plot and setting. The characters’ background information is detailed enough where I can understand how they behave. I really have no complaints about this book, but one thing I wish Carl Hiaasen included in this book is slightly more information about Skink’s background, other than he was a Florida governor and how he just disappeared. Overall, this book is great for teen readers and has a lot of action to keep somebody eager to read more.

Another wonderful novel by Hiaasen. So much love for nature, for humankind and for good people. Uplifting, funny and just happy. Absolute must-read.

If you are a fan of Hiaasen, and like to follow the comings and goings of Skink, then I'd recommend this book. If you're new to Hiaasen, I'd recommend starting with one of his older books.

Entertaining. A good read for teens, many references to things they can relate to or language familiar to them.

Scatに続き、カール・ハイアセン２冊目です。 自然や動物を愛する登場人物が活躍し、スカッとします。 不死身のおじいちゃんヒーロー“スキンク”の物語がまた読みたいなー。

To read Hiaasen again and again. What wonderful storytelling! Funny, warm, just exciting enough and characters that pop from the pages.