Product Description

Noah's dad, Paine, is a kind but slightly irresponsible fisherman who is passionate about saving the local Florida aquatic life. When Paine discovers that a local businessman is running a scam from his casino boat, he takes the law into his own hands, sinks the boat and ends up in jail. This scam involves releasing the effluent from the boat's toilets directly into the water, to avoid the cost of disposing of it safely. Noah and his sister Abbey, take up the fight for justice on their Dad's behalf and enlist the help of Shelly, who knows that her former boyfriend is up to no good and comes up with a plan to prove it. She gets a job as a barmaid back on the casino boat and plans to sneak a huge load of coloured dye into the toilets. This title is a fantastically funny thriller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9639 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From the Inside Flap
Noah's dad has a little problem with his temper. He tried to stop the Coral Queen's illegal sewage dumping... by sinking the boat.
But his bold protest doesn't work: within days the boat is back in business, and Noah's dad is behind bars out of action.
Now Noah is determined to succeed where his father failed. But even though pumping raw sewage into the waters of the Florida Keys is both gross and against the law, it turns out it's near impossible to catch the flusher - especially when he's already bamboozled the coast guard and everyone else who's after him.
But Noah's got a few allies of his own. There's his little sister, Abbey, an un-reformed childhood biter; Lice Peeking, a half-pickled ex-mate of the Coral Queen who is willing to testify... for a price; and Shelly, a bighearted barmaid with even bigger biceps.
OK, so the odds aren't good. But Noah has an ace up his sleeve - a plan so crazy it just might stop the polluting, save the beaches, and prove to the world that it's the owner of the Coral Queen, and not his dad, who is full of ****.

From the Back Cover
Noah’s life is full of ****. His dad’s in jail and there’s a boat pumping sewage into the bay he loves. He’s determined to stop the Coral Queen’s illegal dumping – it’s both gross and against the law. It’s going to be a big job and the odds are stacked against him, but he’s got a mad plan and some oddball allies to help him out . . .

A riotous eco-thriller by the bestselling author of Hoot!

‘Hilarious’ Guardian

‘A gripping, funny and entirely satisfying story’ Independent

‘Crazy plans and fast action make for great, adventurous fun.’ Sunday Express

About the Author
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida. He is the author of nine previous novels, including Sick Puppy, Lucky You, Stormy Weather and Basket Case. He also writes a twice weekly metropolitan column for the Miami Herald.

Customer Reviews

Reiview By Max L-C , age 9
This is a book review of Flush by Carl Hiaasen. Carl Hiaasen has written a number of adult books and this is his second children’s novel. It has a very appealing cover.

The plot of this novel is like lots of other Carl Hiaasen books and is eco-friendly. It is about two children who try to stop a casino ship from dumping sewage into the sea while their dad is in prison for sinking the ship.

The main characters are Noah and Abbey, a brother and a sister who share a good relationship and although they know their dad is a bit silly they still try to protect the environment. Paine Underwood is their father who spends most of the story in prison but he still tries to keep his hopes up about the owners of the ship being caught. The mother of the family, Donna Underwood is very good at keeping calm but can be stern. There are lots of other characters but to find out about them you’ll have to read the book.

As has already been stated the book has an eco-friendly theme. Another of the themes is to stick up for what you believe in and the last theme in this book is that good triumphs over evil.

In this story I liked the part where they did "operation royal flush" to catch the villains, because I thought it was really exciting. I also liked the section when they realised that Abbey had gone missing. I didn’t like the people who were polluting the water or their horrible children.

I would recommend this book to people who like funny and quite exciting stories and for people who care about environmental issues. I would also, of course, recommend it to anybody who has enjoyed Carl Hiaasen’s first children’s book “Hoot”.

Flush - great for kids (but has nothing for adults)
For the past few years the children's fiction market has become increasingly profitable. This has meant that otherwise adult orientated authors have written juvenile literature to get their hands on this moola. In the cases of Colin Bateman and Anthony Horowitz this has worked brilliantly as they have written fiction that kids will love but can also be enjoyed by their adult fans.

It is a different matter all together with Hiaasen. 'Hoot', his first attempt at juvenile literature, was received well and I thought a reasonable book. 'Flush' follows similar ecofriendly themes as it as we follow the attempts of a family to stop a boat from flushing sewage into the sea, but does not have the same appeal.

The book for 6-11 year olds is great, fast paced and very readable. For an adult though it holds no such appeal. It is basically a Hiaasen book-lite with all the bite taken out so the kids won't be upset. The story is too short and not that much really happens, essentially it holds no appeal to the older reader (unlike a Harry Potter for example).

I am reviewing this from the point of view of an adult who occasionally reads children's fiction and in that sense it is worthy of only two stars. However if you are in the correct age group I can see this book being a great treat and easily be worth 4 ****.

Terrific Story for Young and Old Alike
In a departure from his zany thrillers, Carl Hiaasen has penned a novel for young adults that is fun, timely and even a bit educational. The young reader will learn a bit about the Florida Keys and about the plague of pollution. And as an added positive attraction, Mr. Hiaasen delivers his usual humor, but then I suppose that is to be expected, it wouldn't be a Carl Hiaasen story if you couldn't laugh as you read through the pages.

In this story children Noah and Abbey Underwood are trying to clear their father's name. It seems Paine, their father, sunk the Coral Queen, one of those off-shore gambling boats, for illegally dumping their waist. A little drastic, to be sure, but that's Mr. Hiaasen's stock in trade, great characters who are over the top. Now it's up to Noah and Abbey to prove the Coral Queen was dumping so they can vindicate their dad. Can they do it? What do you think?