Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Seriously, folks–we got slammed. And even though our school district stuck to its two hour delay instead of relenting and cancelling altogether (like most of the school districts affected), it also explicitly stated that if you didn’t feel like you could safely get your children to school, you shouldn’t send them. And given how long it took for the plows to come, and how appalling the weather and traffic news was, and how unlikely it was going to be to get safely out of my driveway before I shoveled…yeah, we stayed home. (Until 3, when we had dentist appointments. But the plows had come and I had finished shoveling by then.) There was hot chocolate, there was Play Doh, and there was soup and rolls for dinner. Not a bad day, really.

Anyway. On the other end of the weather spectrum there is Carl Hiaasen’s Skink–No Surrender, which I finished listening to on Saturday night. Hiaasen loves to write about Florida in all of its sweltering, steamy glory, and this foray into YF, instead of intermediate or adult fiction, is no exception. It involves a teenage boy’s search for his cousin (a rebel who runs off with a guy she meets online), various sorts of wildlife, and an impressive array of questionable choices–not to mention one legendary ex-governor. (Skink apparently shows up first in several of Hiaasen’s adult works, but I believe he also makes an appearance in Scat.) His presence adds a fabulous degree of unpredictability and laconic understatement to a story already teeming with captivating bits, making this book another wild ride from a man who never fails to entertain. I was worried about what content made it YF rather than JF, but after reading it I have no problem passing it on to my 13-year-old. Hiaasen manages to convey the horrendous consequences that can stem from trusting someone you meet online when you’re young and reckless WITHOUT getting overly graphic, and that’s actually impressive. Bottom line? This is one heck of a ride that’s just fine for early teens. Bon voyage!