by Carl Hiaasen. Unabridged. Read by Chad Lowe
6 CDs, 6 hours 29 minutes playing time

 

"Roy Eberhardt has recently, and unhappily, arrived in Florida. 'Disney World is an armpit,' he states flatly. 'compared to Montana.'" "Roy's family moves a lot, so he's use to the new-kid drill. Florida bullies are pretty much like bullies everywhere. But Roy finds himself oddly indebted to the hulking Dana Matherson. If Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is the first interesting thing Roy's seen in Florida." "The boy was about Roy's age, but he was running away from the school bus. He had no books, no backpack, and, here's the odd part, no shoes." "Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase will introduce him to some other intriguing Floridian creatures: potty-trained alligators, a beleagured construction foreman, some burrowing owls, a fake-fart champion, a renegade eco-avenger, some slipper fish, a sinsister pancake PR man, and several extrremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails."

 

"Life in Florida is looking up." John Newberry Honor Book, 2003