Flush

Carl Hiaasen

Living with a revolutionary father isn't always easy. Noah Underwood spends Father's Day with his Dad in jail rather than at home with his mother and sister. They live in the Florida Keys. Dad and Dusty Muleman used to fish the area together. When it was fished out, they went different ways. Dad has been a taxi driver. Muleman fixed up and owns the Coral Queen, a casino ship in the bay. Dad is in jail because he sank the Coral Queen. Dad knows they have been dumping the sewage from the ship into the ocean rather than into the sewage tank to be taken away. He sank the ship when everyone ignored him and the Coast Guard couldn't catch Muleman from his tips.

Dad starts a media campaign from jail. He is in the newspaper and on tv. Mom is upset. She is talking about a divorce. Noah and Abbey believe Dad. But how can they prove Dad is right? They're only kids. Dad sends Noah to talk to a man who used to work for Muleman. The man agrees to help, then is gone. He may have been killed.

Noah is also in trouble with a bully. Muleman's son taunts Noah and attacks when he can. Once Noah is saved by an old man who looks strong and mean. Noah tries to find a way to help Dad, keep Mom from leaving Dad, stay away from the bully, and prove Dad right. Noah and Abbey come up with a plan to prove Muleman is polluting the water. They just need some help from Muleman's ex-girlfriend.

Carl Hiaasen uses Flush as a reminder that everyone has a part in caring for the environment. This novel for Tweens and older has an enviornmental warning. Greed usually wins over nature. But even a boy and his sister can help save the world - or their part of it.

Flush is fun. It's an easy read with a standard story line. Noah's and Abbey's trick to prove Dad right is a good one that any kid could do. I wouldn't have thought of it. Noah has to face down the bully. He has to avoid his parents because Dad has promised to leave Muleman alone. That was the condition for him to get out of jail.

Noah and Abbey are both likeable, independent characters. Both are sickened when they think what the Coral Queen is doing to their beaches. Hiassen uses a sledge hammer to tell his environmental message. It's effective. The book is a decent read and a good way to show Tweens what is going on outside their own little worlds.