 The first edition cover | |
| Author | Carl Hiaasen |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | adventure comedy |
| Published | 2014 Alfred A. Knopf |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (book) |
| ISBN | 978-0-375-87051-4 |
Skink - No Surrender is a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen, published on September 23, 2014. It is described as Hiaasen's first young adult novel. He has authored four previous novels for "young" readers. Like all of his novels, it is set in Hiaasen's native Florida.
Richard is worried when his cousin and best friend, Malley, fails to meet him for their regular nightly exploration of Loggerhead Beach, scouting for turtle nests. Noticing a soda straw poking out of such a nest, Richard pulls it up and is surprised when a homeless man, "Skink", bursts out of the sand and complains about Richard ruining his trap. Skink explains that a poacher has been stealing eggs from the nests at night; Skink has been lying in wait to "have a chat" with him. Richard apologizes and runs off wondering where Malley was.
Richard becomes even more worried when Malley's parents tell him she has left Florida for early orientation at a boarding school they enrolled her in, yet when Richard calls the school, its secretary tells him there is no such event. When Malley calls Richard, she admits that she has run away from home with a friend she met in an online chatroom, and warns Richard not to tell the truth to her parents. Skink tells him, in no uncertain terms, to reveal the truth.
Malley's parents are alarmed, even more so when the police discover that the name of her friend, "Talbo Chock", actually belongs to a soldier killed in Afghanistan, meaning this new friend is an identity thief or worse. Richard is frantic, but after Skink has dealt with the poacher, he announces that his next "project" is to track Malley down and bring her home safe, and he invites Richard to come along. Since the police have had no success in tracing Malley's whereabouts, Richard agrees, tricking his parents into believing he is going camping with a friend.
Driving a nondescript Chevrolet Malibu provided by Skink's best friend, retired Highway Patrolman Jim Tile, Skink heads toward the Florida Panhandle. Malley's last phone call had featured what sounded like a drawbridge in the background, but police have had no luck with this clue. During her next phone call, Malley claims to have seen an Ivory-billed woodpecker, causing Richard to realize that she is telling him the specific region in Florida where she is. It is clear, underneath her upbeat tone, that she is being held against her will by "Talbo Chock".
While they are camping one night, Skink is badly injured when he dashes into the road to save a baby skunk from being hit by a truck; the skunk is saved, but Skink's injuries leave him unable to drive. Though Richard is underage, Skink coaches him to drive the car, and Tile, who has been shadowing them, provides a counterfeit license in Richard's name. Unfortunately, they are separated when Skink jumps into the river to wrestle an alligator that purloined their dinner fish.
Feeling he has no choice but to go alone, Richard creeps onto the houseboat and finds "Talbo Chock"'s abandoned car and tracks him and Malley to a houseboat moored in the Choctawhatchee River. However, he is then taken prisoner by her abductor, Tommy Chalmers a.k.a. Talbo Chock, brandishing a loaded revolver. To everyone's surprise, Skink appears on the boat and delivers a brief lecture on Tommy's "loathsome act[s]" - stealing the identity of a dead soldier, abducting Malley, and taking a potshot at an endangered heron that was bothering him. Skink seizes Tommy and throws his gun overboard while shoving Richard and Malley into the water.
Richard and Malley make their way to the river bank. Malley admits how stupid she was to run away with Tommy, but defends herself by describing tensions with her parents and denies that Tommy molested her. Hiking back to the car, the kids unearth a stash of money that Skink brought with him, which they use to purchase essentials and rent a small skiff. Malley calls her parents to tell them she's all right but makes up an excuse that will allow them an extra day to return home. Both of them resolve to go back for Skink.
The duo return to find the houseboat sunk and Skink standing on the roof, having been non-fatally shot by Tommy with a second gun before he got away. Richard advocates leaving the manhunt for the police, but Malley insists on seeing him captured herself. The trio find Tommy hiding in a tree, half-deranged from fever and exhaustion, but still clutching his second gun. He offers to let Skink and Richard go if Malley comes with him. She pretends to agree, then sucker-punches him. Skink disarms him, but he tries to flee in a canoe. Richard uses a fishing rod to snag Tommy's shirt and as Tommy grabs hold of his shirt, he falls into the water, where he is killed by an alligator.
Before Jim arrives with a rescue boat, Skink says his goodbyes and slips away. Jim receives a call from the Walton County Sheriff that Tommy's body has been recovered. "Tommy" turns out to be another stolen identity, and the kidnapper's real name, identified through fingerprints, is Terwin Crossley. Back home, Malley and her parents agree to work at resolving their issues. Richard does not hear from Skink again, but Jim sends him a news article about an anonymous benefactor who has endowed a scholarship at the local college in Chock's name. Richard now looks for straws poking out the sand when looking for turtles.
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In a starred review, Booklist 's Cindy Dobrez noted that "Skink and Richard make quite a dangerous and entertaining duo in a story that careens perfectly from one crazy situation to the next". [2]
Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Hiaasen’s fierce love for the wilds of Florida, his fundamental commitment to decency and his penchant for the bizarre are all on full display in this, a read as agreeable as his hero is". [3] Similarly, Publishers Weekly indicated that "there is much to enjoy" about Skink - No Surrender and noted that "Hiaasen’s concern for the environment and its most vulnerable denizens is again on full display". [1]
Booklist and Publishers Weekly also reviewed the audio book narrated by Kirby Heyborne. Publishers Weekly highlighted how "Heyborne’s easy-on-the-ears narration offers readily distinguishable voices for the characters of Richard, Skink, and Malley" and noted that "Heyborne’s smooth vocal transitions from one speaker to the next, combined with Hiaasen’s irresistible plot and dialogue, is a pleasure to listen to". [4] In a starred review, Booklist's Lolly Gepson also highlighted Heyborne's ability to portray the various characters and concluded that "Heyborne’s talented narration perfectly captures the zany, grisly humor required to reproduce a Hiaasen novel". [5]
Booklist included Skin - No Surrender on their 2015 lists of the top ten "Books on Sustainability for Youth" [6] and "Crime Fiction for Youth", [7] as well as their Booklist Editors' Choice: Audio for Youth list. [8] The American Library Association also included it on their list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. [9] The following year, Booklist included the audio book on their "Top 10 Humorous Fiction on Audio" list. [10]
Carl Hiaasen is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for middle grade readers. Two of his novels have been made into feature films, and one has been made into a TV series.
Sick Puppy is a 2000 novel by Carl Hiaasen.
Tourist Season is a 1986 novel by Carl Hiaasen. It was his first solo novel, after co-writing several mystery/thriller novels with William Montalbano.
Skinny Dip is a caper novel by Carl Hiaasen first published in 2004. It is his 11th work of fiction for adult readers. It is his fifth book featuring the character known as "Skink" and his second novel including the character Mick Stranahan, a former detective. It involves a murder plot and a subsequent attempt to exact revenge against the backdrop of a threat to Florida's Everglades National Park.
Of a Boy is a 2002 novel by Sonya Hartnett about a lonely and troubled youth.
Stormy Weather is a 1995 novel by Carl Hiaasen. It takes place in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in South Florida and concerns the tragic effects of the disaster, including insurance scams, street fights, hunting for food and shelter, corrupt bureaucracy, a ravaged environment and disaster tourists.
Flush is a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen, first published in 2005 and set in Florida. It is his second young adult novel, after Hoot and has a similar plot to Hoot but a different cast and is not a continuation or sequel. The plot centers around Noah Underwood, a boy whose father enlists his help to catch a repeat environmental offender in the act.
Clinton Tyree, a.k.a. Skink, is a fictional character who has appeared in several novels by Carl Hiaasen, beginning with Double Whammy in 1987. He is a former governor of Florida who suddenly abandoned his office to live in the wilderness, most often the Everglades and, later, the Florida Keys. Tyree is depicted as a skilled outdoorsman, a partaker of roadkill cuisine, and a fierce and slightly unhinged opponent of sprawl and overdevelopment in the state.
Double Whammy is a 1987 novel by Carl Hiaasen. The protagonist, a private investigator, is hired to expose a celebrity bass fisherman as a cheat and is drawn into a frame-up for murder. The book introduced the character of "Skink", who becomes a recurring character in Hiaasen's subsequent novels.
Julia May Whelan is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the television family drama series Once and Again (1999–2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime movie The Secret Life of Zoey. A noted child actor, Whelan first appeared on screen at the age of 11 and continued to take television roles until her matriculation into Middlebury College in 2004; Whelan graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury in 2008 after spending the 2006–2007 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford. Whelan returned to film acting in November 2008 with a role in the fantasy thriller Fading of the Cries.
Kirby Heyborne is an American actor, musician, singer, songwriter, narrator and comedian. He is known for his work in films centered around the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heyborne has also worked extensively as an audiobook narrator, narrating more than 300 books. He has won two Odyssey Awards and an Audie Award for Middle Grade Title. In 2015, Booklist named him a Voice of Choice narrator.
Curse of the Blue Tattoo is a 2004 historical novel by L.A. Meyer, the second book in the Bloody Jack series. It continues the story of orphaned London girl, Jacky Faber, in the early 19th century. The novel is preceded by Bloody Jack (2002) and followed by Under the Jolly Roger (2005), In the Belly of the Bloodhound (2006), Mississippi Jack (2007), My Bonny Light Horseman (2008), Rapture of the Deep (2009), The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (2010), The Mark of the Golden Dragon (2011), Viva Jacquelina! (2012), Boston Jacky (2013), and Wild Rover No More (2016).
Native Tongue is a novel by Carl Hiaasen, published in 1991. Like all his novels, it is set in Florida. The themes of the novel include corruption, environmentalism, exploitation of endangered species, and animal rights.
January LaVoy is an American actress and audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is most recognized as Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. LaVoy made her Broadway debut in the Broadway premiere of the play Enron at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2010.
Little Brother is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 29, 2008. The novel is about four teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the Department of Homeland Security's attacks on the Bill of Rights. The novel is available for free on the author's website under a Creative Commons license, keeping it accessible and remixable to all.
Star Island is a 2010 novel by Carl Hiaasen, released on Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
Hollow City is a 2014 dark fantasy novel and a sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children written by Ransom Riggs. It was released on January 14, 2014, by Quirk Books. The novel is set right after the first, and sees Jacob and his friends fleeing from Miss Peregrine's to the "peculiar capital of the world", London. A graphic novel adaptation of the book, illustrated by Cassandra Jean, was published in 2016.
Razor Girl is a 2016 novel by Carl Hiaasen.
Squeeze Me is a novel by Carl Hiaasen released on August 25, 2020.
I Don't Want to Kill You is a 2011 horror novel by Dan Wells published by Tor Books in the U.S. and Headline Publishing Group in the U.K. It is the third book in the John Wayne Cleaver series, following I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster. It continues the story of the sixteen-year-old sociopath who has now killed two demons and summoned another to his small town; in this novel, John encounters new threats, a new relationship, and heartbreak as he works to protect his friends and family from these supernatural beings. Critical reception of I Don't Want to Kill You was mostly positive, and the book was awarded the 2011 Whitney Award for Best Novel of the Year. It has been published in English, Spanish, French, Croatian, and German. Kirby Heyborne narrates the audiobook version.
