Scat is a total win for the middle-grade crowd. It’s got that classic Florida weirdness that Carl Hiaasen is famous for—shady businessmen, eccentric teachers, and kids who are actually smarter than the adults.
It’s not 'educational' in that boring, textbook way, but your kid will definitely come away knowing more about the Everglades and why we shouldn't drill for oil in protected swamps. It’s fast-paced enough to keep a 'reluctant reader' engaged, which is basically the gold standard for fiction at this age. It hasn't aged a day since 2009 because the fight for the planet is still the biggest story going.






