Chomp

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: James Van Der Beek

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The hysterical number one New York Times best seller from Newbery honoree Carl Hiaasen featuring gators, snakes, bats that bite, and reality show hosts gone wild!

When Wahoo Cray’s dad - a professional animal wrangler - takes a job with a reality TV show called Expedition Survival!, Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself to keep his father from killing Derek Badger, the show's inept and egotistical star. But the job keeps getting more complicated: Derek Badger insists on using wild animals for his stunts; and Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna - a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her father and needs a place to hide out.

They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun...

It's anyone's guess who will actually survive Expedition Survival...

©2012 Carl Hiaasen (P)2012 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Hiaasen’s best for a young audience since Newbery Honor Hoot (2002) features a shy, deep-feeling protagonist who’s also a pragmatist and plenty of nature info and age-appropriate cultural commentary…. Humorous adventure tales just don’t get any more wacked…or fun to read than this.” (Kirkus)

“Only in Florida - and in the fiction of its native son Carl Hiaasen - does a dead iguana fall from a palm tree and kill somebody.” (New York Post)

“Chomp is a delightful laugh-out-loud sendup of the surreality of TV that will be enjoyed by readers of all ages.” (Los Angeles Times)

True Carl Hiaasen

Would you listen to Chomp again? Why?

No. Usually don't reread same book.

What did you like best about this story?

The wit and the good guys always finish first.

What about James Van Der Beek’s performance did you like?

Very expressive, good tempo and inflections.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh, made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

Read as many Carl Hiaasen books as I can. Never disappointed.

Light and amusing.

Where does Chomp rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's up there. I like listening to something fairly light so I can also keep my focus on the road, and this book fit the bill.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Mickey was my favorite, but all the characters are so much fun.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's not that type of book.

Gave me a serious case of Steve Irwin nostalgia

A wonderful book filled with animals and all types of people: people who know little about animals, people who know aggressively little about animals, and the animal experts who have to babysit them.
A good quick story with a lot of laughs and a lot of Irwin. I miss you.

I love it 😍

I listen to it 3 times ⏰
It’s sad and happy it’s so exciting 😆
I LOVE it

Chomp

I love chomp so much i acullally used to have the book but I lost it

Cute story!! Loved it!!

Loved it!! Narrator was good!! Loved when the survivalist gets bit by the bat and thinks he is becoming a vampire!! Some very funny situations!! Great book!!

excellent story! excellent narration

the story had a slow start but it was riveting. van der Beek did an excellent job narrating it.

Great characters

This is one of Carl Hiaasen’s best stories. Funny & sad at the same time. Lots of action, this could only happen in Florida. Great characters. I loved the young people.

a great engaging story

My husband and three boys listened to this story in one hit on a long car journey. I was amazed at how it captivated the boys and drew them away from their own electronic devices. It is a very contemporary story, very relevant, funny, informative and entertaining. We all loved the reader. Made the trip very easy

The best

Great story and loved the reader you won't be disappointed. Action humor and great characters.