Scat - Book Review

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First, biology teacher Mrs. Starch disappears after a mysterious fire during a field trip to Black Vine Swamp. Then, class bully Duane Scrod Jr. does a complete 180 to become a first-class student. Meanwhile, the Red Diamond Energy Corporation is doing something in the swamp that it shouldn't be doing. And it's up to two of Mrs. Starch's students, Nick and Marta, can figure out how everything is connected, so they can find their teacher, clear Duane's name, and save the swamp.

This was the second book we read for our summer middle school book club.(Again, not a book that my husband or I picked.) We asked the kids what they thought of the book and everybody liked it. (Though not as much as they liked the first book we read, Out of My Mind.) Although everybody said that the book was a little disorganized in the beginning (I didn't really notice it that much), and there were tons of characters (which there definitely were).

The book definitely has strong messages of courage, not judging a book by its cover, and saving the environment. This author also wrote the book Hoot, which I've never read, but if you and your kids are fans of Hoot, you'll probably also like Scat. The book is age-graded for 10 and up.