Hardcover $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-375-86842-9.
Derek Badger is a reality tv star. His show, Expedition Survival, is all about his adventures in the wilderness while battling wild animals who are out to eat him for dinner.
Wahoo Cray is a teenager whose father - Mickey - is a Wildlife Wrangler. Mickey's the man you talk to if you want "tame" wild animals on your program. He has trained the animals, and he takes care of them and makes sure that you treat his animals safely while they are on your program.
A few months back, the lives of the Cray family were turned upside down when a frozen iguana dropped on Mickey's head after a hard freeze and dented his head - giving him a concussion, persistent migraines, and double vision. Since the accident, Mickey has not accepted any work, and the family's financial situation is getting dire.
When a phone call comes in from the Expedition Survival crew, asking Mickey's father to be the animal wrangler and provide them with an alligator, a snake, and a snapping turtle, Wahoo snaps up the offer without consulting with his father. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Derek Badger really isn't the Wildlife Survival expert that he plays on tv. He loves comfort and luxury, and doesn't like being uncomfortable. However, after an incident with an alligator, Derek is convinced that he can conquer anything and insists that his crew film in the Everglades with real wild animals along, so that the viewers can get the true Everglades Wildlife Experience.
Wahoo and his Dad are hired to be the animal wranglers on location, and Wahoo's friend Tuna tags along with them at the last minute, sporting a black eye that she claims came from "falling down a set of stairs", but everybody knows was given to her by her father.
What happens when the crew hits the Everglades is the stuff of nightmares:
1) Derek Badger goes missing in the middle of a storm.
2) Tuna's Dad shows up waving a gun, threatening to kill anyone who stands in between him and his kid.
Will Derek be found in time?
Can Tuna escape her father's wrath?
*Note - I have cross-posted this review on my other blog, Mini-Van Mom.*
