Middle School Pick: Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy

Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy
by Susan Vaught
Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
2015
240 pages
ISBN: 9781481422765

Available March 3, 2015

Delightful, quirky, poignant, honest, and heart-breaking, Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy captures the heart of a small Southern town with its cast of forlorn and headstrong characters. While considered a book for middle grades and up, much of the content deals with very real "adult" problems: mental illness, child abuse, drug abuse, murder, and arson.

Fontana (Footer) Davis and her besties Peavine and Angel live in Bugtussle, Mississippi. That's part of the joke. The other part is that their town is named after a real bug. Footer knows this because she does on English paper on the name of her town. Days before this  the Abrams farm burns to the ground. Mr. Abrams' body is found but the bodies of Cissy and Doc are not recovered. The police think the fire killed Mr. Abrams and that the kids may have been kidnapped by a serial killer. This doesn't make sense to Footer and her friends. They decide to solve the mystery on their own.

As Footer begins to snoop around, she feels like someone may be watching them and she's right. Someone wants to know just what the kids are finding out about the fire and the missing kids. Footer's mom may know something, too. Even though she suffers from bi-polar disorder, Footer's mom clearly knows something. Now Footer is afraid what secrets she might uncover. Will her meddling cause a rift in her family?

The truth turns out to be even more horrible than Footer could dream up. How will the town and this family recover from its secrets?

I loved the setting and the "Southern-ness" of this book. Having Southern roots, I could relate to the pace, the heat, and the downright syrup. When someone says, "Bless her heart," in the South, it's not meant to be a compliment or a prayer to God. It means that the person is their own kind of crazy. Luckily, in the South, crazy is celebrated! (Think "Steel Magnolias")

Recommended grade 6-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Chomp
by Carl Hiaasen
Alfred A. Knopf
2012
290 pages

Satirical and sadistic, funny and fantastic, entertaining and explosive, Chomp is the latest literary frolic into Florida's wildlife genre. Hiaasen is at his hilarious best when making fun of reality television, nature shows, and a Hollywood superstar animal handler who really knows nothing about wild animals.

Derek Badger is a maniacal ego junkie who thinks he can handle any wild animal. His show "Expedition Survival" has the ratings all right, but he is far from the wildlife expert. Originally a tap dancer, Derek saw the chance to become famous. He changed his name, put on a super-sexy Australian accent, and hammed it up in front of the camera. Now his show has invaded Florida offering big money to use wild animals provided by Wahoo and his father. They have a wildlife retreat where they take in orphaned and hurt alligators, snakes, raccoons, monkeys, and turtles. In a bind for money and afraid of their home foreclosing, Mickey Cray agrees to rent out their animals as part of the show.

When "handler" Derek gets overly rough with the python, Mickey gets crazy. He wants to protect his animals and any cost and won't have a Hollywood idiot hurting them for any amount of money. The show's producer keeps reminding Mickey that he's "under contract." Contract or no contract, Mickey won't go along with the star's crazy antics. Derek will do anything for ratings, including wrestling alligators, eating weird bugs and creepy crawlies, and making every animal--even the tame ones--seem like lethal predators.

The show's director offers Mickey and Wahoo extra money for taking them into the Everglades; on the way, they run into Tuna, a school friend of Wahoo's and they take her along.

More shenanigans transpire with Derek "borrowing" an airboat, getting hopelessly lost in the 'glades, and attacked by bats. If not for Wahoo, Mickey and Tuna, Derek would be a goner.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who likes a funny and entertaining read. Grades 7-up. No language, funny situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for my library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.