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OLDER FICTION
Hiaasen, Carl

Wrecker

336 pp. | Knopf | September, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780593376287 $18.99 | Library ISBN 9780593376294 $21.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593376300 $10.99
(2) YA Proud of his family's heritage--which includes a great-great-great-great-great grandfather who salvaged shipwrecks--fifteen-year-old biracial Valdez Jones VIII has adopted the nickname Wrecker. A waterman in his own right, he has his own boat and fishes near his home in Key West. It's because of his knowledge of the area that he ends up an unwitting and unwilling accomplice to a dangerous smuggling operation. "Silver Mustache," as Wrecker dubs him, and his organization traffic in fake CDC vaccination cards, much in demand at the time by "ballplayers, movie stars, airline pilots, [and] Silicon Valley millionaires" who are out to avoid vaccination requirements. Hiaasen's writing is lively and full of sensory details: e.g., "The night's gummy and hot, a honey-colored slice of moon peeking through the wispy clouds." The satisfyingly complex plot includes grave robbers, the perils of the pandemic, a mammoth cruise ship threatening ecological disaster for the Key West coastline, the violent legacy of the KKK, a budding romance, Wrecker's high-spirited and loving family, and, best of all, locals who stand up for the place they adore. A beautifully told mystery with plenty of action and heart.
Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

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