Chomp!

I get excited whenever I see that Carl Hiaasen is releasing a new book (be it for young adults or adults) and Chomp does not disappoint. As is often the case Hiaasen sets the book in the Florida Everglades, and in this story, Wahoo Cray lives on the animal wrangler farm that his father runs. Their animals, especially their prize gator Alice, often appear on TV shows or in movies, but ever since Wahoo’s father was hit on the head by a frozen iguana (pure Hiaasen!) business has been down and money is tight. When the going gets really tough a successful survivalist TV show (Expedition Survival!) comes a calling. It’s just a shame that the famous host, Derek Badger, is a flaky fake. Can Wahoo keep his father in line, keep track of Derek Badger, and help his new friend Tuna escape from her abusive father? Hiaasen blends humor, slapstick antics, and his own personal brand of satire to take his readers on Wahoo’s crazy ride. I hope you all will check it out when it is released in March 2012!

Summer?

Over the last few days the weather has finally perked up here at the Shore. A few days ago I ventured out to sit in the sun, but on the advice of my mother I skipped the sunblock. Lesson learned: Mommy doesn't always know best... or at least she doesn't when she is a 6o+ year old beach bum who is phobic about sunblock usage. I now look like a weirdly striped lobster, because of course I had my head down reading the whole time.

Radioactive coloring aside, the time in the sun and pretty new sundresses like these,

and the devouring of e-galley copies of Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz and Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton, (both excellent new YA "coming of age at the beach" stories that you should check out), have all left me dreaming of an old fashioned fun summer where anything is possible.

I forgot two things though; 1. I'm supposed to be an adult, so bittersweet summer experiences aren't quite the same as they were when you were 16, and 2. I'm a Jersey Shore local.

No. It's not at all like what you see on TV. The Shore crew immortalized on MTV are what we like to call Bennies. They are the bane of the local's existence and the cause of much resentment. Though Bennies bring a certain boon to the local economy they also bring increased traffic, heavy New Yawk and North Joisey accents, and a sense of entitlement. Find me a Jersey Shore native who openly embraces all Bennies and I will eat my most favorite hat.

Fortunately for us poor locals, bennygohome.com was born. Check them out. They are both cathartic and awesome.

So though on one hand I am ready for summer, I realize what I am truly ready for is a summer that exists only in my dreams. Now if you'll excuse me I guess I'll go sniff some Coppertone and listen to some Jimmy Buffett in order to gather my strength for what will really be coming.