Kenzie didn't expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Or cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, and gun-toting thugs...
When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she's tracking down a poacher of endangered Key deer. Her new home does have some benefits-mainly Angelo, an island native, who teams up with her to nab the culprit. But will they both survive when the killer turns from stalking deer to hunting humans?
Island Sting includes notes on the endangered Florida Key Deer and the National Key Deer Refuge.
(Synopsis taken from goodreads.)
Title: Island Sting
Author: Bonnie J. Doerr
Genre: Young Adult, Eco-Mystery
Publisher: Leap Books
Publication Date: January 6, 2010
Source: Received from author courtesy of Teen Book Scene. Many thanks goes to Bonnie J. Doerr, and Teen Book Scene for sending me this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. Please click on the Island Sting banner to view tour details.
My rating: 4/5
Kenzie has just moved halfway across the country, and is finding life in the Florida Keys completely different from life in New York City. Almost immediately she saves the life of a deer, and then finds out that someone is poaching the endangered Key deer. With her heart on her sleeve, she sets out to find the poacher, while making new friends and also creating an eco-project to help clean up the islands. Will she be able to juggle the Keys project while looking for the poacher, or will the poacher set his sights on her?
Island Sting is a book that I knew I would enjoy right off of the bat. The fact that it's about endangered wildlife, and is eco-friendly made it a fun read. I loved reading about the deer, the wildlife and the habitat. The setting just seemed to pull me in and I couldn't get enough of it.
I did have a hard time getting into the book at first, with respect to Kenzie's character though. I found her almost too impetuous and too dramatic, but she did win me over with her enthusiasm for the Key deer and her clean-up the Keys project as the story progressed. She meets a local boy, Angelo, and quickly becomes friends with him. There is a romantic element between the two characters but it is not the focal point of the plot. It's hard to decipher who wants to capture the poacher more, Kenzie or Angelo. Though they have different ideas on who the poacher is, they are united in their mission to find him and stop him from killing any more deer.
The attention to detail in respect to the wildlife and habitat of the Keys will have animal lovers everywhere enthralled in the story, and they will want to know what happens next. Though this book wraps up nicely, it could also be the start of a series. With all of the endangered animals in the area, I can just see Kenzie stepping up to the plate to take care of them should they also fall under the gaze of a poacher or become more endangered due to pollution and littering.
All in all, this is a quick and fun, eco-friendly read. I loved the fact that it revolved around the Key deer and their habitat, and I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Kenzie gets into next. Readers at every age will enjoy this one, and I recommend it for teens and adults, as well as middle-grade readers.
My rating: 4/5
Kenzie has just moved halfway across the country, and is finding life in the Florida Keys completely different from life in New York City. Almost immediately she saves the life of a deer, and then finds out that someone is poaching the endangered Key deer. With her heart on her sleeve, she sets out to find the poacher, while making new friends and also creating an eco-project to help clean up the islands. Will she be able to juggle the Keys project while looking for the poacher, or will the poacher set his sights on her?
Island Sting is a book that I knew I would enjoy right off of the bat. The fact that it's about endangered wildlife, and is eco-friendly made it a fun read. I loved reading about the deer, the wildlife and the habitat. The setting just seemed to pull me in and I couldn't get enough of it.
I did have a hard time getting into the book at first, with respect to Kenzie's character though. I found her almost too impetuous and too dramatic, but she did win me over with her enthusiasm for the Key deer and her clean-up the Keys project as the story progressed. She meets a local boy, Angelo, and quickly becomes friends with him. There is a romantic element between the two characters but it is not the focal point of the plot. It's hard to decipher who wants to capture the poacher more, Kenzie or Angelo. Though they have different ideas on who the poacher is, they are united in their mission to find him and stop him from killing any more deer.
The attention to detail in respect to the wildlife and habitat of the Keys will have animal lovers everywhere enthralled in the story, and they will want to know what happens next. Though this book wraps up nicely, it could also be the start of a series. With all of the endangered animals in the area, I can just see Kenzie stepping up to the plate to take care of them should they also fall under the gaze of a poacher or become more endangered due to pollution and littering.
All in all, this is a quick and fun, eco-friendly read. I loved the fact that it revolved around the Key deer and their habitat, and I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Kenzie gets into next. Readers at every age will enjoy this one, and I recommend it for teens and adults, as well as middle-grade readers.
1 comment:
Hiya Corrine!
Happy New Year! Hope you had a great one!
This is a very interesting review, and I'm glad that it caters to eco-friendly and animal lover folks, because it's hard to find books like this that they would like!
Hope you have a wonderful 2011 and we see lots more of you! :-)
Darkeva
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