Squirm

Billy is a snake guy.  He loves every kind of snake, even the poisonous ones.  What he doesn't like is moving all the time so his mom can be close to an eagle's nest with hatching eggs.  Also, he's pretty annoyed that his dad left when he was just a little kid, never to be heard from again.

Well, maybe not exactly never.  They do get the child support check on the 10th of every month, so they know he's still alive, but Billy's mom destroys the envelops so Billy can't track him down.  Just before summer vacation, his mom slips up, and Billy finds the address.  He decides to leave Florida and head to Montana for a long-overdue reunion.

But when he gets there, his dad is nowhere to be found, instead, Billy finds his dad's new family.  Lil and Summer may be fine with his dad disappearing for weeks or months at a time, but Billy isn't.

In the meantime, his new stepsister, Summer, shows him Montana.  It's a beautiful place, and Billy instantly falls in love with the mountains and wildlife.  But it's not exactly paradise.  There are poachers on the lose, and Billy finds out he and his dad just might something in common:  the desire to protect wildlife from those who would abuse it.

Carl Hiaasen's new middle-grade book is just as wild and improbable as all the rest, but it's a fun ride with beautiful scenery.