Skink—No Surrender

• Genre: Fiction; young adult eco-adventure
• Originally Published: 2014
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 770L; grades 7-10
• Structure/Length: 24 chapters; approx. 290 pages; approx. 8 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: When 14-year-old Richard’s cousin Malley flees with a strange man to avoid boarding school, Richard teams up with Skink, the one-eyed former governor of Florida he happened to find buried in the sand, trying to catch a turtle-egg snatcher. The two embark on a wild, eco-bent adventure in their quest to save Malley from a disastrous fate.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Cartoonish violence, the implied possibility of sexual assault, references to the death of a parent

Carl Hiaasen, Author

• Bio: Born 1953; Florida native and former reporter and columnist for The Miami Herald; has also written for Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and Gourmet; Newbery Award honoree and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for The National Society for Newspaper Columnists
• Other Works: Tourist Season (1986); Striptease (1993); Hoot (2002); Flush (2005); Scat (2009); Chomp (2012)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Allyship with Nature
• Identity and Independence
• Deception as a Useful Tool
• Refusal to Conform

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Explore the phenomenon of catfishing and its potential consequences to increase their engagement with and comprehension of Richard’s struggle to find and rescue Malley.