Flush (novel)

This article is about the Carl Hiaasen novel. For the Virginia Woolf novel, see Flush: A Biography.
Food

First edition cover
Author Carl Hiaasen
Country United States
Language English
Genre Realistic Fiction
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
 13 Sep 2005
Media type Print (book)
Pages 263
ISBN 0-375-92182-6
OCLC 53393228

Flush is a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen first published in 2005, and set in Hiaasen's native Florida. It is his second young adult novel, after Hoot. The plot is similar to Hoot but it doesn't have the same cast and is not a continuation/sequel.

Plot

The story begins with Noah's dad in jail on Fathers' Day. He tries to get his dad to come home but he refuses. Noah then goes on to describe how his parents met and gives a brief summary of his family. His mom (Donna Underwood) is annoyed with his dad for refusing to come home. His dad is trying to be like Nelson Mandela. After this scene, Noah shows Abbey the boats and describes the law regarding boats and where they're from.

Dusty's son, Jasper Jr., picks on Noah frequently. Noah and Abbey talk to their dad and he tells them that he also worked with a man called Lice Peeking. He says that he also worked on the boat and he could testify on the fact that Dusty really did dump his waste into the ocean. He wanted Lice to sign a paper saying that Lice saw Dusty "Money Man" Muleman dumping wastes into the lagoon. Noah asks Lice to help them nail Dusty and agrees to check with his father what they will give Lice in return for his help. In a later conversation, they agree on Noah's dad's skiff. Noah also meets Lice's girlfriend, Shelly, who used to be a bartender on the Coral Queen. Before then, a reporter (Miles Umlatt) interviews Noah, as his dad will be featured in the next day's headlines. Paine also gives a TV interview on Channel.

Noah learns that Lice is missing. It looks like Lice is kidnapped and is unable to testify. Shelly tells them that she will help them stop Dusty's casino scam. They then get the idea to color the waste with a very bright dye to help identify the culprit. They go into a food store and purchase 34 bottles of Fuchsia dye. The plan has some problems and they barely make it off. Noah swims and says the emergency code word he and Abbey came up with but she couldn't start the boat to get to him. They fall asleep, and in the morning they see a tow boat. Their dad is driving, and the same pirate guy is on board the tow boat. Once they get on board the other boat, they find out he is their grandpa who disappeared a long time ago that they thought was dead. After that, Lieutenant Shucker accuses Noah's dad of arson. He says that the reason Noah's dad is wearing casts on his hands is because he burned his fingers. It is then they find out that Dusty's son Jasper was messing with cigarettes and accidentally set the boat on fire.

Major characters

Noah Underwood, Abbey Underwood, Paine Underwood, Donna Underwood, Lice Peeking, (Charles Peeking) Dusty "Money Man" Muleman, Shelly, Jasper Jr. Muleman, Bull, and Grandpa Bobby Underwood (Robert Lee Underwood)