From Newbery Honoree Carl Hiaasen comes this New York Times bestseller in which an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, and an angry panther can t stop two kids on a mission to find their missing teacher! When Mrs Starch, the most feared biology teacher in Florida, goes missing during a school trip to the Black Vine Swamp, her class is secretly relieved. The school principal tries to cover it up as a family emergency , but Nick and Marta just aren t convinced. They think it s much more likely to have something to do with Smoke, the local troublemaker - whose run-ins with Mrs Starch are infamous - and decide to do some investigating of their own. But there s more going on in Black Vine Swamp than either one of them could guess. And Nick and Marta must see off an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a crooked oil prospector, a singing substitute teacher, and an angry Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture.
