“Wrecker,” is pure Carl Hiaasen with its Key West setting and fabulous action, quirky characters, and clever plot. Carl Hiaasen is known for his novels about Florida, its struggle against pollution and destruction of the land and waters around it, as well as his tongue-in-cheek depiction of people who are oblivious to common sense and basic reasoning skills. This is a book that, in pointing out the racist past of Florida, and Key West in particular, could very well be banned in Hiaasen’s home state of Florida: In this clever and gripping novel, one of the characters actually feels terrible about an ancestor who was a member of the Klu Klux Klan and participated in the lynching of a white man who had dared to enter into a common law marriage with the Black woman he loved.

The novel’s main character, Valdez Jones VIII, who goes by his chosen nickname Wrecker because of the long history of his namesake predecessors, who were all wreckers, people who helped recover materials from sunken ships by diving down to them even in the days before scuba gear. His father, though, did not inherit the love of water that was in the DNA of all the other Valdez Joneses. His father wanted to be a famous singer, and he left Key West, and his wife and young child, to seek fame in Nashville. We cringe along with Wrecker as Hiaasen shares the antics of Seven (the father’s nickname as in the seventh Valdez Jones).

Wrecker is happy going out daily on his boat, usually in the evening after school or after working his summer job, and catching fish for dinner. He lives with his stepsister, Suzanne. His mother had remarried a wealthy man named Roger, and he and Wrecker do not exactly have much in common. As a matter of fact they have nothing in common at all, so when Wrecker had decided to move in with Roger’s daughter, there was no argument.

Suzanne is a paraplegic and lives on her own. She is an activist who dearly loves Key West. She started a group fighting the docking of massive cruise ships at the Key West harbor. The residents of Key West had voted to bar cruise ships from docking there, ruining the harbor and nearby waters as a result of their huge propellers digging up sand, killing coral, and disturbing the local oceanic wildlife. But the governor of Florida decided to overrule that vote and allow the ships to dock there.

Wrecker is definitely, like most of Hiaasen’s characters, an unusual teenager. He’s Black, and Hiaasen doesn’t shy away from showing us some of the racist treatment he endures from law enforcement on Key West. Not all of the police officers, just one. But it’s certainly troubling. Wrecker has a night “job” cleaning the poop from the iguana and free-roaming chickens off the grave of elderly Mr. Riley’s sister’s grave. At night, he sneaks into the graveyard, a popular tourist attraction, borrowing a ladder and a hose, and cleans the grave so it’s pristine when Mr. Riley visits every morning. And it’s in the cemetery, a famous tourist-must-see cemetery, that he sees a mysterious girl singing over the grave of Manuel Cabeza. Manuel Cabeza is a real historical Key West figure whose tragic history is part of this story.

It’s obvious that the novel is set toward the beginning of the time of COVID, as vaccines are in evidence, but many are reluctant to get vaccinated. In fact, vaccine cards play an important part in the story. There’s a certain irony in Hiaasen’s depiction of Wrecker as one who believes in science and vaccinations, while other characters believe that the government is putting microchips in the vaccines to control people. We know (in real life) that those in power in Florida downplayed the importance of vaccinations and, at times, have given information and advice contrary to medical science. (Note: right now there is a measles outbreak in Florida, and the Florida Surgeon General, according to CBC News, is not following CDC protocol and instead allowing parents to send their unvaccinated children to school even after exposure to the highly contagious measles virus. “With a brief memo, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has subverted a public health standard that’s long kept measles outbreaks under control.“

So how long before those in the state that loves to ban books decide that “Wrecker” should be banned from classrooms and libraries? Although I don’t know Carl Hiaasen personally, he might just take it as a badge of honor to have his book banned. In my opinion, that’s all the more reason to have as many kids read this thoughtful novel as possible. It will make them think about race, about the environment, and about what constitutes family, and the importance of sticking up for what is right. It’s also about the fact that while we can atone for the wrongdoings of our ancestors, their evils do not make us any less than who we are. Personally, I love a main character in a children’s book who shuns social media, doesn’t mind being alone, and craves time spent in nature, on a boat, enjoying the beauty of the ocean. Wrecker has a highly tuned sense of morals and is an exemplary character to read about.

And in must be noted that while Wrecker’s friend feels horribly guilty about her ancestor’s participation in the KKK, and she feels personally responsible for the death of Manuel Cabeza, Hiaasen points out that we have no control over what others choose to do. Even our ancestors. States like Florida that oppose teaching about racism because of the illogical reasoning that “it will make white kids feel bad” are perverting our history and demeaning the reasoning skills of Florida’s students. We can feel angry and sad about our ancestor’s decisions and actions without taking that blame on our own shoulders, as Hiaasen brilliantly demonstrates.

This is a novel that should be on every classroom bookshelf and school library. Kids from fourth grade through eighth grade will enjoy Wrecker’s dilemma, appreciate his cleverness when confronted with evil, and — we hope — learn from his moral values. There’s enough action and adventure to please even the most reluctant reader, and mystery fans will enjoy the twists. It’s truly a novel for everyone.

Please note: This review is based on the advance reader’s copy provided by Alfred A. Knopf, the publisher, for review purposes.