Wrecker
A #1 New York Times bestseller from Carl Hiaasen — 15-year-old Wrecker, a kid who grew up on Key West's waters, stumbles onto a grounded smuggler's boat and finds himself tangled in a net of shady dealings, grave robbers, and free-roaming iguanas.
Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his ancestors salvaged shipwrecks for a living. He spends his evenings fishing the patch reefs around Key West and his nights sneaking into the historic cemetery to hose iguana droppings off a grave — a private job for an old man named Mr. Riley. It’s a good, quiet life.
Then Wrecker comes across a grape-purple speedboat run hard aground on a sandbar, and the men aboard want more than his silence. They want a lookout. What follows pulls Wrecker into a layered mystery that connects a present-day smuggling operation with Key West’s buried history of racial injustice — including the real 1921 lynching of Manuel Cabeza, whose grave Wrecker keeps clean without really knowing why.
Carl Hiaasen, born and raised in Florida and a longtime Key West regular, sets this story in COVID-era Key West with the same mix of wild characters, environmental stakes, and satisfying justice that made his debut children’s novel Hoot a Newbery Honor winner. Booklist gave it a starred review: “One heck of a ride.”
A note on age: this one runs more intense than a typical middle grade. Wrecker is essentially raising himself, the racial history is dealt with directly, and the stakes feel real. Most readers find it a great fit for ages 11–13, with confident younger readers doing fine from around 10.
Thoughts from a Looper:
If you’ve spent time in Key West, Wrecker will feel uncannily familiar. The cemetery where much of the story unfolds is a real place and a genuine Key West landmark — free-roaming chickens, iguanas, and all. The docks, the patch reefs, the back channels Wrecker navigates in his skiff — Hiaasen spent years covering Key West as a crime reporter for the Miami Herald, and it shows in every street corner and character.
Alison read this after spending time in Key West, and the sense of recognition was constant. The places Wrecker wanders are the same places you walk when you’re there: the cemetery, the waterfront, the kind of side streets that only reveal themselves after a few days. Reading it on the water or right after your Key West stop makes the whole thing land differently than it would otherwise.
One honest note: despite being shelved as middle grade, this one is a genuine thriller with real weight. The smuggling operation, the history of racial violence, and Wrecker’s complicated family situation are handled thoughtfully but not lightly. Hiaasen never sugarcoats things for young readers — that’s always been his strength. Our recommendation: kids who are 8 or 10 might find it a bit much; by 11 or 12, they’ll likely be just fine.
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