Adam knows what he saw. It stood in the middle of the road, and his dad swerved to avoid it. Now Adam
has woken in hospital and his parents are missing.
His Uncle John takes him home while they wait for news, and Adam can’t get the image out of his head, or his dreams. No one believes him. Sasquatch. Bigfoot. Swamp Ape – whatever they are called, there is no evidence. Like the police, Uncle John is also a non-believer.
Not everybody is though. Adam finds thousands of hits online. Hundreds of sightings in the US alone. One witness lives nearby, and after being made fun of at his new school about it, Adam knows what he must do.
Despite being reasonably prepared, all his plans quickly go completely awry and soon he is alone, starving and terrified, deep in swampy wilderness. This is alligator country and the snakes are thick as his arm and also deadly. He knows however, that this is the only way he can move forward with his life.
Just like an old timer he met while researching Bigfoot sightings, Adam believes proof will fix everything.
Two months in the swamp, listening, learning, being watched, and sometimes so terrified he faints, gives him the answers he needs and a way to connect better with his Uncle John.
Being a Bigfoot fan myself, I just had to read Beast: Face to face with the Florida Bigfoot. They call them Swamp Apes there, and there’s been sightings for generations.
It reminded me of Gary Paulsen’s epic novel Hatchet, where the main character has hardly anything from the outside world to help him survive.
Adam has nothing left to lose when he ventures in the swamp for the truth. He’s met someone who has lost everything after pursuing a Swamp Ape, and hopes he won’t go crazy too. One thing Adam does know is he’ll go crazy if he doesn’t go out and find out for himself. The loneliness of not being believed is alive on the page, and perfectly sets up his actions.
This story is fast-moving and I was constantly intrigued as to what would happen next, whether he would survive to tell his tale or if he’d even tell it. The author’s note wrapped things up nicely. A question for you from me – Do you believe?
Author – Watt Key
Age – 11+
(2021, Square Fish, Macmillan, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Swamp Ape, Mystery, Survival, Accident, Sightings, Truth, Terror, Intrigue, Animals, Fear, Courage, Wilderness, Paranormal, Action, Secret, Grief)