Skink by Carl Hiaasen

Subtitle-- No Surrender: Another wild ride into the wilds of Florida.  Hiaasen has an amazing imagination.  Malley runs away and her cousin Richard goes to find her with the help of Skink.   Richard finds Skink in a fake turtle nest on the beach.  That should just give you an inkling of what this character is like.  This appears to be the fifth book that Hiaasen has written for youth.  There is always an environmental bent and he has a good one with this book as well.  You want a crazy, fun read pick this book up!