Poached by Stuart Gibbs

Reviewed by Trisha

Kazoo the koala is missing, and all of the evidence is pointing to Teddy Fitzroy! Teddy must investigate himself to find out who has framed him and prove his innocence. Will he find out who has been causing all the mayhem or get sent off to juvenile hall?

In Poached by Stuart Gibbs, twelve year-old Teddy Fitzroy lives at FunJungle with his mom, a field biologist, and his dad, a professional photographer, who both work for FunJungle. When Kazoo the koala, FunJungle’s biggest attraction for a limited time, goes missing, all the evidence proves that Teddy is behind the crime. Teddy has a reputation for pulling pranks at FunJungle, so his parents’ jobs are threatened, unless Teddy stops investigating and getting himself into dangerous situations. Summer McCracken, daughter of J.J. McCracken, the owner of FunJungle, is friends with Teddy and encourages him to solve the crime. If security is not going to do it themselves, Summer and Teddy must investigate to find the real thief before Teddy is sent off to juvie.

One reason why I liked this book is because it is humorous. When Teddy is disguised as an actor dressed in a FunJungle character costume so he can investigate without being interrogated, a security guard approaches him. At first, Teddy is worried that the security guard recognizes him somehow, but it turns out his koala head is on wrong. When the security guard becomes suspicious that Teddy is not responding, Teddy replies, “No hablo inglés,” hoping that the security guard does not recognize his voice. I like that there are a couple funny moments sprinkled throughout the fast paced, suspenseful tone of the book.

This book is also-action packed and filled with suspense. Teddy has many suspects in mind while investigating, so it was very suspenseful and surprising when he suddenly figures out who took part in the koala kidnapping somehow. I also like how Teddy remembers anything unusual that he sees, and he can piece the information together later on, to figure out how the koala crisis happened with everything he saw before. The final revelation of who the koala-napper is was a jaw-dropping part in the book, and I like how Teddy’s school and his parents all work together to overcome the kidnapper and save Kazoo.

I would rate this book a 10/10. This book is for people who like action, adventure, and mystery in one book. This book is part of a series, so you should read the first book, Belly Up, before reading this one, so everything makes sense. Some of the other books in the series are Big Game, Panda-Monium, and Lion Down. You should check this book out at your local library or online and read it now!

Simon & Schuster, 329 pages