Searching...
English
EnglishEnglish
EspañolSpanish
简体中文Chinese
FrançaisFrench
DeutschGerman
日本語Japanese
PortuguêsPortuguese
ItalianoItalian
한국어Korean
РусскийRussian
NederlandsDutch
العربيةArabic
PolskiPolish
हिन्दीHindi
Tiếng ViệtVietnamese
SvenskaSwedish
ΕλληνικάGreek
TürkçeTurkish
ไทยThai
ČeštinaCzech
RomânăRomanian
MagyarHungarian
УкраїнськаUkrainian
Bahasa IndonesiaIndonesian
DanskDanish
SuomiFinnish
БългарскиBulgarian
עבריתHebrew
NorskNorwegian
HrvatskiCroatian
CatalàCatalan
SlovenčinaSlovak
LietuviųLithuanian
SlovenščinaSlovenian
СрпскиSerbian
EestiEstonian
LatviešuLatvian
فارسیPersian
മലയാളംMalayalam
தமிழ்Tamil
اردوUrdu
Nature Girl

Nature Girl

by Carl Hiaasen 2006 306 pages
3.67
26.5K ratings
Listen
Try Full Access for 7 Days
Unlock listening & more!
Continue

Plot Summary

Swamp Death and Secrets

A tourist dies in the Everglades

On a cold January day, Sammy Tigertail, a young half-Seminole, finds himself in trouble after a drunken white tourist named Wilson dies of a heart attack on his airboat. Fearing blame and prosecution, Sammy dumps the body in the river, haunted by guilt and the sense of being cursed by his mixed heritage. This act sets off a chain of events that will draw together a cast of misfits, each with their own secrets and grievances, into the wilds of the Ten Thousand Islands.

Honey's Fury Unleashed

Honey Santana's rage ignites action

Honey Santana, a single mother with a history of overreacting to rudeness and injustice, is fired from her job after attacking her lecherous boss, Mr. Piejack. She's fiercely protective of her son Fry and obsessed with civility. When a telemarketer interrupts her dinner and insults her, Honey's compulsion for justice is triggered. She becomes fixated on tracking down the caller, setting in motion a plan for revenge that will take her—and others—deep into the Florida wilderness.

Telemarketer Sparks Revenge

Boyd Shreave's call changes everything

Boyd Shreave, a failed salesman now working as a telemarketer, makes the fateful call to Honey. His own life is a mess: he's in a loveless marriage, having an affair with his coworker Eugenie, and is about to be fired for losing his temper on the phone. Honey's response to his rudeness is not to hang up, but to hunt him down, using her brother's investigative skills to find his real identity and location. Honey's plan: lure Boyd to Florida under false pretenses and teach him a lesson about decency.

The Unraveling of Boyd

Boyd's life spirals downward

After being fired, Boyd's affair with Eugenie becomes his only solace. His wife Lily, suspecting infidelity, hires a private investigator, Dealey, to gather evidence. Meanwhile, Honey, posing as a telemarketer herself, offers Boyd and Eugenie a free Florida ecotour as part of a fake real estate promotion. Desperate for escape and adventure, Boyd accepts, dragging Eugenie into Honey's elaborate trap.

Sammy's Exile Begins

Sammy flees into the wild

Haunted by the dead tourist and his own sense of not belonging, Sammy leaves the reservation, taking a guitar and a rifle, and heads into the Ten Thousand Islands to find peace and isolation. Along the way, he encounters Gillian, a restless college student who insists on joining him after a drunken night with her friends. Sammy's attempt at solitude is quickly derailed by Gillian's presence and the ghosts—literal and figurative—that follow him.

The Ecotour Plot

Honey's plan draws everyone in

Honey secures kayaks and prepares for her "ecotour," enlisting her ex-husband Perry Skinner's help for supplies and tickets. She convinces Boyd and Eugenie to come to her makeshift "eco-lodge"—her trailer painted with garish wildlife murals. The plan is to take them deep into the islands, away from civilization, and confront Boyd about his behavior, hoping to reform him through nature and forced reflection.

Stalkers and Schemes Collide

Multiple plots converge in the islands

As Honey, Boyd, and Eugenie paddle into the wild, they are trailed by Louis Piejack, Honey's vengeful ex-boss, who is obsessed with her and bent on revenge. Dealey, the private investigator, is also in pursuit, hoping to catch Boyd in the act for Lily's divorce case. Meanwhile, Sammy and Gillian, now joined by Dealey (who is kidnapped by Piejack and then by Sammy), are hiding out on another part of the island, their fates soon to intersect with the others.

Kayaks Into the Wild

The group is stranded and tensions rise

Honey's ecotour quickly devolves as Boyd and Eugenie prove inept and ungrateful. The kayaks are stolen by Sammy, who needs supplies, leaving Honey, Boyd, and Eugenie stranded. Honey tries to deliver her lecture on civility, but Boyd is unreceptive and increasingly panicked. Eugenie, bored and frustrated, eventually leaves with Sammy when he returns for more supplies, seeking adventure and escape from Boyd.

Hostages and Hauntings

Night brings danger and revelations

As night falls, the island becomes a crucible for all the characters. Honey ties up Boyd to prevent further violence. Piejack, now deranged and physically deteriorating, kidnaps Honey, intent on possessing her. Fry, worried for his mother, convinces his father Perry to search for her, despite his own injuries. The various threads—Sammy's guilt, Gillian's longing, Dealey's misadventures, and the pursuit of Honey—begin to converge in the darkness.

The Island's Dark Night

Violence and rescue collide at dawn

Piejack's obsession turns violent as he drags Honey through the island, but she resists fiercely. Fry, wearing a football helmet due to a concussion, finds his mother and tries to protect her. Perry and Sammy arrive just as Piejack threatens the family with a gun. In a chaotic struggle, Sammy hands Perry his guitar, which Perry uses to kill Piejack, saving Honey and Fry. The violence is both comic and cathartic, ending Piejack's reign of terror.

Showdown at Dismal Key

Rescue and reckoning for all

The Coast Guard, summoned by Dealey's call to Lily, arrives to rescue the wounded and lost. Eugenie and Gillian are airlifted out, Dealey is saved, and Sammy slips away, still haunted but free. Boyd, abandoned by everyone, is left to fend for himself, eventually stumbling into a group of religious campers who mistake him for a messiah. He is ultimately left alone, forced to confront his own emptiness.

Family, Forgiveness, and Farewell

Healing and new beginnings

Honey, Perry, and Fry return home, battered but alive. Honey's jaw is wired shut, Perry is recovering from a gunshot wound, and Fry is healing from his concussion. The family, once fractured, finds a new equilibrium, with Perry moving back in "temporarily." Honey's obsession with civility is tempered by the ordeal, and Fry, wise beyond his years, urges his parents to be cautious but hopeful about their reunion.

The Aftermath and New Beginnings

Characters find closure and change

Eugenie and Gillian, now friends, enjoy a spa day and reflect on their wild adventure, both changed by their time in the islands. Sammy, still in exile, finds solace in music and the company of a symbolic bald eagle, pondering his place between two worlds. Boyd, ever the survivor, reinvents himself as a real estate agent, exploiting the very paradise he never appreciated. The story ends with Honey, Fry, and Perry sharing a quiet dinner, the phone ringing unanswered—a small victory for peace and civility.

Characters

Honey Santana

Fiercely moral, impulsive avenger

Honey is a single mother with a history of mental health struggles, driven by a deep sense of justice and a low tolerance for rudeness. Her obsession with civility and her inability to let go of perceived slights propel the plot, as she seeks to reform Boyd Shreave through an elaborate, nature-based intervention. Her relationship with her son Fry is central, and her dynamic with ex-husband Perry is fraught but loving. Honey's journey is one of self-awareness, learning to temper her crusading instincts with compassion and humility.

Boyd Shreave

Self-absorbed, hapless antihero

Boyd is a failed salesman and telemarketer, whose arrogance and lack of self-awareness make him both comic and pitiable. His affair with Eugenie and his disastrous trip to Florida expose his weaknesses and force him into humiliating situations. Boyd's inability to change or appreciate the world around him is both his flaw and his fate; he ends the novel unchanged, exploiting paradise for profit, a satirical emblem of American obliviousness.

Sammy Tigertail

Haunted, searching outsider

Sammy is a young man caught between two cultures, never fully accepted by either. His accidental involvement in a tourist's death and his subsequent flight into the wilderness are both literal and symbolic acts of exile. Sammy's encounters with Gillian, the ghosts of the dead, and his own heritage drive his internal conflict. His journey is one of reluctant self-acceptance, finding solace in music and the wild, and ultimately choosing solitude over surrender.

Eugenie Fonda

Restless, self-aware survivor

Eugenie is Boyd's mistress and a former "famous mistress" herself, having been involved in a notorious murder case. Intelligent, tall, and sexually confident, she is both drawn to and repelled by Boyd's mediocrity. Her arc is one of self-realization, as she rejects Boyd, befriends Gillian, and finds a new sense of purpose and independence by the novel's end.

Gillian St. Croix

Bored, impulsive seeker

Gillian is a college student who latches onto Sammy in search of adventure and escape from her own ennui. Her chatter and impulsiveness mask a deeper longing for meaning and connection. Her brief romance with Sammy is transformative, giving her a story to tell and a new sense of self, even as she ultimately chooses to return to her own world.

Perry Skinner

Steadfast, flawed protector

Perry is Honey's ex-husband, a former smuggler turned respectable citizen. He remains deeply connected to Honey and Fry, providing support and rescue when needed. His willingness to kill Piejack to save his family is both a return to his old ways and an act of love. Perry's arc is one of redemption and reconciliation, as he and Honey tentatively rebuild their family.

Fry Santana

Wise, loyal son

Fry is Honey and Perry's son, caught between his parents' eccentricities and the chaos around him. Mature beyond his years, Fry is both a voice of reason and a source of comic relief. His loyalty to his mother and his ability to adapt to danger make him a quietly heroic figure.

Louis Piejack

Obsessive, grotesque villain

Piejack is Honey's former boss, whose sexual harassment and subsequent obsession with her drive much of the novel's danger. His physical deterioration and increasing madness make him both a threat and a darkly comic figure. Piejack's end is violent and fitting, a victim of his own depravity.

Dealey

Dogged, unlucky investigator

Dealey is the private investigator hired by Lily Shreave to catch Boyd in the act. His misadventures—being kidnapped, shot, and ultimately rescued—provide both comic relief and a satirical take on the genre. Dealey's pragmatism and adaptability allow him to survive and even profit from the chaos.

Lily Shreave

Cold, calculating wife

Lily is Boyd's wife, determined to catch him cheating and profit from the divorce. Her obsession with "penetration" as evidence and her willingness to pay for it satirize both the legal system and marital dysfunction. Lily's arc is one of liberation, as she sells her business and moves on, unconcerned with Boyd's fate.

Plot Devices

Intersecting Quests and Coincidences

Multiple storylines converge in the wild

The novel's structure relies on a web of intersecting quests—Honey's for justice, Sammy's for peace, Boyd's for escape, Piejack's for revenge, and Dealey's for evidence. These threads are drawn together by coincidence and the isolating geography of the Ten Thousand Islands, creating a farcical collision of characters and motives.

Satire and Irony

Comic exaggeration exposes flaws

Hiaasen uses satire to skewer American culture: telemarketing, real estate scams, environmental destruction, and the self-absorption of his characters. Irony abounds—Boyd, the least appreciative of nature, survives by exploiting it; Honey's quest for civility leads to chaos; and the "eco-tour" becomes a stage for human folly.

Ghosts and Hauntings

Literal and figurative ghosts haunt the cast

Sammy is haunted by the ghost of the dead tourist, a device that externalizes his guilt and sense of not belonging. The past—personal, cultural, and historical—haunts all the characters, shaping their actions and fates.

Role Reversals and Parody

Characters are forced into new roles

The novel parodies survival stories, detective fiction, and romance, with characters constantly forced into roles for which they are ill-suited: Boyd as a messiah, Honey as a kidnapper, Dealey as a hostage, and so on. These reversals highlight the absurdity of their situations and the randomness of fate.

Environmental and Social Commentary

Nature as both setting and symbol

The wilds of the Everglades are both a literal and symbolic backdrop, representing both the beauty and indifference of nature and the folly of those who try to exploit or escape it. The novel's environmental themes are woven into its satire, critiquing both the destruction of paradise and the commodification of the wild.

Analysis

Nature Girl is a riotous satire that uses the wilds of Florida as both a playground and a crucible for its cast of misfits, exposing the absurdities of modern American life. Through intersecting storylines, Hiaasen lampoons everything from telemarketing and real estate scams to environmental exploitation and the quest for civility in a rude world. The novel's characters are all, in their own ways, exiles—estranged from family, culture, or self—seeking connection, redemption, or simply escape. Yet, in the chaos of the Ten Thousand Islands, their flaws are laid bare, and their fates are shaped as much by accident as by intention. Hiaasen's message is both comic and cautionary: the wild cannot be tamed, justice is rarely neat, and the search for meaning or decency is as messy as it is necessary. In the end, the only real victories are small ones—choosing kindness, letting the phone ring, and finding peace, however fleeting, in the company of those we love.

Last updated:

Review Summary

3.67 out of 5
Average of 26.5K ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

Nature Girl receives mixed reviews, with some praising Hiaasen's trademark humor and zany characters, while others find it predictable or uncomfortable. The novel follows Honey Santana's quest for revenge against a rude telemarketer, intertwining various eccentric characters in the Florida Everglades. Readers appreciate Hiaasen's satirical take on environmental issues and Florida's quirks, but some feel the plot is convoluted and the characters lack depth. Overall, fans of Hiaasen's style enjoy the book's absurd humor, while critics find it less engaging than his earlier works.

Your rating:
4.26
2 ratings

About the Author

Carl Hiaasen is a Florida native and longtime advocate for protecting the Everglades. After graduating from the University of Florida, he began his career at the Miami Herald as a reporter, later working for their magazine and investigations team. Hiaasen's journalism background heavily influences his fiction writing, which often incorporates themes of environmental conservation and satirizes Florida's unique culture and issues. His novels are known for their quirky characters, dark humor, and strong sense of place. Hiaasen continues to live in southern Florida with his family, drawing inspiration from the state's eccentricities and natural beauty for his work.

Download PDF

To save this Nature Girl summary for later, download the free PDF. You can print it out, or read offline at your convenience.
Download PDF
File size: 0.28 MB     Pages: 16

Download EPUB

To read this Nature Girl summary on your e-reader device or app, download the free EPUB. The .epub digital book format is ideal for reading ebooks on phones, tablets, and e-readers.
Download EPUB
File size: 2.95 MB     Pages: 14
Listen
Now playing
Nature Girl
0:00
-0:00
Now playing
Nature Girl
0:00
-0:00
1x
Voice
Speed
Dan
Andrew
Michelle
Lauren
1.0×
+
200 words per minute
Queue
Home
Swipe
Library
Get App
Create a free account to unlock:
Recommendations: Personalized for you
Requests: Request new book summaries
Bookmarks: Save your favorite books
History: Revisit books later
Ratings: Rate books & see your ratings
200,000+ readers
Try Full Access for 7 Days
Listen, bookmark, and more
Compare Features Free Pro
📖 Read Summaries
All summaries are free to read in 40 languages
🎧 Listen to Summaries
Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks
Free users are limited to 4
📜 Unlimited History
Free users are limited to 4
📥 Unlimited Downloads
Free users are limited to 1
Risk-Free Timeline
Today: Get Instant Access
Listen to full summaries of 73,530 books. That's 12,000+ hours of audio!
Day 4: Trial Reminder
We'll send you a notification that your trial is ending soon.
Day 7: Your subscription begins
You'll be charged on Jul 23,
cancel anytime before.
Consume 2.8x More Books
2.8x more books Listening Reading
Our users love us
200,000+ readers
"...I can 10x the number of books I can read..."
"...exceptionally accurate, engaging, and beautifully presented..."
"...better than any amazon review when I'm making a book-buying decision..."
Save 62%
Yearly
$119.88 $44.99/year
$3.75/mo
Monthly
$9.99/mo
Start a 7-Day Free Trial
7 days free, then $44.99/year. Cancel anytime.
Scanner
Find a barcode to scan

Settings
General
Widget
Loading...