Hiaasen, Carl. Flush. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-92182-6.

Summary: The operator of a floating casino in the Florida Keys is dumping the sewage it generates into the ocean, instead of transferring it to an on-shore tank for proper treatment. As a result, the local beach is unfit for swimming, and a population of sea turtles is endangered. The Coast Guard can't seem to catch the polluter in the act, though; one of their enforcement agents is a gambling addict and warns the polluter when he's about to be raided.

A hotheaded activist tries to address the problem by scuttling the casino boat, but it is quickly repaired, and the activist is jailed, much to the distress of his wife and children. On their own, the children try to collect evidence of the casino operator's malfeasance. After some ineffectual false starts, they devise and (with the assistance of some improbable grown-up allies) execute a daring plan, linking the pollution to the polluter directly and unmistakeably.

Although this book is primarily intended for intelligent kids about ten or twelve years old, it deals with the problems of adults as well as those of children. One of the themes is that the dynamics of families depend on the parents' own childhoods and upbringings, so that sometimes addressing a problem requires the cooperation of grandparents.