Summary

Ava Bigtree begins her story of the fall of her family’s alligator-themed amusement park with a description of her mother’s Swimming with the Seths act. The family lived on and operated Swamplandia! an alligator-themed amusement park on a 100-acre island off Florida’s southwest coast. Although they had no Indian heritage, the father of the family advertised them as a “tribe” in promotional material. Ava thought of how the description of Indian was particularly not suited to her sister Osceola who had pale skin and white hair.

The park offered shows every day and was known for its cheap beer prices but there were some enemies to the park which included the melaleua tree as well as the Florida suburbs. Ava felt her family had always won their fights with nature and the economy until her...