Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
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Book Reviews of Hoot
Book Review: Hoot for Hoot!
Summary: 4 Stars
Hoot is a fabulous adventure and realistic fiction coming of age story by Carl Hiaasen about a young boy named Roy who is new to town. It is 292 pages of adventure, as Roy is bullied by Dana Matherson, the town bully. While Dana, the story's antagonist, is anything but a good person, his bullying does lead Roy to notice a boy running barefoot alongside the bus he is on, eventually taking him on an adventure of a major ecological and corrupt problem caused by a fraudulent business.
The boy Roy saw running calls himself Mullet Fingers. He comes from a troubled home but is determined despite the odds to stand up for what he believes. Meanwhile, a breakfast chain, Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House, is going to open up a restaurant in town but the building's construction is constantly delayed due to damages that occur to the area in the middle of the night. The pancake company wants to begin building on the property and so hires a security guard to protect the area from any possible vandals. Through yet another scheme, Roy convinces Dana to enter the construction site in search of cigarettes. Dana is quickly caught in the act and people believe that he is responsible for the vandalism.
Dana's trespassing brings light to the habitat of the burrowing owl, which is currently in the very area that the Mother Paula's intends to builds its restaurant. People quickly jump on the children's bandwagon, which wants nothing more than for these owls to live in their natural habitat. These children expose the company for what it really is and uncover some deals that are anything but legal among adults in his new.
This story is perfect for the young adult reader, as it clearly shows that whether we like it or not, we all grow up. And when we grow up, we take on responsibilities that we never before dreamed possible. It is an inspirational tale to see young adults making responsible decisions on their own. Simultaneously, the young adults are forced to look at the adults around them who are taking bribes and making illegal deals, while they are fighting for what they believe and know is right. They are ready to take on the powerful executives, even though their chances might seem bleak.
Throughout the story, Roy is forced into the world and must grow up, even if the adults around him might not have. It is a great read for young adults, as Roy is forced to adjust to the changes around him that come with moving to a new town. However, he quickly prevails.
I personally loved this story because it allows young adults to see that despite all of the problems that occur in life, they actually can prevail and bring about good things through action. This story teaches students that it is imperative that they stand up for what they believe. Young adults of today can easily relate to Roy, for Macmillan Publishers just recently published it in 2002 at a Lexile Level of 760. Simultaneously, as a teacher of young adults, I personally have an issue with the presence of cigarettes and curse words in a story. And I know that many of my students' parents also would not appreciate some of the content that Hiaasen has chosen to include. Nonetheless, I appreciate that he does not sugarcoat any of the topics but rather "keeps it real" for the kids, allowing them to wrestle with the issues as though they are in Roy's shoes.
Book Review: Hoot
Summary: 4 Stars
The book I just read is called Hoot by Carl Hiaason. The main conflict in the story is Mother Paula Pancake House wants to build their new pancake house on the land where a community of owls live. The kids of Coconut Cove, Florida, Roy Eberhardt, a 12 year old boy, and his friends Beatrice Leep and Mullet Fingers do many tricks to save the owls.
This was a very exciting book to read because when I got to the end of each chapter I needed to read the next chapter to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the main conflict was interesting because I could see what kids my age could do when they put their mind to something. The characters in this story seem very realistic because they would do something that any person could do in their lives. For example, Roy was always there when his friends needed him. I really enjoyed the end of the book because it was a very exciting and happy ending. I was glad to see that the kids made a difference.
What I think what was most exciting about this book was how the author made his characters and their moods. One person could be wild while the other person was in the worst mood. The author's voice changed through out the book. He could sound light as a feather or as dark as a giant. Another thing I thought was wonderful about the author was when he went from scene to scene and made it sharp so you could remember everything. The vocabulary used was very descriptive so I could just picture everything in its place.
I would give this book an A. I really cared about what Roy and his friends were doing to save the owls. It was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to any of my friends that like to read books about how kids follow their dreams and accomplish something big.
I am glad I read this book. I like seeing someone follow their dreams and accomplishing them. I too would like to do this. I am planning to collect and save money to help a needy kid go to overnight camp. I love camp and I want to give that gift to someone else.
Book Review: Hoot
Summary: 4 Stars
The book I just read is called Hoot by Carl Hiaason. The main conflict in the story is Mother Paula Pancake House wants to build their new pancake house on the land where a community of owls live. The kids of Coconut Cove, Florida, Roy Eberhardt, a 12 year old boy, and his friends Beatrice Leep and Mullet Fingers do many tricks to save the owls.
This was a very exciting book to read because when I got to the end of each chapter I needed to read the next chapter to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the main conflict was interesting because I could see what kids my age could do when they put their mind to something. The characters in this story seem very realistic because they would do something that any person could do in their lives. For example, Roy was always there when his friends needed him. I really enjoyed the end of the book because it was a very exciting and happy ending. I was glad to see that the kids made a difference.
What I think what was most exciting about this book was how the author made his characters and their moods. One person could be wild while the other person was in the worst mood. The author's voice changed through out the book. He could sound light as a feather or as dark as a giant. Another thing I thought was wonderful about the author was when he went from scene to scene and made it sharp so you could remember everything. The vocabulary used was very descriptive so I could just picture everything in its place.
I would give this book an A. I really cared about what Roy and his friends were doing to save the owls. It was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to any of my friends that like to read books about how kids follow their dreams and accomplish something big.
I am glad I read this book. I like seeing someone follow their dreams and accomplishing them. I too would like to do this. I am planning to collect and save money to help a needy kid go to overnight camp. I love camp and I want to give that gift to someone else.
Book Review: Hoot
Summary: 4 Stars
The book I just read is called Hoot by Carl Hiaason. The main conflict in the story is Mother Paula Pancake House wants to build their new pancake house on the land where a community of owls live. The kids of Coconut Cove, Florida, Roy Eberhardt, a 12 year old boy, and his friends Beatrice Leep and Mullet Fingers do many tricks to save the owls.
This was a very exciting book to read because when I got to the end of each chapter I needed to read the next chapter to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the main conflict was interesting because I could see what kids my age could do when they put their mind to something. The characters in this story seem very realistic because they would do something that any person could do in their lives. For example, Roy was always there when his friends needed him. I really enjoyed the end of the book because it was a very exciting and happy ending. I was glad to see that the kids made a difference.
What I think what was most exciting about this book was how the author made his characters and their moods. One person could be wild while the other person was in the worst mood. The author's voice changed through out the book. He could sound light as a feather or as dark as a giant. Another thing I thought was wonderful about the author was when he went from scene to scene and made it sharp so you could remember everything. The vocabulary used was very descriptive so I could just picture everything in its place.
I would give this book an A. I really cared about what Roy and his friends were doing to save the owls. It was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to any of my friends that like to read books about how kids follow their dreams and accomplish something big.
I am glad I read this book. I like seeing someone follow their dreams and accomplishing them. I too would like to do this. I am planning to collect and save money to help a needy kid go to overnight camp. I love camp and I want to give that gift to someone else.
Book Review: Carlos says... "this book is hilarious just like the book FLUSH"
Summary: 4 Stars
The story is divided into three main parts. This gives the reader different points of view from each character. The main part is about Roy Eberhardt and his friends "Mullet Fingers", and his stepsister Beatrice. The main part focuses on their efforts to try and save the owls' homes from getting bulldozed to make way for a construction. The second is about Officer David Delinko, who is one of the Officers investigating the sabotage acts on the construction site. He was caught sleeping during his early morning patrol once and was nearly fired. Now, with his job on the line he basically thought about nothing else but getting his job done. But when he sees the Burrowing Owls and slowly thinks about what will happen to them, he slowly has a change of heart towards the end of the book. The third part is of the construction Foreman Leroy "Curly" Branitt who also has his job on the line now that the construction was two weeks late. Despite his efforts to guard the construction site, the site is continually sabotaged and gets fired in the end. In the last part he doesn't join Roy and the rest of the crowd to protect the owls, but refuses to take any orders from his boss.
Overall I'd say this is a great book with its unpredictable and hilarious characters. Aside from being funny you could learn something too. I noticed that Hiaasen writes mostly about environmental problems. This book illustrates how animals are affected when we destroy their home for the sake of money. Nobody likes seeing their home destroyed. How would we feel if someone showed up on our homes and told us that our house was going to get bulldozed? In the words of Calvin and Hobbes: "How would humans feel if animals bulldozed a suburb and put in new TREES?"