Hoot

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: If it was not for Dana Matherson Roy would have never met the running boy.And if it wasn't for the running boy he would have never met tough Beatrice and if it wasn't for them he would have never known the burrowing owls.My favorite part of the book was when Roy,Mullet Fingers,and Beatrice protested about Mother Paulas site and the burrowing owls.What Iliked best of this part was that Roy brought all his friends to protest and Beatrice brought all of her friends.The character I liked best was Roy because he tried his best to save the owls. Also he was lying to save the owls.He did a good job being the new kid in town and having not so many friends and saveing the owls.This book teached me to choose what is best from what is in the heart and what is in the brain.I recommend this book to all 13 and under kids.

Rating:
Summary: Hoot was great suspense and fun!!!!
Review: What I thought about the book overall is that it was a very good book. It is a nice book to read one chapter maybe two a day. My favorite part of the whole story is when they are at the beautiful groundbreaking ceremony. They are there to save the owls' dens underground from being destroyed from the bulldozer when they start the construction. This is not only the climax of the story, but it's "the story," the moment every reader is waiting for as they read this book.
To top everything off a little burrowing owl lands quietly on Mullet Fingers head which finalizes the evidence of owls' dens existing underground in Mother Paula's Construction site. The chapter ends when Mullet Fingers says that the owls would be safe. My favorite character that I enjoyed and laughed about the most was Chuckle E. Muckle, the vice president of the Mother Paula's and his problems with narcissism. The way he thinks and talks as if he was hot shot made me laugh as I read those parts of the story. These parts were the most entertaining section of the story.
It is awesome how the author vividly describes the owls and characters. The story of how there might be animals in danger due to construction is something that we as people face everyday and I believe it should be cared for. The most interesting thing about the book is that it is suitable for all ages. What I think was best is that it makes you want to continuously read the next chapters. The foreshadowing and suspense in most of the chapters keeps the reader alert. The character and how everything was planned out was terrific. I enjoyed the book a lot and I am looking forward to reading many of the author's other books of his collection.

Rating:
Summary: Hoot Hollers Read Me-It's Awesome
Review: I love this book, my teacher Ms. Smith read it to us during our Language Arts class. We enjoyed the book, learned a lot of new vocabulary words, and learned how to even saved an endangered species.

My teacher made us research, burroing owls and what has happened to them. A picture of a newly hatched burrowing owl came out in the Miami-Herald yesterday and we learned that these little creature truly do exist and need our help.

I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school and wants to learn how to preserve a species, to prevent being bullied at school, but most of all to make right choices when opportunities comes your way.

It also helps I live in Hiaasen country and get to read Mr. Hiaasen's columns in the Miami-Herald!!!

Rating:
Summary: Hiaasen's hit
Review: Hoot: (noun) 1. To make the natural throat noise of an owl.
2. To assail with contemptuous cries or other expressions of disapproval or contempt.

(This definition has been brought to you courtesy of "Webster's Third New International Dictionary").

A clever title for a book that is, in and of itself, pretty darn smart. Penned by a man better known for his adult detective tales, "Hoot" garnered a fair amount of praise when it was first published. It did win the 2003 Newbery Honor Award, after all. No small feat with the sheer amount of well-written children's literature out there. The book is deceptively simple, excellently written, and a great addition to the canon of kids-taking-on-corporate-monoliths-with-grassroots-intervention genre.

Roy has just moved to Florida from Montana, and he hates it. No wonder too. In Montana he had mountains, and cowboys, and fresh cool seasons. In Florida he has flat flat landscapes, a bully that wants to squash Roy in a variety of different shapes, and detestable summery sticky seasons. Things start looking up, however, when Roy spots a barefooted boy running at top speed away from the school bus on a weekday. Sensing a mystery to the boy, Roy gets involved in a plot involving the local burrowing owl population. It seems as if a huge chain entitled Mother Paula's All-American Pancake Houses, Inc. has decided to build its next yummy store smack dab on top of the owls and their homes. Joining with the barefoot boy (nicknamed Mullet Fingers) and the boy's soccer playing tough-girl step-sister Beatrice, the three work to put an end to the dastardly plot to bury the burrowers.

I'm coming at this book from a number of different levels. To begin with, it does my aging (albeit 26-year-old) hippy heart glad to see a book in which grassroots organization ultimately topples large competitors like Mother Paula's. What really is impressive is one of the many morals of the story. Roy is told by his parents to balance the wishes of his heart with his head. Obviously he cares for these tiny owls and their homes, but engaging in vandalism like Mullet Fingers (harmless vandalism, yes, but illegal just the same) isn't going to solve anything. What Roy has to do, ultimately, is to go the relatively boring route. Get the facts on paper. In the end, the solution to the problem is as much legal as it is moral. Hiassen does take the easy route out by having the owl be an endangered species. I would have personally enjoyed the story more if this was just a tale about a couple kids trying to save perfectly normal and common burrowing owls, but oh well. It's a tiny complaint. On another level, how many books do your read these days where a) The main character has caring parents b) The main character has caring parents that are intelligent and c) The main character has caring parents that are intelligent AND to whom the main character reveals everything when asked. When Roy's dad asks him to explain himself, he does. This is such a rarity in children's literature on a whole (usually because it's easier to write disobeying children than obeying ones) that it deserves to be commended. So well done, Mr. Author-sir. Well done indeed.

The characters are particularly well drawn as well. Hats off to Carl Hiaasen for his excellent depictions of women-folk. Beatrice Leep is a soccer jock, blond, and wears glasses. Ooh! Quick quick, who can spot the character that doesn't rely on ancient stereotypes? I can I can! Beatrice ain't no one you've met before, honey. She has a horrible family life, a step-brother she must protect at all costs, and sharp pointy teeth. I was particularly taken with the moment in which Beatrice decides to knaw her mother's toe ring off her nasty stepmother's foot. Rounding out the unusual characters is an officer that's simulataneously a lummox and redeemable, a foreman that's a boor but amusing, and a bully that never really tries to become a good guy in any way, shape, or form.

I could go on and on, but Amazon.com limits reviews to 1000 words, so I'll just stop here. The point I am making is that this book isn't just moral and isn't just well-written, but is also (most importantly) fun. It's amusing to read. You just want to zip through it when you start your perusal. If Hiaasen isn't satisfied with merely snatching the Newbery Honor, then I personally would like to request that he strive for the top honor again. Write another book, Mr. Hiaasen! If it's even half as good as this one, you can rest assured that I'll be reading it soon.

Rating:
Summary: A Juvenile Twist to Common Controversy
Review: I most definitely recommend Hoot to anyone that wants an inspiring book to sit down and read. Hoot is written in a literary style much like Louis Sachar's award winner, Holes. In Hoot, the bullying problems of Roy, and the controversy of small owls on a construction site are told separately until a mysterious boy, "Mullet Fingers," brings the two stories together. Hoot keeps you on the edge of your seat; you won't want to put it down.

I would not recommend the story to anyone that is sensitive to bullying and curse words. I believe the profanities in Hoot are the only words that can express the true meaning of the bullying. I was drawn to read Hoot from a censorship controversy in my school.

Hoot is ideal for middle school aged students. All in all, Hoot is witty and entertaining. Five stars for Hoot!

Rating:
Summary: Good reading for your vacations
Review: This is an excellent book for your vacations because you can leave the book whenever you want and take it back when you don't have anything else to do, this book is not a page turner but if you start it you will end it.
The messages of the book are very nice and you and your children can learn something about the book. As all the books of CH is easy and fast to read, it will keep you interested in the story of the owls and the new restaurant that other people want to build in that space.

Rating:
Summary: A encouraging and inspiring book
Review: Carl Hiasen's first book was a brilliant one. The book is about Roy Eberart, a average boy who just wants to fit in. In between being bullied by the hulking Dana Matherson,being intimadated by supergirl, Beatrice Leap, and helping her step brother, Mullet Fingers, save the owls at the mother Paula's site, Roy always finds time to matain a normal life. I loved this book and I hope many others will too.

Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: Hoot is one of those rare young adult books that keep readers of all ages entertained. It deserves to sit on your top shelf with other modern day classics like King Fortis the Brave, Holes and Harry Potter.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a book my students like!
Review: All my junior high students are enjoying this book. They're following the characters and plot and even laughing at times. (And these are the same kids who didn't laugh once all the way through A YEAR DOWN YONDER!) They come in and get right to the book and make comments about the characters and events--in other words, they're connecting with this book. They're even making predictions without being asked!!!

I'm happy with the characterizations that lead to discussions about right and wrong, kid concerns and adult concerns, environmental issues, etc. Some teachers might want to be aware of mild profanity throughout the book. I just told my kids to skip any words that made them uncomfortable and they've dealt with them wonderfully.

Rating:
Summary: Construction and Owls and Snakes, Oh My!
Review: If you would like to read a book about hap- hazardous Florida, about mysterious identities, and about the environment versus construction, then 'Hoot' by Carl Hiassen is the book you need. This book contains events that will just crack you up: Crocodiles placed in portable toilets, 120 pound dogs becoming scared of a 2 pound snake; and some that will make you not want to put down the book: The main character, Roy, getting trapped in a closet with an angry bully, A boy running away with no shoes, and much more. I give this book a 5 on a scale of 5.

In this story, a boy named Roy who just moved into Florida from Montana, has not made very many friends. He is not very sociable and likes Montana better than Florida. He is always running from a bully who despises Roy. Then, one day, Roy was pressed against a bus window and saw a boy running for what looked like no good reason. Roy was naturally curious and chased the boy to his lair. He met this boy and joined his cause: to stop some people from building a pancake house on top of multiple burrowing owl nests. Meanwhile, Police Officer Delinko is charged with the job of guarding the estate from vandalism, which the mysterious boy is doing. The officer gets put on desk duty for sleeping on the job, and from there he tries to work his way back into the police chief's 'preferred' list. Officer Delinko and Roy may be on different sides of this issue, but they meet up in some of the most random ways, including in a hospital.

One scene that really sticks out is the one when Beatrice Leep bites a flap into Roy's bike tire to give him an excuse for being late for dinner. They were visiting the site of the construction and checking on how the mysterious boy was doing. They were making sure nobody caught him. Roy got picked up and driven home by none other than Officer Delinko, who tries to get Roy's dad to write a letter to the chief about how helpful the Officer was to them.

Well, this wacky story is a great read for people of all ages, but it was actually targeted towards teenagers. Definitely, this book gets a 5 out of 5 from me due to its plot, humor, and truth about the environment. Hopefully, this book will change or solidify your position on destroying animal habitats. You'll just hoot with laughter when you read 'Hoot' by Carl Hiassen.