Hoot

Rating:
Summary: Appropriately named
Review: I love all of Carl Hiaasen's works and HOOT, even though it's touted for the younger set, is no exception. With the same great writing, style, and sense of humor that is found in McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD (though that one's definitely NOT for children), Hiaasen hits his mark once again with this book. Using endangered species as the jumping off point, Hiassen weaves a tale that only he could come up with. The twistedness of his ideas, coupled with great writing, make this one of the most unusual books ever written. Thanks to Carl Hiaasen for giving us this stellar work.

Rating:
Summary: Hoot!!!
Review: How could anyone not take an immediate liking to 13 year old Roy Eberhardt? He is always the "new kid" in town, always trying to do what's right, and puts up with more that any kid would want to from a bully! As Roy's face is being smashed into the window of his school bus by Dana Matherson, the hefty school bully, Roy happens to catch a glimpse of another young boy running barefoot through his neighborhood.
Roy's longing for action and mystery in his new Florida community lead him to become a current-day Matlock and nature activist! He starts to look for the mysterious barefoot running boy, against the advice of classmate Beatrice Leep. Throughout his journey, Roy makes a few new friends, becomes more aware of doing what is right, thanks the bully, and irritates an executive from Mother Paula's All-American House of Pancakes! Roy soon finds that Florida is much more interesting and wild than he had originally assumed! This book is a real HOOT!!!


Rating:
Summary: Give a Hoot about Hoot!
Review: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen is an enthralling tale of mystery, confusion, and adventure. It is a dizzy story of 13-year-old Roy Eberhardt finding himself obsessed with a shoeless boy, running like a lightning bolt outside his school bus every morning. Roy gets beat up by Dana Matherson and suspiciously rejected by Beatrice Leap in his mission to learn more about the running boy and give him shoes.
From two perspectives, the story is told. Although all in third person, one side of the story is the life of Officer Delinko and the other, Roy Eberhardt. Roy is the new kid in the city of Miami and has not acquired many friends yet. He is a curious and adventurous young man with an ample amount of bravery, which can many times get into trouble with bullies. Officer Delinko is a lowly police officer who is constantly trying to prove himself in order to achieve his goal of someday becoming a detective.
Mother Paula's Pancake house is in the works of being built, but the ground is remaining bare because there is a small obstacle. Someone keeps vandalizing the property. Officer Delinko is on the case, trying to catch the clever prankster. When Roy finally meets Beatrice's stepbrother, the nameless running boy, he realizes this is more than just a silly joke. The running boy is delaying construction to save the owls. Roy soon realizes that saving the owls who will be left homeless after their homes are extirpated is the most important thing.
Hoot is told in such a way that I only knew bits and pieces of the story and had to read to the end to comprehend the whole picture. It's ironic that the book is crammed with devotion to something as simple as owls, but is incredibly touching. It is a novel filled with high-level vocabulary geared towards an eighth grade audience. It is a page turning mystery that made me realize that sometimes I jump to conclusions without knowing both sides of the story. Hoot is an adventure permeated with passion and love, along with humor and stupidity. Carl Hiaasen artistically intertwines two quirky stories to comprise one fabulous novel.


Rating:
Summary: It was an ok book.
Review: The book was definitely not the best book I have ever read in my life. I only enjoyed parts of it. I thought it was very confusing. I was about to give the book 2 stars, but I decided to be nice. I liked the parts where Roy kept seeing the poor kid on the bus, then followed him. It was just fine.

Rating:
Summary: Hoot
Review: He would not have noticed that the boy was faster then his track-star friend from Montana, nor would the new kid have noticed that the boy was running barefoot or that he wasn't getting on the bus to go to school even though he was undoubtedly of age. If it wasn't for Dana Matherson, he would never have noticed the strange boy at all. But as fate would have it, Dana Matherson chose to migrate to the middle of the bus on that particular morning so as to pick on him. So he did see the strange barefoot running boy. And he did stare after him long after the boy disappeared onto the golf course, neglecting the pain as Dana Matherson attempted to smash his face against the bus window.
Roy Eberhardt was the new kid. Five feet tall, small frame, seemingly shy type of boy. He never made any real attempts to make friends, nor did he pity himself sitting at the end of the lunch table by himself. He was the new kid, he'd been the new kid six times before, and he prided himself in being an expert at being the new kid.
Nobody at Trace Middle School expected much out of the new kid, especially not for him to punch the most feared bully, or to make friends with Beatrice the Bear, the incredibly built, female soccer jock. Both things sprouted from the day, the second time, Roy spotted the strange running boy. There was something about the boy that struck a deep curiosity in Roy, a curiosity that was never quite satisfied. But on that morning, he chose to try to quench that curiosity by running off the bus and chasing after the strange running boy. Only two things got in his way; Dana Matherson, the bully, and Beatrice the Bear, the soccer jock, both of which he disregarded with a forceful punch to the face, and a determined shove, respectively.
From there Roy began skimming the edge of the running boy's world, the patience of Dana Matherson, and the law. He quickly learned the reason for Beatrice's protectiveness over the running boy. The boy had no name, he went by Mullet Fingers, and he had no home, he ran-away from the military school his unloving mother shipped him off to, but he did have his stepsister, and his mission. His stepsister was none other than Beatrice the Bear. His mission was to save the owls, the delicate, innocent burrowing owls, from being smothered under Mother Paula and her pancake house. From their Roy learned of the boy's scheme to save the owls, and the difference you can make when you follow your heart.
Hoot is one of those rare books that strike you as totally fictitious, but at the same time completely feasible. Even though the language may prove to be slightly juvenile for some, the style in which Hoot portrays its' messages - to follow your heart, stand up for yourself and never give up even when the odds are against you - are memorable. When the average person would never attempt to submerge live, four foot alligators in a port-a-potty single-handedly or tape the mouth's shut on nine highly venomous cotton-mouth snakes to save a couple of owls, Mullet Fingers did. Hoot is a miraculously story of a runaway with a mission and a heart; one frail, homeless boy against a large coalition of wealthy, middle-aged men. While his tactics prove to be extreme and illegal, Mullet Finger's determination, even through a high fever and a severe dog-wound, is nothing less than enticing. Hoot is a brilliant novel for those of us out there who often forget the impact one person, no matter how rich, poor, big, or small, can have when you put your heart into it, and give it your all.


Rating:
Summary: Hoot is a fun book about a boy's experiences in a new place.
Review: I generally am not one to be coaxed or fall prey to child or young adult comedy, only upon the supposition that they are not funny. I mean not to offend anyone, but children's comedies are just tedious.

Hoot is not.

In hoot, the drive of the story is not the actual story, but the characters and the narratives. Hoot flaunts a story of minimal interests, but uses that as a fulcrum to launch a circus of cheap but funny jokes. Having read Hoot, you will not be rolling on the floor with laughter, but instead basking in their ironic glow. Hoot is not a fantastic piece of literature, but a darn fun book to read.

The course of the book is not slow and "pointless", as I have heard, but fast, funny, flashy, and f-f-f- oh, whatever. Read Hoot because you're tired of serious books, not because you're prospecting for influential, lyrical, proseful books. Hoot meets neither of the requirements, but is still a genuinely good read.

The book is entirely appropriate and within comprehensive context, and should(or could) be read by anyone within the general ages of 11-18.

So give a cheer, and read hoot!

Rating:
Summary: Funny, Hilarious, laugh-out-load, strange book about a kid..
Review: What a great way to introduce your child to the world of non-absolute ethics. When are the laws to be followed, and when do we listen to our hearts to know what to do? Hiassen brings his love for all things Florida and his off-beat characters into a perfectly acceptable and palatable young person's format.

Bravo!