Hoot by Carl Hiaasen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hoot
Book Review: Arrogant Protagonist
Summary: 3 Stars
Roy is pretty new to his Florida town. His father is in the government law enforcement agency and he and his family move around a lot. He isn't surprised when a bully on his bus, Dana, chooses to harass him. But Dana's harassment is a blessing in disguise--while Dana is shoving his head against the window of the bus, he sees a boy who looks to be about his age running barefoot through the yards near the school bus. Roy becomes determined in two ways: he is not going to let Dana bully him forever and he is going to figure out what is going on with the barefoot boy.
Both of these goals are more difficult than Roy originally thought. Even though he punches Dana, he still isn't left alone. And once he starts getting close to finding out who the barefoot boy is, an intimidating older girl named Beatrice starts beating up on him almost as much as Dana. What is going on?
Soon Roy becomes even more interested in the barefoot boy, especially when it becomes obvious he can't reason with Dana. But the boy is remaining very secretive. Roy begins to suspect the barefoot boy might have something to do with the ongoing vandalism that is stopping the pancake house chain from breaking ground in a nearby vacant lot.
I liked the friendship that sprung up between Roy and Beatrice, and I liked the relationship between Beatrice and the barefoot boy. I liked what happened at the end of the book to the barefoot boy, and I really liked the fact that this story of the vacant lot was told both from the point of view of Roy and from the point of view of the police officer protecting the lot.
I thought Roy's character was incredibly arrogant about everything, though, which made him a much less appealing and sympathetic character.
Book Review: Hats Off for Hoot
Summary: 5 Stars
What would you do if you were on the school bus and you saw a boy running aimlessly with no shoes? Would you chase after him at the next stop and give him your shoes? Probably not, but that's exactly what Roy Eberhardt does in the adventure story Hoot by Carl Hiassen. Roy, with the help of this running boy, finds himself doing things he wouldn't ordinarily do. Some of these things could get him in real trouble with the law.
Roy is a middle school boy who has recently moved to Florida and struggles to find his place in the town. Dana, the school bully, doesn't make it any easier for Roy to fit in. After an accidentally rough encounter between the two, Dana is out to get Roy. Fortunately, Roy finds himself being helped by Beatrice, a tough girl who happens to be the sister of the running boy. Roy joins Beatrice and her brother in their attempts to save innocent owls from being kicked out of their burrows so that Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House can build a new location.
This book is a story of determination, curiosity, and bravery. Because Roy gets involved in the "save the owl" plan, he naturally becomes a leader with all the qualities that come along with it. The subtle humor, character development, and dual narrative set the book apart from the rest. You get to see two sides of every story which helps you understand the characters' personalities and problems. You'll even find yourself chuckling at the small jokes that make this book entertaining and interesting.
People who liked The Thief Lord will love the in-depth character analysis and adventure that this book brings out. This book is so well-written that the characters' personalities come alive and you'll want to know what will happen to them in the end.
Book Review: Environmental focus and clear prose
Summary: 5 Stars
Just off the moving truck from Montana, Roy Eberhardt is about to start at Trace Middle School down in Coconut Grove, Florida. The new kid in town. Again. And he has new kid syndome bad -- eating lunch by himself, no friends, and the subject of the school bully's free time enjoyment. Things leap from ordinary to extra-O one day when Dana Matherson is beating the loose change out of him on the bus. Roy happens to look out the window and see a strange boy running almost as fast as the bus.
Why isn't the boy going to school? Why is he barefoot? And how is he running so fast?
Roy's quest to find out the identity of this mysterious boy leads him to cross paths with several interesting characters in the process, many of which are adults -- A few police officers, security guards for Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House, the tallest, toughest girl at school, Beatrice, and a nest of burrowing owls at the corner of East Oriole Avenue. This intersection of characters drops Roy into the center of a plot to keep Mother Paula's from building their new restaurant on the site at East Oriole. We can't have them burrying those owls now, can we? Uprooted survey stakes, baby alligators in the portapotties, spraypainted and jawtied cottonmouth snakes on the site, and spraypainted cop car windows are just the start. Something has to be done to defend the owls, and somebody has to do it.
Carl Hiassen's first book for young adults, HOOT seems it will be around for a long time. It's environmental focus and clear prose make it easy to recommend to young readers. And with the movie having already hit the theaters a while back, I wouldn't be surprised if this book makes its way into school classrooms at some point.
-- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
Book Review: kind of good book
Summary: 4 Stars
Hoot is a book that is sort of good. i didnt like it because it didnt discribe the characters very well. it has a good story line and its not very confusing. if you like animals then you will like this book. its cool that the main character (Roy) would go all that way to save a few owls. i guess you should read the book even though you wont know what the main characters look like.Book Review: Hoot
Summary: 4 Stars
Hoot
Newberry honor book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen is a gripping realistic story that will certainly give you a hoot. In recent day humid Coconut Cove, Florida Roy Eberhardt a small, but quick boy was used to moving often and being the victim to the school bully. He never knew that one barefoot, running boy would lead to such curiosity and a surprising new friendship, but there's lots to know about this boy and his grudge against pancakes. When Roy finds out Beatrice leep the school's tough, girl soccer player, plays her way in the story there's sure to come some struggles and open doors into the teen's interesting past. Will Roy choose between what's right or what he's afraid of ?
One scene in this book I liked is when Roy went to the bully's house and completely mooned the bully and how he just calmly pulled his pants up and walked around the corner of the house ready to run when the boy ripped around the corner. This passage in the book surprised me a lot, but made me laugh. To me the passage really showed me how much Roy changed form the beginning of the book to that point. From being shy to kind of being reckless in this case, but I did think it was a little un called for.
This was a very well written, good book. It was the right reading level for me and I found myself with my nose glued to it every time I picked it up. I really recommend it to anyone that likes humor, a little mystery and a great adventure. It showed me that there are a lot of wonderful places to explore outside. This is a keeper!