Hoot

My eyes are a little bit moist after having just finished HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. As I write this, I'm perched upon the royal blue carpeting between two of the dividers that stretch the length of a football field and herd us slowly in the direction of Jean Auel. Jean is sitting on a stool behind a table just beyond the goal line. I arrived here at the Javits Convention Center around 6:15 this morning--that's 3:15 A.M. California time, my body reminds me--in order to obtain one of the relatively limited tickets that allow entrance to this line for the purpose of receiving a smile and a signed copy of the new book from Ms. Auel. David Halberstam's line will be my next stop. But at the moment I am feeling like my best literary score of the day is the additional advance copy of HOOT that my friends at Random House are graciously permitting me to take back to California. Now, I can lend out a copy (first to my faithful webmaster) and keep another to eventually put away in my collection of the really good ones. Yes, HOOT is one that you'll want for your collection, too. I was just about to say that I can't wait to get home and start reading HOOT to my kids and Shari, but that wouldn't be particularly true. Thanks to another publisher friend, I am going to see Dee Dee Ramone and the Tom Tom Club perform at a party tonight, so frankly I CAN wait a little while to get back to California. But when I DO get there, you can be sure that I'm immediately sitting everyone down to share this great tale. First, you have the owls: "Walking back toward the patrol car, the policeman stumbled and fell down. Curley grabbed him under one arm and hoisted him to his feet. 'Stupid owls,' said Curley. The policeman brushed the dirt and grass burrs off his uniform. 'You say owls?' Curley gestured at a hole in the ground. It was as big around as one of Mother Paula's famous buttermilk flapjacks. A mound of loose white sand was visible at the entrance. 'That's what you tripped over,' Curley informed Officer Delinko. 'An owl lives down there?' The policeman bent down and studied the hole. 'How big are they?' ''Bout as tall as a beer can.' 'No kidding?' said Officer Delinko. 'But I ain't never seen one, officially speakin.'" Then, you've got the bully: "The grip on his throat tightened. He felt Dana's ashtray breath on his right ear: 'How come you ain't got your boots on today? Who ever heard of a cowgirl wearing Air Jordans?' 'They're Rebocks,' Roy squeaked." Now, throw in the mystery kid (whose first appearances are reminiscent of Maniac Magee): "The boy was straw-blond and wiry, and his skin was nut-brown from the sun. The expression on his face was intent and serious. He wore a faded Miami Heat basketball jersey and dirty khaki shorts, and here was the odd part: no shoes. The soles of his bare feet looked as black as barbecue coals...Because the boy kept running--past the corner, past the line of students waiting to get on the bus; past the bus itself. Roy wanted to shout, 'Hey look at that guy!' but his mouth wasn't working so well. Dana Matherson still had him from behind, pushing his face against the window." Add in the seriously evil PR guy from the pancake house chain, the tough girl soccer star, the assortment of parents with widely varying skill levels, and the bumbling young cop. Then drop Roy, the new kid in town, into the middle of everything and you have the recipe for a book that will enchant kids of all ages. There is humor, sadness, and a touch of suspense. What WILL happen to the owls in those holes? In HOOT, Carl Hiaasen does an incredible job of showing the different styles of activism that different people resort to. He presents the reader with the contemporary clash of free enterprise versus global ecological issues. He has a lot to say between the lines about parenting, and he has some great insights into the methods of dealing with bullies. I've never read his adult books, but I sure hope Hiaasen writes more children's books for my kids. HOOT is a heck of a first step into the world of children's literature. Richie Partington [...] BudNotBuddy@aol.com

My son just started reading these books, he’s 11. He really loves them and finds them super interesting.

Hoot I think Carl Hiaasen was just about the funniest guy to ever write a book. I read him when I get a chance. He wrote “Hoot” for middle school kids and got a Newberry honor award for his trouble. I bought it not knowing any of that but read it anyhow. I am glad I did. The hero, young Roy, comes to Florida from the West. He doesn't know anyone and at school finds himself the odd man out. He makes friends as he can and becomes involved in a criminal attempt to violate the endangered species act. This makes for some excitement, some enjoyment, and with Carl Hiaasen, some definitely weird stuff going on. All at the level that an eighth-grader can deal with. We learn to stand up to bullies, even if we get our clock cleaned. We learn that having smarts turns out to have more uses than brutality. And we get to make fun of adults upon occasion. I am a grown-up and I liked this book. I bet middle school kids will like it too.

I bought this book because my son needed it for school and he had misplaced the copy they gave him. This one turned out to be a great replacement. It has a practical, easy-to-carry size, the cover colors are bright, and the material feels sturdy. The pages are lightweight, the printing is clear, and overall the quality is very good. A great option if you need to replace a lost copy or simply want your own.

Great author cute story

* SPOILER * I discuss part of the book in this review. Don’t keep reading if you don’t want to know more. I liked most of the story but I guess I’m tired of the stereotype of the big dumb jocks beating up the little nerdy kid story line. And not sure how I feel about Roy setting up Dana so that he goes to juvie. I don’t want my kids reading this for that reason. Maybe I’m just feeling extra sensitive about kids who have been born into crappy families but I felt bad for Dana. It made it hard for me to enjoy the rest of the story knowing Roy set him up. Not that Dana’s behavior was exemplary at all but setting him up where he ends up at juvenile detention seemed a bit extreme. It was also confusing to me that Roy would try to find a way for his head and heart to come together to get help for the owls but didn’t use the same logic when dealing with Dana. And somehow his parents never found out about it either... hmmm. Honestly, I kept expecting him to tell his parents what he knew about Dana and have them help him intervene somehow to make it better. He told them about Beatrice’s situation so why not Dana’s? Total disconnect for me. And maybe there was no other way but I felt like it was a missed opportunity for Roy and his parents to not have that conversation together. Otherwise I liked the book. I really enjoyed the first half of the book a lot. But the second half was a let down for me.

I liked this book. It was fun to read and I liked the story. My favorite part was in the middle/near the end of the book when a lot of the action took place and it got very interesting. My favorite character was Roy because he was nice and easy to relate to. I liked the ending of the book too. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone but i would say read it for the fun adventure.

What a great book! It really kept the attention of my middle school son. He was assigned this book for his Language Arts class, but it was an enjoyable read for both of us! Highly recommend this author.

Carl Hiaasen is a consummate writer and his books are always enjoyable. Hoot is ideal for all the family of any age.

小学生（だったかな）の主人公ROY少年が、フロリダのある町で起こる事件について、友達と力を合わせて立ち向かう、って感じのお話です。 すごく面白かったです。英語の本であることを忘れて夢中で読みました。知らない単語が多く、かなり読み飛ばしたつもりだったのですが、ストーリーはしっかりと頭に入ってきていたらしく、興奮したり、感動したり、鳥肌が立ったり、笑ったりしていました。こんなに夢中になって英語の本を読んだのは初めてです。 最初から最後まで物語の展開が全く読めず、本の世界にどっぷりつかってしまいました。主人公ROYとそのお父さんの信頼関係も素敵でした。 私の英語レベルは、TOEIC400点くらいです。こんな英語力でも読了できました。物語の細部までは分かりませんでしたが、十分楽しむことができました。

Excellent, good price, lovely

Nos gusta este libro mucho. Compremos para regalo para una chica en la clase de mí hijo. Al principio, con la historia de las lechuzas pequeños, es muy divertido.

As described