Hoot

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen 


Plot: Roy Eberhardt relocates from Florida to Montana and experiences the typical things a new kid has to go through: making friends bullying, missing home. However, the day Roy spots a barefoot kid running past his bus stop, Roy's life takes an interesting turn. He decides to find the boy, nicknamed Mullet Fingers, and befriends him. Roy and Mullet Fingers join forces (in a way) to help save some local burrowing owls from a pancake restaurant chain. Somehow along the way, alligators end up in port-a-potties and a bully ends up naked and tied to a flagpole. But what about the owls? The pancake restaurant is huge, and appears to be moving forward despite the burrowing owls living on the land and being protected. Can Roy and Mullet Fingers beat the pancake house and save the owls? Maybe. But not without massive shenanigans along the way.

Review:

This is a funny adventure tale of a young boy taking on the establishment with the help of some interesting and unexpected friends. The book is super engaging, and is appropriate for younger tweens wanting to read-up. Tweens will immediately like Roy, relating to his struggles with having to move and deal with bullying. Roy outsmarts his bully in the end, and his tale of triumph is one that tweens of all ages will enjoy. 


Reading Level: 11 and up


Similar Titles: Flush, Holes


Character Descriptions:

Roy Eberhardt: The new kid in school who takes up the mission of helping Mullet Fingers save the burrowing owls.

Beatrice Leep: She's big, she plays soccer, and eventually she befriends Roy. But it wasn't easy. She also happens to be related to Mullet Fingers.

Officer Delinko: The police officer, who is trying to become a detective, that bumbled the pancake site investigation initially and became obsessed with solving it.

Curly: The supervisor of the pancake site, always trying to break ground and get started.

Mullet Fingers: The running, shoeless boy devoting his life to avoiding his mother and saving the burrowing owls.

Dana Matherson:The school bully with a penchant for torturing Roy on the bus.

Personal Thoughts:  


I am a huge fan of Hiaasen's adult fiction, so I was really excited to have an excuse to read is YA novels. Hiaasen even integrates some familiar characters and scenes from his other books into his younger novels. They are very characteristic of Hiaasen, with many plot lines coming together to create a hilarious, masterfully crafted tale that is of course set in Florida.