The Girl’s Thoughts on Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Roy Eberhardt has recently, and unhappily, arrived in Florida.  “Disney World is an armpit,” he states flatly, “compared to Montana.”

Roy’s family moves a lot, so he’s used to the new-kid drill.  Florida bullies are pretty much like bullies everywhere.  But Roy finds himself oddly indebted to the hulking Dana Matherson.  If Dana hadn’t been sinking his thumbs into Roy’s temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy.  And the running boy is the first interesting thing Roy’s seen in Florida.

The boy was about Roy’s age, but he was running away from the school bus.  He had no books, no backpack, and, here’s the odd part, no shoes.

Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail.  The chase will introduce him to some other intriguing Floridan creatures:  potty-trained alligators, a beleaguered construction foreman, some burrowing owls, a fake-fart champion, a renegade eco-avenger, some slippery fish, a sinister pancake PR man, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparking tails.

But Florida is looking up.  (publisher’s summary)

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Reviewed by The Girl (age 10)

I give Hoot 4 out of 5 stars.  The book taught me a lot about burrowing owls and the need to protect endangered animals.  Hoot is also about bullying, how hard it is to keep moving because of a parent’s job, and making friends at a new school.  The part about saving the owls was the most interesting.  My favorite character was the police officer, Officer Delinko; I thought he was funny.

However, some parts of the book were confusing because I had to follow five characters’ stories.  I was also a little upset because the summary said there would be “potty-trained alligators,” but those weren’t what I thought they would be and weren’t as funny.  But I thought the book was interesting, and I hope you feel the same if you read it.

Disclosure: I borrowed Hoot from my local library. My mom is an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.