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Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
The site of Coconut Cove's future Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House is experiencing a slight problem: survey stakes removed, alligators in the port-a-potties, and painted-over patrol cars. But who's behind the clever vandalism and pranks? New Florida resident Roy Eberhardt isn't aware of these goings-on, but he has often noticed a barefoot boy running down the street faster than anything. His curiosity piqued, Roy starts to inquire around and even follows the boy once, only to be told by Beatrice Leep, a.k.a. Beatrice the Bear, to mind his own business. Despite Beatrice's warning and plenty of bullying from the lunkheaded Dana Matherson, Roy follows the boy, whose name is Mullet Fingers, one day and winds up in the middle of an ecological mission to save a parliament of burrowing owls from being bulldozed.
Full of colorful, well-developed characters, Hoot is a quick-witted adventure that will keep readers hooked. With down-to-earth Roy, dumbfounded Officer Delinko, and construction site manager Curly -- along with other head-shaking morons and uplifting heroes -- the author delivers an appealing cast of characters that keep the plot twisting and turning until the highly charged ending. Another zany trip to the Sunshine State for Hiaasen fans, this rewarding ecological adventure should keep readers young and old hooting with laughter. Matt Warner
Hiaasen was born and raised in South Florida. During the 1970s, he got his start as a writer working for Cocoa Today as a public interest columnist. However, it was his gig as an investigative reporter for The Miami Herald that provided him with the fundamentals necessary for a career in fiction. "I'd always wanted to write books ever since I was a kid," Hiaasen told Barnes & Noble.com. "To me, the newspaper business was a way to learn about life and how things worked in the real world and how people spoke. You learn all the skills -- you learn to listen, you learn to take notes -- everything you use later as a novelist was valuable training in the newspaper world. But I always wanted to write novels."
Hiaasen made the transition from journalism to fiction in 1981 with the help of fellow reporter Bill Montalbano. Hiaasen and Montalbano drew upon all they had learned while covering the Miami beat in their debut novel Powder Burn, a sharp thriller about the legendary Miami cocaine trade, which the New York Times declared an "expertly plotted novel." The team followed up their debut with two more collaborative works before Hiaasen ventured out on his own with Tourist Season, an offbeat murder mystery that showcased the author's idiosyncratic sense of humor.
From then on, Hiaasen's sensibility has grown only more comically absurd and more socially pointed, with a particular emphasis on the environmental exploitation of his beloved home state. In addition to his irreverent and howlingly funny thrillers (Double Whammy, Sick Puppy, Nature Girl, etc), he has released collections of his newspaper columns (Kick Ass, Paradise Screwed) and penned children's books (Hoot, Flush). With his unique blend of comedy and righteousness ("I can't be funny without being angry."), the writer continues to view hallowed Florida institutions -- from tourism to real estate development -- with a decidedly jaundiced eye. As Kirkus Reviews has wryly observed, Hiassen depicts "...the Sunshine State as the weirdest place this side of Oz."
Hiaasen is also a songwriter: He's co-written two songs, "Seminole Bingo" and "Rottweiler Blues", with Warren Zevon for the album Mutineer. In turn, Zevon recorded a song based on the lyrics Hiaasen had written for a dead rock star character in Basket Case.
In Hiaasen's novel Nature Girl, he gets the opportunity to deal with a long-held fantasy. "I'd always fantasized about tracking down one of these telemarketing creeps and turning the tables -- phoning his house every night at dinner, the way they hassle everybody else," he explains on his web site. "In the novel, my heroine takes it a whole step farther. She actually tricks the guy into signing up for a bogus ‘ecotour' in Florida, and then proceeds to teach him some manners. Or tries."
Roy would not have noticed the strange boy if it weren't for Dana Matherson, because Roy ordinarily didn't look out the window of the school bus. He preferred to read comics and mystery books on the morning ride to Trace Middle.
But on this day, a Monday (Roy would never forget), Dana Matherson grabbed Roy's head from behind and pressed his thumbs into Roy's temple, as if he were squeezing a soccer ball. The older kids were supposed to stay in the back of the bus, but Dana had snuck up behind Roy's seat and ambushed him. When Roy tried to wriggle free, Dana mushed his face against the window.
It was then, squinting through the smudged glass, that Roy spotted the strange boy running along the sidewalk. It appeared as if he was hurrying to catch the school bus, which had stopped at a corner to pick up more kids.
The boy was straw-blond and wiry, and his skin was nutbrown 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.
Trace Middle School didn't have the world's strictest dress code, but Roy was pretty sure that some sort of footwear was required. The boy might have been carrying sneakers in his backpack, if only he'd been wearing a backpack. No shoes, no backpack, no books-strange, indeed, on a school day.
Roy was sure that the barefoot boy would catch all kinds of grief from Dana and the other big kids once he boarded the bus, but that didn't happen....
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.
As the bus pulled away from the intersection, Roy hoped to catch another glimpse of the boy farther up the street. However, he had turned off the sidewalk and was now cutting across a private yard-running very fast, much faster than Roy could run and maybe even faster than Richard, Roy's best friend back in Montana. Richard was so fast that he got to work out with the high school track squad when he was only in seventh grade.
Dana Matherson was digging his fingernails into Roy's scalp, trying to make him squeal, but Roy barely felt a thing. He was gripped with curiosity as the running boy dashed through one neat green yard after another, getting smaller in Roy's vision as he put a wider distance between himself and the school bus.
Roy saw a big pointy-eared dog, probably a German shepherd, bound off somebody's porch and go for the boy. Incredibly, the boy didn't change his course. He vaulted over the dog, crashed through a cherry hedge, and then disappeared from view.
Roy gasped.
"Whassamatter, cowgirl? Had enough?"
This was Dana, hissing in Roy's right ear. Being the new kid on the bus, Roy didn't expect any help from the others. The "cowgirl" remark was so lame, it wasn't worth getting mad about. Dana was a well-known idiot, on top of which he outweighed Roy by at least fifty pounds. Fighting back would have been a complete waste of energy.
"Had enough yet? We can't hear you, Tex." Dana's breath smelled like stale cigarettes. Smoking and beating up smaller kids were his two main hobbies.
"Yeah, okay," Roy said impatiently. "I've had enough."
As soon as he was freed, Roy lowered the window and stuck out his head. The strange boy was gone.
Who was he? What was he running from?
Roy wondered if any of the other kids on the bus had seen what he'd seen. For a moment he wondered if he'd really seen it himself.
That same morning, a police officer named David Delinko was sent to the future site of another Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House. It was a vacant lot at the corner of East Oriole and Woodbury, on the eastern edge of town.
Officer Delinko was met by a man in a dark blue pickup truck. The man, who was as bald as a beach ball, introduced himself as Curly. Officer Delinko thought the bald man must have a good sense of humor to go by such a nickname, but he was wrong. Curly was cranky and unsmiling.
"You should see what they done," he said to the policeman.
"Who?"
"Follow me," the man called Curly said.
Officer Delinko got in step behind him. "The dispatcher said you wanted to report some vandalism."
"That's right," Curly grunted over his shoulder.
The policeman couldn't see what there was to be vandalized on the property, which was basically a few acres of scraggly weeds. Curly stopped walking and pointed at a short piece of lumber on the ground. A ribbon of bright pink plastic was tied to one end of the stick. The other end was sharpened and caked with gray dirt.
Curly said, "They pulled 'em out."
"That's a survey stake?" asked Officer Delinko.
"Yep. They yanked 'em out of the ground, every damn one.
"Probably just kids."
"And then they threw'em every which way," Curly said, waving a beefy arm, "and then they filled in the holes."
"That's a little weird," the policeman remarked. "When did this happen?"
"Last night or early this morning," Curly said. "Maybe it don't look like a big deal, but it's gonna take a while to get the site marked out again. Meantime, we can't start clearin' or gradin' or nuthin'. We got backhoes and dozers already leased, and now they gotta sit. I know it don't look like the crime of the century, but still-"
"I understand," said Officer Delinko. "What's your estimate of the monetary damage?"
"Damage?"
"Yes. So I can put it in my report." The policeman picked up the survey stake and examined it. "It's not really broken, is it?"
"Well, no-"
"Were any of them destroyed?" asked Officer Delinko. "How much does one of these things cost-a buck or two?"
The man called Curly was losing his patience. "They didn't break none of the stakes," he said gruffly.
"Not even one?" The policeman frowned. He was trying to figure out what to put in his report. You can't have vandalism without monetary damages, and if nothing on the property was broken or defaced....
"What I'm tryin' to explain," Curly said irritably, "it's not that they messed up the survey stakes, it's them screwing up our whole construction schedule. That's where it'll cost some serious bucks."
From the Hardcover edition.
Excerpted from Hoot by Carl Hiaasen Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
"Hoot", by Carl Hiassen,is about three teenage kids who are trying to save a family of burrowing owls from being bulldozed to make a pancake house.Roy Eberhardt is the first main character in the story.On the school bus he sees a boy running with no shoes on, who he calls "the running boy".He later finds out the kids nickname which is Mullet Fingers,because he can catch a mullet(a small blue fish with his hands. Beatrice Leep is the third main character and is Mullet Fingers step sister.In the end of the story we find out Mullet Fingers real name is Napoleon Bridger Leep.
My favorite chapter is chapter twenty. In this chapter a good fraction of Trace Middle School(the school where Roy and Beatrice attend)came to protest that the new pancake house called,"Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House",will destroy the burrowing owl homes.I really like this chapter because it shows that if enough people care about the same thing ,they will stand together to make a difference.In the end of the story the pancake house company saw the owls and shut down their construction.
Carl Hiaasen made the book really enjoyable for me and it has a great message.The message is never stop trying, because the main characters never stopped trying to save the owls.
I believe the age group for this book should be twelve and up,due to the use of some bad words.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.tchrreader
Posted May 31, 2010
This is a great book and a fun story to read. It should be in every classroom and children should read this one snuggled up in bed at night. There are great characters and a fun story line. It shows you that even children can have opinions and make a difference! The baby owls will be killed because of the construction that is moving in to make a pancake house. How will the community, specifically the kids help these small helpless creatures. This is a book that you don't want to miss. The movie is good, the book is better.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.brandywinemiddleschool
Posted May 18, 2009
I Also Recommend:
this book is about a boy named roy who lives in sunny california he just move from montana where he had to leave alof his friends.Now he has to deal with all sort of problems the three major are 1: dana matherson is a big fat bully that smokes cigarrates and is now picking on roy how will he ever get rid of him answer:read the book. 2:there is a strange boy he sees running and he thinks its odd because he had no shoes and backpack sp he discovers his ame is mullet fingers and he is trying to solve a prromblem with somelittle owls that are about as tall as a bear can.answer:read the book! 3:roy has to choose between his heart and his brains his heart tells him to help mullet fingers to save the owls his brain tells him to do what is right and just ignore the owls.answer:read the book
this is a really good book and i think evrybody should read it . it took me 2days and a half to read this 234 page book.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Mother Paula's pancake house owners want to build a new pancake house the only problem is the owls are in the ground where they want to build it! The Owls are going to get killed. Who and how will they save them? In Carl Hiaasen's book Hoot these are all primary questions. Roy is a curious, interesting, and brave character, but when he has to risk his freedom and break the law its going to take more than being brave. There is also a strange, mysterious, and environment loving character named Mullet.
Now Roy and Mullet are on a mission to save the owls but how? It would be hard to prove the owls exist but what if they can delay the pancake houses start of the building process. So Roy and Mullet thought of a brilliant idea, what if they vandalized the construction site, risky but saving the owls is definitely more important.
Readers will be craving for more Hoot a heartwarming, bittersweat story that any young reader will love. Hiaasen did a great job on this book winning the Newberry Honor.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 24, 2012
I love hoot it made me get the whole book i cant wait to see the movie.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.good kids book. picked up this one to read first then give to our 7yr old.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 6, 2009
I Also Recommend:
Hoot, a book by Carl Hiaasen, takes place in Florida. A boy named Roy has just moved into town and attends Trace Middle School. Dana Matherson, the biggest bully in the school, has the time of his life beating up Roy. One day, Roy spots a running boy with no shoes and tries to figure out who he is. At the same time, a whole other story is happening. Many bad events keep on occurring at this certain construction site. The two stories are just beginning to link together.
This book is filled with very fun, exciting, and interesting scenes, but it is also boring at times. Hoot is written in a way that gives you a lot of information, but also doesn't say many things. This technique is good because it makes you want to know what will happen next. The story is well written and keeps you very sucked in. With two stories going on at once, you can not take your hands off of it.
- Reviewed By Ava Awesomely
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Hoot by Carl Hiassen.
Hoot Is a Intresting, Intense, brain- igniting book, full of intresting events, like when Roy's Daad works for the government, and he still his friend, illegaly go destroy a building site for Mother Paula's All americnan pancake house, to save the owl's. He tries to tell the company that there is a endangerd breed of animals on their property that they will kill, but they just recive a cheesy letter in the mail. Although this book is great because no matter what they have to do, nothing will stop them from saving those Owl's.
When the law gets involved, there are so many distractions to make their cause. They have guards and police, and dogs gaurding the construction site, which is making saving the owl's get in the way of saving the owl's
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 28, 2008
playaway
Hoot
Realistic fiction
by Carl Hiaasen
Hoot is a book that will feel like a slow boring roller coster with no twist or turns along the way. The books starts off with a boy named Roy Eberhardt, who see a boy that was running down the road. Not knowing that he was the reason that a pancake house construction site was sabotaged from being made, if it does gets built then dozens of burrowing owls would be buried alive. Roy sees him almost every day through his bus window, on his bus. One day he decides to figure out where he¿s, leaving his bus, but just before he could Dana Matherson, the bully, comes and try's to choke him, he brakes free (after punching him in the face) and sprints off the bus. He bumps a girl as he leaves, almost knocking her over. will he find out why this boy is running? You have to read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen to find out.
Roy Eberhardt thinks he¿s a coward, he thinks he might die if Dana attacks him (again), but he gets help from one of his only friends Beatrice who is a lot stronger than roy. She is almost twice the size of Roy, has blond curly hair, and loves playing soccer, she gets very angry when someone comes between her and the ball. Together these two, and a mysterious running boy, can help stop dozens of owl from dying.
Over all Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen, was a not so bad book, it wasn¿t amazing but it wasn¿t the worst book of all time either. It takes awhile to get into the book, and it didn¿t have that much action, but it did have some thing to keep the reader going, there was also some comedy between roy, the bully, and the vice principle. We give this book a 7.25/10.00.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 6, 2012
You have tp read this
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2012
ther is a girl named lindzee going around telling poele to get horney and she can have sex with them. She is also saying she will send topless picts. Pleez ignore or tell her to stop. This is extremely inapropriate behavior and it needs to stop
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Posted February 3, 2012
I thought this was a great book and I sugest that anyone who likes books that involve justice for the outspoken will love this.
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Posted January 31, 2012
This book is one of the best books i ever read it now
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Posted January 31, 2012
Hoot is a great book. Although it does have some bad language it is a fun, and exciting book.
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Posted January 30, 2012
This book is fun and i enjoed it but the movie is bettr
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Posted January 27, 2012
This book is also anouther good book. This book is better then good it is awsome it blew my mind. I just love the book Hoot!
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Posted January 26, 2012
I think this is the best book ever
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Posted January 24, 2012
This book is awsome.And weird but awsome!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 21, 2012
This book rocks!!! I love owls!! Thanks Carl!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 20, 2012
Hoot is a book about a boy named Roy who is always moving. When he meets this one boy Mullet Fingers he starts to realize that he is someone who can make a differnce, even though he is meeting some nasty creatures like....... Read the book and find out! P.S this is the book in the galazy!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
Overview
Unfortunately, Roy’s first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, 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 intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and–here’s the odd part–wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.Roy has most ...