Hoot

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

AR Reading Level: 5.2
On the library stacks: YA/Children's Fiction
Awards: ALA Notable/Best Books; Young Reader's Choice Award/Nominee; Agatha Award; Newbery Honor; IRA's Teachers' Choice Award; Parent's Guide Book Award/ Honor Book; Smithsonian's Notable Book
Recommended for: Grade 6+

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book ages ago at a used bookstore. I even started it once before, but for some reason I was in the right mood this time. I thought this was a really fun book!

Roy is a newbie Florida kid who gets beat up on the bus, follows a running boy who has no shoes, and ends up fighting the construction of a pancake house where protected owls have their burrows. There is an excellent cast of supporting characters including:

• Curly, the pancake house foreman
  
• Dana, the dim-witted bully
• Beatrice, the soccer chick
• Chuck Muckle, a VP at Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House
• Officer Delinko, the police officer in charge of investigating strange acts of vandalism at the pancake house site.

I also loved Roy's parents and was very pleased at what a positive influence they had in this book. There is a little bit of junior high potty humor present, but I think kids of that age will love this book. I need to see the movie now!

Also reviewed by: So Many Books, So Little Time ~ Your link here?

Book 64 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge, Book 27 of 50 for the RYOB Challenge, Book 30 of 50 for the YA Reading Challenge, Book 47 of 55 for the Countdown Challenge (2002), Book 40 of 50 for the New Author Challenge

Source: Purchased