Book Nook - Hoot

First of all, my apologies for my lack of posting lately.  I have been diligently working on a knitting project, not to mention that I have had this yucky cold for 2 weeks!  But I'm happy to say that the cold is finally going away & that the knitting project is complete (well, there are a bunch more in the queue.....but this one is done), so I'm hoping to be on here a little bit more!

OK, onto Monday Book Nook.  Have you ever read any of Carl Hiassen's novels?  If you haven't, you must - they are great!  He has this formula to his writing that I just love - an honorable protagonist whose heart is in the right place, plotting & scheming bad guys, an anti-development/pro-environmental message, a plot where everything comes to a very satisfying end, all amidst the heat & quirkiness of Florida.  I've read a few of his novels & they've all followed this formula, but that's ok because it works!  They are all light-hearted, funny & just a really good read.  Hoot, which is the first one of Hiassen's novels I've read that is geared towards younger readers, is no exception.

Hoot tells the story of Roy Eberhardt, a middle school student who has moved from Montana to Florida  with his parents.  Roy has made some friends at his new school, but he has also made an enemy: the school bully, Dana Matherson.  One day, while Dana is roughing Roy up on the bus, Roy sees a boy, about his age he guesses, running barefoot with a look of determination.  Roy is determined to find out who this Running Boy is & what he is doing.  In the process, Roy befriends Beatrice, who is a tough girl on the soccer team.  He also learns about burrowing owls and their precarious situation - a popular pancake restaurant is planned to be built on the land where the burrowing owls live.  Someone is trying to stop the development by pulling pranks such as putting crocodiles in the port-o-potty & pulling out the chairs of the bulldozers.  Can the constuction foreman & the local police stop the vandals?  How far is Roy willing to go to do what he believes is right?  And who in their right mind would tape snakes' mouths shut?

Reading Hoot reminded me how much I love Carl Hiassen's writing & makes me want to get to my library to get more.  They are all fast reads, so I'm hoping to get another one of his novels in soon.

I read this one on CD, narrated by Chad Lowe, who does a great job.  If you like audiobooks, try this one out.  Actually, if you like books (audio or otherwise) check this one out.  You won't be disappointed!

Cheryl