Hoot is an entertaining
story for young people set in Trace Middle School in Coconut Grove, Florida. 
Its hero is Roy Eberhardt, who recently arrived in town from Montana.  Roy
misses his old home state and he doesn’t have any friends in his new school. 
What’s more, he is being harassed by a bully, Dana Matherson, who rides the
same school bus.  So when Roy spots another mysterious boy from the school bus,
running barefoot on the sidewalk, maybe he identifies with the outsider.  The
next time he sees the boy, he jumps out of the bus and starts following him. 
Eventually, Roy manages to meet the boy called "Mullet Fingers" and
finds out his surprising history.  In doing so, he also finds out about a
project to develop some land into a site for a pancake house.  In a parallel
subplot, the earnest Officer Delinko gets involved in a series of pratfalls which
provide some added humor to the novel.  Hiaasen, known for his semi-comic novels
for adults that often deal with eco-terrorism in South Florida, has a talent
for writing a briskly-paced story that keeps the reader’s attention.  Hoot
is not a book with great psychological insights about adolescence, but it is
still a smart and fun read. 

The unabridged audiobook is read nicely
by Chad Lowe. 

Links:

• Publisher’s
  website for audiobook.
• Author website.

© 2003 Christian
Perring. All rights reserved.