Audio Review: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

March 7th, 2010 | 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Audio Book Review, Book Review, G-I, Mystery, YA Genre

bookreview

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

Title: Hoot
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Format: Unabridged Audio Book
Narrator: Chad Lowe
# CDs + Minutes: 6 CDs (6 hours and 25 minutes)
Grade Reading Level: Ages 12+

Summary: Roy Eberheardt moves to Florida. On the first day of a new school he spies Napoleon running to an old ice cream truck. Unlikely friends, the two team up with a third, Napoleon's sister Beatrice, in order to save an endangered owl species habitat from developers. But the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House corporation will do anything it takes to stop them. Can the trio prove the existence of the owls in time to save them?

Why I Started the Book:

I've seen the movie a while ago and wanted to know if the book was as interesting as I remembered the movie to be.

Likes:

I liked how Mullet Fingers aka Napoleon is very adventurous. He never seemed frightened of what was happening or what might happen. He never gave up, and did anything he could.
The numerous pranks the trio did against the pancake house construction site and team. My favorite was when alligators were put in the toilet. Look before you sit!
It was clever when Napoleon had to be taken to the hospital to treat a dog wound and the kids all pretended Napoleon was actually Roy.

Dislikes:

I didn’t like when the vice principle was talking to Roy about Roy's retaliation against the school bully Dana. Where was the principle's talk to Dana? It didn't seem very fair.
Chad Lowe, the narrator, wasn't a very good reader compared to others I've had the pleasure of listening to. Don't get me wrong, he wasn’t awful, but he wasn't very good either. I had a hard time getting involved in the story and my attention wandered a lot. The more I think about it, the more I feel I should have read the book as opposed to listening to it.

Buy: Hoot (Audio Book), Hoot (Paperback)

Book Rating: I give this book 3.5 treasure chests!
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