All he had to do was settle the argument between his heart and his brain.

Carl Hiaasen’s Hoot is a story about friendships, making the best of your situation, and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. It tracks many characters, but focuses on middle schooler Roy Eberhardt who moved from Montana to Florida and desperately misses his old life. Roy notices and becomes fascinated with the mystery of a strange barefoot running boy, the pursuit of whom gets Roy entangled with many interesting characters and questionable adventures. He finds himself in the thick of a battle over protected grounds and defenseless creatures.

The story does a great job of underscoring the characters’ different incentives and motivations, which builds for the reader a full picture of why the events unfold the way that they do. This story would make a great read-aloud book for students in Grades 4-6. There are some cross-curricular connections with Science and Social Studies as the book presents some ideas about environmentalism in the face of financial interests, societal and governmental dynamics, and doing what is right.

Hoot will have you itching to read the next chapter to find out how things continue to develop for Roy. Give it a go, you will be having a hoot in no time.