Reviews

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

fawning_over_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny reflective
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

wietse111's review

Go to review page

4.0

Klassieke Hiaasen. Vrouw met woede-probleem met een lieve zoon. Natuur goed, wereld slecht. Leest heerlijk weg

kathydavie's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

The title certainly fits. Honey is almost obsessive about the environment and manners. A sweet and crazy romance peopled with losers. Some of 'em I liked and some of 'em....eeyew... It's scary that there're really people like that out there. An enjoyable read out in the Everglades with a kayak tour of some of the 10,000 islands along with hostages, helicopter rescues, and love.

novelette's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Not that interesting

betseyboo's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Good laughs and a relaxing read. A great vacation novel.

battspierre's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Not Hiaasen's best work, but enjoyable overall.

book_concierge's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Book on CD read by Lee Adams



Once again, Hiaasen takes readers to the Florida wilderness – this time to the Ten Thousand Islands, of Southwestern Florida. Honey Santana is righteous in her indignation, smart, resourceful and possibly bipolar. She’s had it with people’s lack of civility and decides to take a stand when telemarketer Boyd Shreave calls her a “dried up old skank.” She tracks him down and tricks him in to believing he’s won a trip to a lovely eco-resort. Now she’s taken him and his mistress, Eugenie, on a kayak trip into the mangrove thickets. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s being followed by her former boss, the lecherous and obsessed Piejack, who is, in turn, being followed by Honey’s ex-husband, Perry, and their 12-year-old son, Fry. And all of them find they are intruding on the half-Seminole, half-white Sammy Tigertail, who just wants to be a hermit, despite the college coed who’s more than willing to be his hostage.



This is typical Hiaasen: zany antics, colorful phrases, quirky characters, and women who always outsmart the bad guys (or the good guys, for that matter). The plots are full of twists and turns, and imaginative coincidental meetings that bring these disparate people together. As unbelievable as the story is, it’s all great fun. A fast, enjoyable read.



Lee Adams does a fine job reading the audio version. She has great pacing and sufficient skill as a voice artist to differentiate the various characters; I particularly loved her Piejack and Gillian.

aubrey_the_explorer's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

For the majority of the book I didn't like it. Every person is another level of crazy. It's a pretty insane plot that I didn't care for. On the up side the ending of the story is very enjoyable.

books_n_cats_1973's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I enjoyed this book because I somewhat identify with the main character, Honey Santana, of which is at times, manic. She gets her mind set on these projects for which she may not come to her senses early on in assessing the risk verses the reward. I have found myself in situations like this many times in life. However, how can I say this is a bad thing? Perhaps some of my mania has brought about fruition whereas I had not considered following through with something. It was nice that Honey got back together with her ex-husband of whom originally divorced her because of her character. I always like a happy ending of reuniting, especially when there is a kid involved as in this story. This was not a great piece of literature alluding to something akin to the Road by Cormac McCarthy or the Gold Finch by Donna Tart. However, it was a nice read, or I should say, listen to pass the time with an audio book downloaded from the Dayton Public Library's digital collection to my phone.

constantreader471's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 stars for a hilarious book about some truly wacky people in South Florida. The book starts with a telemarketing call to Honey Santana, a possibly bipolar woman who has stopped taking her medication. When Boyd Shreave calls her "a dried up old skank," she vows to take revenge. This begins a wild and laugh out loud tale of dysfunctional people causing mayhem.
Some of the characters:
Honey Santana, divorced single mother, still friends with her husband
Perry Skinner, Honey's ex husband and father of her twelve year old son
Fry, Honey's son, who is aware of his mother's erratic behavior and tries to prevent her from getting into trouble.
Sammy Tigertail, a half Seminole Indian who has decided to return to the wilderness of his Seminole ancestors
Gillian, a college coed who likes Sammy, despite his efforts to get her to leave him alone
Mr. Piejack, who was Honey's employer, until he grabbed her breast, and she whacked him in the family jewels before quitting
A Private investigator named Dealey, hired by Boyd Shreave's wife to find proof that Boyd is cheating on her.
I read this library book in 3 days. If you like Dave Barry's humor, you will like this book.