A review by ashmeanything
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

3.5

3.5/5 - Hoot was fun to revisit! As expected, it's still very cute. I see why it was made into a movie and gained the popularity it did, but honestly? The book could be a lot better. The tension is way off; when you get over the likeability of the characters, you realize that the plot is really back-heavy and doesn't have a pacing that really sets it up. The split-POV narration leaves out some critical viewpoints, in my opinion. I'd love more exposition on how Mullet Fingers learned about the owls, for example; instead we are dropped in the middle and never get to fully catch up. I suppose it's automatic that Roy would like owls, because he's a nature guy! In actuality, the reader doesn't really learn much about him as a main character, but he's a sweet and relatable kid, so it's easy to gloss over. It's a lot of tell, not show. Lastly, I'm not sure why so much time was spent on explaining and showing abusive family relationships, as those never do anything beyond semi-explain why the kids do weird things. It very much feels like a situation where the author didn't know what else to do.

Is it enjoyable and nostalgic? Definitely. It is technically sound? Somewhat. I had a good time but am not itching to re-read this again. I learned that this was the author's first non-adult book, and that makes sense. I'd like to read his other work.