Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen

Here at In the Middle (of a Good Book), we've been on a Hiaasen reading spree, so here's our third review of one of his books!
Name: -Aligator-

Grade: 6
Book Title; Hoot
Format: Paperback
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Number of pages: 304
Price: Library copy. Maybe around 10-20 dollars.

Short Summary:
Hey everyone! At the blog, we have a Carl Hiaasen Theme. So, I`m doing, Hoot. First off, Hoot is an amazing book. The main character, Roy, is used to being the new kid, and guess what? He gets to be it, again. Dana is the Trace Middle School bully. And when Roy is sitting by himself on the bus, Dana can`t wait to smash the new kid's face into the window. But Roy sees more than the foggy glass window. He sees a barefoot boy, not much younger than Roy himself. And when Roy decides to follow the boy, he gets into trouble, and into the best owl-saving plan ever...

My favorite part of the book is when everybody gathers with picket signs to protest against the new restaurant. It`s a total "good-guys always win!" moment. One of the book's weaknesses was it was all kinda set up, so to speak. Everything was a little too perfect.... I think that if you were to put in some scenes where they almost get caught, it would make the book just a little bit better, because Hoot is a perfect book altogether. Anyone will fall in love with this great book. Another book on my Christmas list. Really, if you haven`t read Hoot, you were either lost for the past while, or your friends just forgot to tell you....

Rating: 5/5 chocolate bars
Appropriateness: Fairy princess
Cover Thoughts: The cover is amazing. Not so detailed and eye popping, but think, most of the books out there are just that. Eye popping and detailed. It`s nice to see a simple book cover for a change. Personally, I think it`s a great cover!

The Dead Face Girl

Original Fiction by flickagirl

Chapter 1

Me


This first chapter will not be like most first chapters. Usually, in the first chapter of a book, you learn the main character's name. But I don't have one. Not a real one, anyway. My foster mother calls me Abigail, but that sounds too sharp, not like me at all. The one person who loves me calls me Honey, but most people just call me the dead face girl.

Now I should probably tell you what I look like, to deserve such an awful title. I have long black hair that almost always drapes over my face. I'm short for my age, only four foot eleven, and I always wear dark clothes (mostly because the sight of me in bright colors would make everyone drop dead, literally). Even though these are the things that you notice about me right away, if you're lucky, none of them is the thing that really gets people, the thing that earned me my name, no. That prize belongs to the thing lurking behind the curtain of black hair. Yep, you guessed it. My face.

People who are brave enough to talk to me tell me that I look like a zombie, a freak of nature. I know from the few times I've looked in the mirror that those people are right. My face has no expression what-so-ever. It's true, I look dead. No matter how hard I try to smile, no matter how much makeup my foster mother smears on me, I still look that way. And I always will.

Scat, by Carl Hiaasen

A book review by dirigibleplum7

Title: Scat
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Format:  Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Price:  Got it from library, but it costs $16.99

Hello peoples! I just read SCAT by Carl Hiaasen for my first quarter book report, and it was wonderful! And let me just say, Hiaasen has wowed us again! 

Anyways, Scat has just the right amount of all the different qualities of a terrific read. It's full of mystery,suspense, and a titch of romance (but nothing too mushy, trust me guys, you'll like it too!) 

It all starts when the most feared teacher in school, Mrs.Starch, disappears on a field trip to the black vine swamp.  Nick and his crush, Marta, team up to crack the case. 

"Coincidentally,"  Mrs.Starch's arch-enemy student, Dwayne (who is also the school bully), doesn't show up the day of the field trip. The principal even takes a trip to Dwayne's house to see why he was absent. Dwayne's father claims that Dwayne told him he was going camping, and he hasn't seen him since. After a week of no Mrs. Starch, the police are called in to investigate, and they end up interviewing the teachers and students about the disappearance of Mrs. Starch and Dwayne (aka-'Smoke', as the other students call him). When an officer interviews the principal, he is told that this isn't the first time Dwayne has been reported. And that he is secretly a pyro. 

Does Dwayne's disappearance have something to do with Mrs.Starch going missing? Find out in this heart-pounding Hiaassen novel! - dirigibleplum7

Rating: 5 out of 5 chocolate bars

Appropriateness: FAIRY PRINCESS

Where I got it: at the library, (but i would imagine it to be at local book stores too)
Cover Thoughts:  It's okay--it's bright.

Flush, by Carl Hiassen

A book review by CeCe07

Title: Flush
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Format: hard cover
Length: 272 pages
Price: unknown-library book

This is a book called Flush, by Carl Hiaasen. I read it over the summer, and I could not keep my eyes off of it! It is about this boy named Noah, whose parents are divorced. He also has a little sister named Abbey who is caught in the middle of all this. His mom is a stay-at-home mom, and his dad used to be a charter boat fisherman. They live in a small town in Florida near Miami.

Noah's dad got arrested and is currently in jail for sinking Dusty Muleman's gambling boat named the Coral Queen. Noah's father saw Dusty dumping the waste from his ship into the water by the pier but has no physical evidence of it happening. Plus there is this washed-up piece of man named Lice Peeking who is greedy and is drunk half of the time. He tries to help Noah but ends up making things worse. Shelly is a bartender on the ship who helps Noah and Abbey but is not a big fan of Dusty; they have an odd past together. There is also a "pirate" who keeps coming in at the last second and saving Noah and Abbey. Please read this heart-pounding, mind-racing novel, and find out the magic Carl Hiaasen has written on the pages of this book.

Rating: 5 chocolate bars
Appropriateness: Mild language some fighting


Cover Thoughts: very appropriate with a hint of humor

Kickoff Post!

Hello Blog Followers,

This year, we are welcoming in some new people, and saying goodbye to some old people. Also,   Little Angel has become Ms.Hoole’s second in command. For the kickoff post this year, we asked people their favorite quote and book. By the way, an ‘n’ by a username mean that they are new.  You can check out their bios on our Behind The Scenes page!


Here are the people and their info:
Skate4life:
Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
“Life is a shiny distraction.”


Giraffegater(n):
The Hunger Games“Let it be”


ThierryHenry14(n):
Percy Jackson books
“Great moments are born from great opportunities.”


Goatboy:
Artemis Fowl“Read, Write, Act, or Die."


DimensionGirl12(n):
Jack Blank“We walk with faith, not with sight.”

Pinkmuffinkitty(n):
A Child Called ItNo Quote

Dirigibleplum7(n):
Harry Potter books
No Quote

GIRLover230(n):
Any book that isn’t old!
"Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead."

Fluzziness:
Out of My Mind“Music is what feelings sound like.”

CeCe07(n):
Book 12 in: The Series of Unfortunate Events"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Rabid>DustBunnies(n):
Ranger's Apprentice"Just stick your head up like someone stuck a fish under it."

And finally,
Balloonacy:
Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?"