Book Report: HOOT!

This book is called, ‘HOOT’ written by Carl Hiassen. It is a touching story about saving owls and fighting for what you believe in. The main characters are Roy, Beatrice and Mullet Fingers (Napoleon Bridge Leap). Roy is a teenaged boy who is bullied by the big, Dana Matherson. One day, he sees a boy running as fast as the wind. He is intrigued and determined to find out where that boy was running to and why. But then, the next day, Beatrice ( a teenaged girl) steps in to tell Roy to mind his own business. She does this because she wants to protect her step-brother from getting found out and put in an orphanage. But, Roy doesn’t stop his investigations and soon uncovers the mystery of Mullet Fingers’ (Beatrice’s name for him) mysteriousness. He wants to help the owls. He gets snakes, to feed the owls. Finally, Beatrice, Mullet Fingers and Roy agree to work together to save the owls from getting completely destroyed. They will get destroyed because the Mother Paula Pancake House are creating a new branch in Coconut Cove. These are one of the places where owls burrow. So, Mullet Fingers tries to annoy and scare the Mother Paula Company off by spray painting the Police Squad Car with black paint, putting alligators in the Truck’s Toilet Bowl and many more tricks. Beatrice and Roy are fearless. They try their best to scare of the dangerous dogs, beastly people and delay the Construction. At the Opening Ceremony for the All-American-Pancake-House, Roy and Beatrice bring along friends and many posters. Everyone protests for the Pancake House to be torn down since the company has no authority to bury the owls. And, thanks to Roy and his researching skills, we got to know that Florida is possessive about their birds and protects them. Even the actress playing Mother Paula, Kimberly Lou Dixon, is against this. ‘I don’t wanna work for a company who would bury helpless owls just to sell a few Flapjacks.’ The owls are saved and all is well. Mullet Fingers or Napoleon Bridge Leep is on the run again. 

What I Feel about This Book:

• I think this book was a very powerful book. It left a big impression and mark on me. In the days after finishing the book, I used to smile and nod to myself when I came across a bird in school. I felt more passionate about taking care of these helpless creatures who rely on us for food and shelter. And when we are as cruel as the Mother Paula Company, these birds can’t carry on. They will need homes, which are about to get buried. They need food which is normally found on the ground and in trees, which is going to get broken down to build the Pancake House.

• I could relate to this book and some of the big incidents because in one of the adventures I’ve had in my own life, I’ve made a handmade bird nest with my friend; also, a few of my other friends have spotted a bird who was hurt and tried to help it recover.  

• Roy’s family and Beatrice’s family is different in many ways. Firstly, Roy’s family is much more enthusiastic and supportive of Roy in what he feels is good. Of course, they do question him but then they finally see the good meaning in it. Whereas in Beatrice’s family, they wouldn’t even care what their daughter and stepdaughter did. Roy’s family interacts with Roy and the parents get along well but Beatrice’s stepmother is always fighting with her father because she has bought a lot with his credit card. 

• Mullet Fingers vandalized the construction site and the Detective’s Squad car. He wasn’t justified in doing this because he has absolutely no right to take the law into his own hands. However, he was right on one hand since Mother Paula’s hadn’t the authority to bury helpless owls. In the end, Mullet Fingers managed to show many people how owls were getting hurt and how Mother Paula’s new branch would bury these owls. He even showed Kimberly Lou-Dixon (Mother Paula) who didn’t know about this terrifying process that the company would bury owls. 

• I like how Mullet Fingers earned his nickname from his stepsister: it was because of his ability to catch a mullet fish with his bare hands (and fingers). It made me think that since I have a passion to write stories and often have flashes of ideas, my nickname might be: Story Lightning! Or, since I like testing the pH of the water, I might be called: Hydrogen Tester! What would yours be? 

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9.5 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING HOOT!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $6.00!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £5.73!

Book Report: HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

This book is called ‘HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE’. It is written by J.K. Rowling . It’s about a boy named Harry Potter who has to live with his horrible relatives because his parents were killed by a Wizard. Yes. A Wizard. Now young Harry is actually a Wizard himself, but doesn’t know it because his relatives treat him even worse than a human. Petunia and Vernon (Harry’s Aunt and Uncle) are trying to keep this secret from Harry and their son because they don’t want anybody to know about their relationship with the Potters. But when mysterious letters start dropping and a big hairy man comes and looks for Harry, it’s going to be almost impossible to keep the secret. The big hairy man’s name is Hagrid. Despite the fact that Pertunia and Vernon have moved thrice to get away from the letters, Hagrid reaches them and manages to get a letter to them. He is the Keeper of the Keys in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally, Petunia and Vernon let Harry go with Hagrid to Hogwarts for a year and Harry makes some incredible new friends; Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are two of his new best friends. Hermione is a very clever girl although her parents are Muggles (not wizards or witches). Ron is quite silly but sometimes makes great conclusions and adds a lot to the story. Together, they solve the mystery of the Philosophers stone and Harry meets his dreaded enemy- Voldemort. (Yes, I actually said his name.) In the end, Harry manages to destroy the Philosopher’s Stone. But, the story doesn’t end there... You’ve got to read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to know what happens next.

I LOVE the Harry Potter Series and am a HUGE fan. So instead of sharing what I like (which is everything), I want to share some interesting details and facts today : 

Did you know this about Harry Potter? :

·   That JK Rowling included King's Cross Station in her stories because her parents met there for the first time.

·   That she described the Euston station (instead of the actual Kings Cross Station) in the book.

·   That she made Harry Potter an orphan because her mum died at the time she was writing it so she wanted to make the readers feel the sorrow she was experiencing. 

·   That there is a Harry Potter Studio in Leavesden near London? I have been there and loved it. It is a giant, lovely place with lots of halls, corridors and the real movie sets. At the Entrance, you can see the flying car from the ceiling and you can see Harry's room under the stairs! I bought Hermione's wand but mum says that the only magic it did was make '25 pounds disappear' :) There is also a Harry Potter Walk in London I highly recommend for any Harry Potter fan.  

·   That there are 2 titles for this book: one book is called Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and one is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone.  Well, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is JK Rowling’s true writing, with hardly any edits; but Sorcerers Stone has been edited by someone a lot so they changed the title to mark the difference. 

I WOULD RATE THIS BOOK 10 OUT OF 10!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $6.74!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £20.50!

Book Report: JUNGLE BOOK

This book is called, ‘JUNGLE BOOK’ written by Rudyard Kipling. It is about a human boy named Mowgli whose Father was killed by a tiger. Since then, Mowgli lives with a pack of wolves who treat him like family. One day, Mowgli makes friends with the mischievous monkeys who are up to no good. The monkeys kidnap him and take him to their area, trying to make him their king. Baloo, Mowgli’s bear friend, and his Panther friend, Bagheera, save him and he get’s taken home. But suddenly, when Shere Khan (the lion who killed Mowgli’s father) threatens to kill Mowgli, Bagheera tells him that he has to go back to the human village where he is safest. Mowgli argues but Bagheera takes no heed. That night, Mowgli creeps back into the Wolf Territory with ‘The Red Flower’ or in other words, fire. He wants to use this to fight Shere Khan. Shere Khan laughs it off but then when Mowgli fights like a man with lots of fire, Shere Khan gets defeated. Mowgli is now a proper man.

What I like about the book:

• This lovely book is a very popular book all over the world. I have seen the cartoon movie an innumerable number of times and the book was definitely as good. I would recommend this book to people of all ages as it’s funny and adventurous. It’s also a little bit sad.
• At first, I thought Mowgli was a girl because of his long hair. But when I was reading the book, I finally realised that he was a boy.

• I learnt two lessons in the book. The first one is to know that out there, somebody loves you very deeply and somehow, you will fit in. The second one is to stand up for what you believe in, This is best portrayed in Mowgli, who fights for the wolves, and who fights for himself.
• Rudyard Kipling was sent away to England with his sister, Alice, to attend boarding school. The author was not living with his family and was sent away to live with other people whom he didn’t get along with very well. Doesn’t this connect a little bit to The Jungle Book? He might have gotten a bit of inspiration when he experienced this.
• At the end of the book, there were some tips and prompts for writing your own animal story. One was: How would you feel if you were raised by animals? I found this very interesting and might even write a story on it. Would you?

I WOULD RATE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING JUNGLE BOOK!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $4.12!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £4.09!

Book Report: PERCY JACKSON AND THE TITAN'S CURSE

This book is called, ‘PERCY JACKSON AND THE TITAN’S CURSE’, written by Rick Riordan. It is about a boy named Percy who has dyslexia. He is a half-blood which means he is part God and part human. This puts Percy in many dangers. (Percy has appeared in another book report with his friends, Grover, and Annabeth). He and his half-blood friends find two new half-bloods. They try to keep them safe. However, in the process, one of Percy’s friends, Annabeth and The Goddess of Hunting Artemis, get kidnapped while escaping. Zoe Nightshade, the best Hunter of Artemis, takes a few heroes for her quest and they embark on a perilous journey to restore order in Camp Half-Blood. Percy and his team save Annabeth and Artemis and defeat the monster, Atlas.

What I like about the book:

• This book is the third in the Percy Jackson series. It has been one of the most intense Percy Jackson reads so far. Rick Riordan’s style is mysterious and action-packed. It opens up a new door in my mind to take on action-packed stories.
• I like how Rick Riordan joins everything and every little detail and concept up so well. It’s like rope hanging and joining from one end to the other! He leaves the rope hanging for us to solve the mystery and joins it up in an amazing way. I really like this about his books! For example,
• One lesson that I learnt in the book was not to trust blindly because you may not see the danger coming otherwise. This is best portrayed in Atlas and Zoe because Zoe is Atlas’s daughter and then he kills her! At least I know my parents would never do that :)
• Finally… FUN time! Read the book and answer the questions:

1. Zoe, after she dies, turns into…?
2. Annabeth and Luke are best friends and love each other. True or False?
3. Thalia is 7 years old. True or False?
4. What is the name of the manticore?
5. Who is Bianca Di Angelo?

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING PERCY JACKSON AND THE TITAN’S CURSE!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $6.48!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £5.73!