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Denae Christine's Reviews > Hoot
Hoot
by
by
Reader thoughts: I guess the writing was okay. The research was deplorable.
1, Construction sites. The first thing a construction site will do after vandalism (or mischief) is to hire 24/7 security. I know because my husband used to work as a security guard for construction sites. They don't just tell the local police and expect the police to keep an eye on the site.
Plus, the first thing should be tilling the land (thus getting rid of all owl burrows), not waiting until after staking out the place.
Plus, if the crew has the equipment, what are they waiting for? In this book, they keep waiting for "tomorrow" or "Monday morning" instead of just finishing. Plenty of construction crews work in the evening/night or on weekends, especially if you're behind schedule.
2, Emergency Departments. ERs have locked doors between the waiting room and the rest of the ER (I know this because my husband currently works at an ER). So, the parents can't just push past the nurse to get to their child. My husband says if people do manage to push past the magnetic lock, an alarm immediately sounds.
Plus, doctors don't get 25 minute breaks. ER doctors, especially if they have exactly 1 patient that day, do not get breaks while the people are they waiting to see the doctor.
Plus, the only reason PARENTS would not be allowed to see their CHILD is if the doctor suspects neglect or abuse, in which case the police would have been called to the scene. Actually, my husband says the police are always called when minors are brought in with dog bites.
Plus, there should be no way for a patient to sneak out of the ER without alerting the doctor and nurse and everybody.
(He also says these policies are nationwide and wouldn't have been different in Florida in the 1990s).
3, schools. If a kid is knocked out by a golf ball, you call his parents, you don't send him to school and then have the vice principal yell at him. Also, if he has BRUISES on his NECK where a kid tried to CHOKE him, you don't suspend him (even just from a bus) for defending himself (even if he broke the larger kid's nose). I've never been in a situation like this, but I do work at a school. This just wouldn't happen.
4, burrowing owls. Actually, from what I can tell, they are protected and do live in Florida. HOWEVER, their burrows flood in the rainy season. Since the book mentions 8-12 inches of rain in 3 days, it is the rainy season! The owls are probably somewhere else right now! This is just from what I can find when reading the internet, though, and not personal experience.
So, this book frustrated me. There's more.
The runaway boy. (view spoiler)
The protest. (view spoiler)
They are just owls! They will find a different place to live! Every building disrupts animal life in some way! How was this worth vandalism and poisonous snakes and damaging property? (view spoiler)
I care about animals and the environment, but I do NOT agree with the methods of the 12-year-olds in this book. I also do not think this book should be given to 12-year-olds to show them how to break the law and pretend that it is a good thing because they were saving the homes of the owls.
Writer thoughts: Sympathy is a tricky thing. I think this book made me feel a lot more sympathetic to the police officer and Curly than I did toward the runaway boy vandal. The horrible things done to Curly and the police officer outweighed anything they deserved, which is why my sympathy soared. Then, readers can end up caring more for your antagonist than for your protagonist. I suppose this is why the protagonist works best as an underdog and has to be losing most of the battles until the end.
No, I never cared about Muck Chuckle, the vice president of the pancake company. He was the true antagonist, but he didn't show up until the end. So, he wasn't the face of the pancake company like Curly and the officer were.
1, Construction sites. The first thing a construction site will do after vandalism (or mischief) is to hire 24/7 security. I know because my husband used to work as a security guard for construction sites. They don't just tell the local police and expect the police to keep an eye on the site.
Plus, the first thing should be tilling the land (thus getting rid of all owl burrows), not waiting until after staking out the place.
Plus, if the crew has the equipment, what are they waiting for? In this book, they keep waiting for "tomorrow" or "Monday morning" instead of just finishing. Plenty of construction crews work in the evening/night or on weekends, especially if you're behind schedule.
2, Emergency Departments. ERs have locked doors between the waiting room and the rest of the ER (I know this because my husband currently works at an ER). So, the parents can't just push past the nurse to get to their child. My husband says if people do manage to push past the magnetic lock, an alarm immediately sounds.
Plus, doctors don't get 25 minute breaks. ER doctors, especially if they have exactly 1 patient that day, do not get breaks while the people are they waiting to see the doctor.
Plus, the only reason PARENTS would not be allowed to see their CHILD is if the doctor suspects neglect or abuse, in which case the police would have been called to the scene. Actually, my husband says the police are always called when minors are brought in with dog bites.
Plus, there should be no way for a patient to sneak out of the ER without alerting the doctor and nurse and everybody.
(He also says these policies are nationwide and wouldn't have been different in Florida in the 1990s).
3, schools. If a kid is knocked out by a golf ball, you call his parents, you don't send him to school and then have the vice principal yell at him. Also, if he has BRUISES on his NECK where a kid tried to CHOKE him, you don't suspend him (even just from a bus) for defending himself (even if he broke the larger kid's nose). I've never been in a situation like this, but I do work at a school. This just wouldn't happen.
4, burrowing owls. Actually, from what I can tell, they are protected and do live in Florida. HOWEVER, their burrows flood in the rainy season. Since the book mentions 8-12 inches of rain in 3 days, it is the rainy season! The owls are probably somewhere else right now! This is just from what I can find when reading the internet, though, and not personal experience.
So, this book frustrated me. There's more.
The runaway boy. (view spoiler)
The protest. (view spoiler)
They are just owls! They will find a different place to live! Every building disrupts animal life in some way! How was this worth vandalism and poisonous snakes and damaging property? (view spoiler)
I care about animals and the environment, but I do NOT agree with the methods of the 12-year-olds in this book. I also do not think this book should be given to 12-year-olds to show them how to break the law and pretend that it is a good thing because they were saving the homes of the owls.
Writer thoughts: Sympathy is a tricky thing. I think this book made me feel a lot more sympathetic to the police officer and Curly than I did toward the runaway boy vandal. The horrible things done to Curly and the police officer outweighed anything they deserved, which is why my sympathy soared. Then, readers can end up caring more for your antagonist than for your protagonist. I suppose this is why the protagonist works best as an underdog and has to be losing most of the battles until the end.
No, I never cared about Muck Chuckle, the vice president of the pancake company. He was the true antagonist, but he didn't show up until the end. So, he wasn't the face of the pancake company like Curly and the officer were.
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Hoot.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
April 12, 2020
–
Finished Reading
April 13, 2020
– Shelved
April 13, 2020
– Shelved as:
listened-to
