The Hoot was started as a web resource for English teachers. Each post gives a short synopsis of the ENTIRE book, so watch out for spoilers. They also give the author, publishing info, suggested reading level, suggestions for teaching, and a review by the reader.
We need your help! We can't read all the books out there either. If you have read a book that is not included in our list, please click here to send us the information.
We welcome comments! If you have read a book that has already been reviewed, we would love to hear what you thought of it. If you have ideas for teaching that haven't been mentioned, you can either email us with the ideas and we can add them, or you can leave a comment with the ideas.
Thanks for joining us on The Hoot!
No Country for Old Men
1.09.2010
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Publishing Info: Published in 2005 by Knopf Publishing Group
Suggested Reading Level: Age 18+
Synopsis:
No Country for Old Men follows three main characters through both a literal and mental journey beginning in a rural Texas county in 1980. One of the characters is Llewelyn Moss, a young, newly married man, out hunting near the Mexico/Texas border who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and the two plus million dollars that was supposed to be exchanged there. The second character is Anton Chigurh, a psychopathic head hunter who takes it upon himself to find the two million and kill everyone he comes in contact with in the process. The third is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, the law officer in charge of the area where the drug-deal-gone-bad went down.
When Moss finds the money, he knows if he takes it, it’s going to change his life forever, though he doesn’t know if that’s good or bad, but he hikes it out anyway. Quickly he is tracked down by both sides of the drug deal, but manages to stay one step ahead of them for a while. He gets his wife somewhere safe, leaves town, and finds a hotel room in California. After Chigurh finds him there, he manages to barely escape with his life. Wounded, he makes it to a hospital in Mexico where he is able to recover for a short while. On his way back to Texas, he picks up a fifteen-year-old girl who is hitchhiking, and she ends up being his undoing (though he is never unfaithful to his wife—the girl just distracts his attention enough to let Chigurh get the jump on him).
Meanwhile Sheriff Bell finds the massacre, figures out that Moss is in trouble, and starts trying to track him down. Interspersed throughout the book, we also get short chapters which seem to be journal entries written by Bell giving his thoughts—mostly on his work. He sees the country in general, and his county specifically, as having rapidly and drastically deteriorated. His experience in having helped convict a man of murder and then watching him die when the death penalty was enforced disturbed him deeply. This experience, along with tracking down the merciless Chigurh, whose dead bodies start piling up, make him realize that being a sheriff of a rural county is no longer what it used to be. He begins to realize that this country is rapidly becoming a place where “old men”—the generation who fought in wars and believed in loyalty and integrity, and who trusted their country to take care of them—don’t belong. This coming-to-terms also gives him the courage to finally confide in his wife about an incident that occurred while he fought in WWII that has haunted him ever since.
Publishing Info: Published in 2005 by Knopf Publishing Group
Suggested Reading Level: Age 18+
Synopsis:
No Country for Old Men follows three main characters through both a literal and mental journey beginning in a rural Texas county in 1980. One of the characters is Llewelyn Moss, a young, newly married man, out hunting near the Mexico/Texas border who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and the two plus million dollars that was supposed to be exchanged there. The second character is Anton Chigurh, a psychopathic head hunter who takes it upon himself to find the two million and kill everyone he comes in contact with in the process. The third is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, the law officer in charge of the area where the drug-deal-gone-bad went down.
When Moss finds the money, he knows if he takes it, it’s going to change his life forever, though he doesn’t know if that’s good or bad, but he hikes it out anyway. Quickly he is tracked down by both sides of the drug deal, but manages to stay one step ahead of them for a while. He gets his wife somewhere safe, leaves town, and finds a hotel room in California. After Chigurh finds him there, he manages to barely escape with his life. Wounded, he makes it to a hospital in Mexico where he is able to recover for a short while. On his way back to Texas, he picks up a fifteen-year-old girl who is hitchhiking, and she ends up being his undoing (though he is never unfaithful to his wife—the girl just distracts his attention enough to let Chigurh get the jump on him).
Meanwhile Sheriff Bell finds the massacre, figures out that Moss is in trouble, and starts trying to track him down. Interspersed throughout the book, we also get short chapters which seem to be journal entries written by Bell giving his thoughts—mostly on his work. He sees the country in general, and his county specifically, as having rapidly and drastically deteriorated. His experience in having helped convict a man of murder and then watching him die when the death penalty was enforced disturbed him deeply. This experience, along with tracking down the merciless Chigurh, whose dead bodies start piling up, make him realize that being a sheriff of a rural county is no longer what it used to be. He begins to realize that this country is rapidly becoming a place where “old men”—the generation who fought in wars and believed in loyalty and integrity, and who trusted their country to take care of them—don’t belong. This coming-to-terms also gives him the courage to finally confide in his wife about an incident that occurred while he fought in WWII that has haunted him ever since.
The Alchemist
12.17.2009
Author: Paulo Coelho
Publishing Info: 1995, HarperSanFransico
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 9-12
Synopsis:
A young shepherd in Spain is sleeping in the ancient ruins of a church and has a dream that he goes to the pyramids in Egypt and finds treasure. A gypsy interprets the dream and tells him it means exactly what it seems - he will find treasure if he goes to the pyramids in Egypt. The shepherd has always wanted to travel, but, he is also nervous of giving up his living to follow a dream. He then meets an old man who tells him he is the king of Salem. The king knows about the shepherd's dream and tells him he must go look for the treasure because that is his mission in this life, his Personal Legend, and that God will help him to achieve it.
The shepherd sells his sheep and takes a boat to Africa. His money is stolen within hours of his arrival, and the shepherd loses hope in his Personal Legend. He finds a job with a merchant to earn enough money to get back to Spain and buy some sheep. His observations, business sense, and motivation help the merchant's store go from a failure to a huge success. The shepherd earns more money than he needs more quickly than he thought he would. The boy decides if he succeeded as a merchant in a foreign city, he can also succeed in finding his treasure.
He joins a caravan crossing the desert and meets an Englishman who searching for an alchemist who lives at an oasis in the desert to apprentice him. Through associations with the Englishman and the caravan driver, the shepherd boy learns about communicating with the Soul of the World by observing and listening to nature. He learns about watching for omens that show the way to fulfill Personal Legends. The caravan must stop for a time at the Oasis because of tribal wars in the desert. The shepherd meets Fatima and it is love at first sight. He tells her of his Personal Legend and she encourages him to seek it, and that she will wait for him. The shepherd struggles over leaving Fatima or leaving his Personal Legend. As he ponders his predicament he reads an omen that tells of a tribe coming to attack the Oasis. He warns the leaders and the attack is thwarted. The leaders offer him a position as the Counselor for the Oasis, a job that would allow him to stay with Fatima and have a good living.
Then the shepherd boy meets the Alchemist who warns that if he does not follow his Personal Legend through he will regret it.
Publishing Info: 1995, HarperSanFransico
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 9-12
Synopsis:
A young shepherd in Spain is sleeping in the ancient ruins of a church and has a dream that he goes to the pyramids in Egypt and finds treasure. A gypsy interprets the dream and tells him it means exactly what it seems - he will find treasure if he goes to the pyramids in Egypt. The shepherd has always wanted to travel, but, he is also nervous of giving up his living to follow a dream. He then meets an old man who tells him he is the king of Salem. The king knows about the shepherd's dream and tells him he must go look for the treasure because that is his mission in this life, his Personal Legend, and that God will help him to achieve it.
The shepherd sells his sheep and takes a boat to Africa. His money is stolen within hours of his arrival, and the shepherd loses hope in his Personal Legend. He finds a job with a merchant to earn enough money to get back to Spain and buy some sheep. His observations, business sense, and motivation help the merchant's store go from a failure to a huge success. The shepherd earns more money than he needs more quickly than he thought he would. The boy decides if he succeeded as a merchant in a foreign city, he can also succeed in finding his treasure.
He joins a caravan crossing the desert and meets an Englishman who searching for an alchemist who lives at an oasis in the desert to apprentice him. Through associations with the Englishman and the caravan driver, the shepherd boy learns about communicating with the Soul of the World by observing and listening to nature. He learns about watching for omens that show the way to fulfill Personal Legends. The caravan must stop for a time at the Oasis because of tribal wars in the desert. The shepherd meets Fatima and it is love at first sight. He tells her of his Personal Legend and she encourages him to seek it, and that she will wait for him. The shepherd struggles over leaving Fatima or leaving his Personal Legend. As he ponders his predicament he reads an omen that tells of a tribe coming to attack the Oasis. He warns the leaders and the attack is thwarted. The leaders offer him a position as the Counselor for the Oasis, a job that would allow him to stay with Fatima and have a good living.
Then the shepherd boy meets the Alchemist who warns that if he does not follow his Personal Legend through he will regret it.
Weetzie Bat
11.11.2009
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Publishing Info: Harper Collins, 1989
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 10 and up
Synopsis:
Weetzie Bat is a young adult living in Los Angeles and loving everything that could be called a Hollywood cliché. She is different than everyone at school: she wears Indian headdresses or taffeta dresses with poetry written on them in glitter just to name a few things that make her stand out. Her parents no longer live together (it never says whether they are actually divorced or not); she lives with her mother in LA; her father lives in New York city, but he comes to visit her as often as possible. She obviously loves both of them, even though they are flawed and probably addicts to one substance or another. One day Weetzie meets Dirk and the two of them quickly become best friends. After a while, Dirk reveals to her that he is gay and she is totally accepting of that. She says they can hunt “ducks” together. Dirk lives with his grandmother and Weetzie becomes very attached to her. Right before the grandmother dies, she gives Weetzie a “treasure” which ends up being a magic lamp with a genie and everything. She wishes for a “secret agent lover man” for herself, a perfect “duck” for Dirk, and a home for all of them to share. The wishes are granted, but it isn’t all a happy ending.
Publishing Info: Harper Collins, 1989
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 10 and up
Synopsis:
Weetzie Bat is a young adult living in Los Angeles and loving everything that could be called a Hollywood cliché. She is different than everyone at school: she wears Indian headdresses or taffeta dresses with poetry written on them in glitter just to name a few things that make her stand out. Her parents no longer live together (it never says whether they are actually divorced or not); she lives with her mother in LA; her father lives in New York city, but he comes to visit her as often as possible. She obviously loves both of them, even though they are flawed and probably addicts to one substance or another. One day Weetzie meets Dirk and the two of them quickly become best friends. After a while, Dirk reveals to her that he is gay and she is totally accepting of that. She says they can hunt “ducks” together. Dirk lives with his grandmother and Weetzie becomes very attached to her. Right before the grandmother dies, she gives Weetzie a “treasure” which ends up being a magic lamp with a genie and everything. She wishes for a “secret agent lover man” for herself, a perfect “duck” for Dirk, and a home for all of them to share. The wishes are granted, but it isn’t all a happy ending.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
11.09.2009
Author: Mark Twain
Publishing Info: Originally published in 1860s--the one I read: © 1994 by Dover
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 9 - 12
Synopsis:
Huckleberry Finn had some adventures already in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but sets off this time to have some adventures on his own while rafting down the Mississippi River. He doesn’t get far before he meets up with a runaway slave named Jim. Huck knew Jim before they met up on the river. He was a slave at the house where Huck was being taken care of. His father, Pap, is a drunk and isn’t around at the beginning of the novel, so Tom’s aunts are trying to civilize both Tom and Huck. As Huck and Jim raft down the river, they run into trouble on more than one occasion. Huck climbs aboard a wrecked ship against Jim’s advice and their raft floats away. They steal another raft (of some thieves and murderers who also climbed aboard the wrecked ship), but run into a fog that separates the two of them. They get back together and then get hit by a steamboat. Because of the steamboat incident, a family called the Grangerfords, take Huck in. He finds out that the Grangerfords are part of a huge family feud with another family called the Shepherdsons. He likes the Grangerfords, but doesn’t want to be a part of their feud, so when things get out of hand, he and Jim (who has been hiding out in a nearby swamp) high-tail it out of town. As soon as they are back on the river, they run into the King and the Duke, two carpetbaggers who take advantage of people in every town they come to. These two crooks get Huck and Jim in a ton of trouble including the worst trouble of the book: they sell Jim as a runaway slave to a man in a riverside town while Huck isn’t around to protest.
Publishing Info: Originally published in 1860s--the one I read: © 1994 by Dover
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 9 - 12
Synopsis:
Huckleberry Finn had some adventures already in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but sets off this time to have some adventures on his own while rafting down the Mississippi River. He doesn’t get far before he meets up with a runaway slave named Jim. Huck knew Jim before they met up on the river. He was a slave at the house where Huck was being taken care of. His father, Pap, is a drunk and isn’t around at the beginning of the novel, so Tom’s aunts are trying to civilize both Tom and Huck. As Huck and Jim raft down the river, they run into trouble on more than one occasion. Huck climbs aboard a wrecked ship against Jim’s advice and their raft floats away. They steal another raft (of some thieves and murderers who also climbed aboard the wrecked ship), but run into a fog that separates the two of them. They get back together and then get hit by a steamboat. Because of the steamboat incident, a family called the Grangerfords, take Huck in. He finds out that the Grangerfords are part of a huge family feud with another family called the Shepherdsons. He likes the Grangerfords, but doesn’t want to be a part of their feud, so when things get out of hand, he and Jim (who has been hiding out in a nearby swamp) high-tail it out of town. As soon as they are back on the river, they run into the King and the Duke, two carpetbaggers who take advantage of people in every town they come to. These two crooks get Huck and Jim in a ton of trouble including the worst trouble of the book: they sell Jim as a runaway slave to a man in a riverside town while Huck isn’t around to protest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)