Hoot

Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen
ISBN: 1905775040
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf, 2002

After Roy moves to Florida with his family, he decides it's much less interesting than Montana. But then he spots the running boy. The stranger sprints crazily along the sidewalk, through backyards and into the woods--all without shoes on. To make it even weirder, he doesn't appear to attend school. By following this mystery, Roy stumbles across another discovery: tiny, perfect burrowing owls. Unfortunately, the tiny birds are about to be bulldozed by the construction crew who's putting up Mother Paula's Pancake House. Together with the running boy, Roy tries desperately to save the owls from their terrible fate.