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| Nature Girl | 
| Manufacturer: Knopf
Category: EBooks
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $7.96
You Save: $1.99 (20%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  154 reviews
Sales Rank: 5574
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B000MAH7OU
Publication Date: November 14, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Not As Good As Your Past Books November 30, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well, the title sez it all. This is not as good as Hiaasen's other books. The characters aren't as loveable or personable, and the story isn't as good - what little story their is. I think the two kids' books (Hoot and Flush) have more story and better characters than this one. I kept on reading the book hoping it would get better as I turned each page. 75% of the way through the book I realized Hiaasen just wasn't there. A pity - I was so looking forward to another can't-put-it-down, hysterical, stay-up-all night tale from Hiaasen's loveable & twisted Florida.
 4 1/2 Stars November 28, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
With his usual mix of oddball characters, Hiaasen can deliver a unique and very entertaining story. He makes it so easy to visualize these characters as well as make it feel like you're there.
I don't like to compare authors but this time I can't help bringing up Tim Dorsey. Though comparable, Dorsey's novels seem to be more 'laugh out loud' than Hiaasen's.
Still a fun read and I think most fans of Hiaasen will think this is as good as his previous outings.
Not the Florida Coast You Want to Sit On November 28, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hiaasen's formula is simple: make three stories about people who could be Floridians, mellow it out a little bit, and then produce witty and ironic humor lambasting the soul and ethical code of the characters you begin to love and hate. This is better than fact - after all who would ever believe the stories behind Tom Foley's emails, or Jack Abramoff's ties to a Miami law firm, or Katherine Harris's illegal laundering of defense contractor money through her campaign's account? But, such stories tragically tell others that slime within the United States of America oozes to Florida, and therefore Hiaasen's characters are not beyond imagination.
Honey Santana is the main looney toon of this script, whose relationship with her ex (a devoted drug runner from the keys) and almost-13-year old son (what 13-year old boy isn't automatically Hiaasen fodder?) crosses a half Seminole who accidently kills white men, an FSU coed who is known as a Seminole fan (and boy is she ever), Boyd Shreave (any mother's nightmare whose ambition is telemarketing) and his girlfriend Eugenie Fonda. Amid the trip, you meet Boyd's wife, Lily, her private investigator, Dealey, and the requisite freak of nature (mentally and in this book physically as well), Louis Piejack.
Putting these people in purgatory was easy - he put them onto Dismal Key - a real Florida Key located off the west coast of Florida. This nightmare on the water was beholden to the Calusa Indians who took oyster shells by the boat load to make the Key remain above water, and more recently has been the love of the indigenous rednecks who have made the middle of the island a kingdom of Old Milwaukee bottles. This island is best described by Hiaasen as a recycler's heaven.
The dialogue in any of his books is the secret. The characters are weird, but their dialogue is what carries his books, and this is no exception. You get what would come from the mouths of a bipolar mother (Honey), a burdened half Indian (Sammy Tigertail), a sex kitten who writes best sellers about her trysts (Fonda) and a indefatigable liar (Boyd).
Whenever you need light reading and a good laugh, Hiaasen is a proper prescription.
CARL, Where have you gone? November 27, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Well, I really don't know were to start, but here goes. I have been reading Hiassen and alot of other south Florida writers for quite some time. There is a definite overlap in book themes that has arisen over the years. That can be expected. But I think it's up to the authors to work their magic and hold us to their plots convinceingly. Carl's magic is gone. At least in this book. Although it is interesting enough characterwise, the plot is downright boring. We have all seen these characters before. The deranged stalker, the grossly infected arm, the woman who wants revenge and the stupid middle aged guy who is the target of the same woman. Throw in a Seminole or two, alot of sex and print it. For a first time Hiassen reader this book could work. But for those that follow him through the years we've seen it all before. There are no real surprises and the story is predictable. Please come back Carl, give us some more of your original magic.
 Not too good November 27, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am sad to report that Nature Girl is 'not too good'. I bought this book thinking that surely Hiaasen would produce a better book after the snoozefest that was Skinny Dip. To no avail. I spent the last few months re-reading all of Hiaasen's previous novels and was ready for a new adventure. I was left sorely disappointed. Parts of it are worth a chuckle, but for the most part, it falls flat. The protagonists are unlikeable, while the bad guys are inept in uncreative ways. Don't buy this book; get it from the library, if you must read it.
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