Scan barcode
reader4evr's review
2.0
Rating: 2.5
I wanted to read this because I heard about it at a conference I went to and the lady raved about the book saying it was good. I just thought it was ok. I did however like the storyline because I have never read a book about this topic.
I felt like their were too many flash back stories in it within the actual story which were confusing at times.
I wanted to read this because I heard about it at a conference I went to and the lady raved about the book saying it was good. I just thought it was ok. I did however like the storyline because I have never read a book about this topic.
I felt like their were too many flash back stories in it within the actual story which were confusing at times.
readwithpassion's review
3.0
Lynch did an incredible job unfolding this story. The novel is about two teenage boys whose firefighter fathers die in a fire. They are trying to grieve, but the public is hovering over them, declaring their fathers as heroes. The story almost made me feel claustrophobic, as the crowds and public praise made me understand Russell's need to be isolated to grieve. The book quickly changes course, as the public begins to blame the boys, and their statuses change as the messages from the public emanate with hatred. The book is quite sad and depressing, and I was left feeling a bit forlorn and hopeless.
kevinscorner's review
4.0
Hothouse is a very short, brief book. In terms of storyline and plot, nothing much actually happens. However, I did find the book deeply moving. I loved the introspective narrative through the thoughts of the main protagonist. He was innocent, heartfelt, and touching. I enjoyed this book.
sarahannkateri's review
2.0
2.5
Russ always idolized his firefighter father and knew that he'd one day follow in his footsteps. When his father dies while trying to rescue an old woman from a fire, Russ is crushed, but also fiercely proud because he knows his father died as he lived - heroically. At first, the whole town pays tribute to his father and the other firefighter who was killed in the blaze, but when people begin thinking that there might be more to the story of what happened that day, Russ has to face the fact that even heroes are only human.
This was an interesting story about the nature of heroism, with some great descriptions of the firefighter lifestyle. I didn't love the somewhat showy writing style, and caught myself skimming more than once, but that's probably a matter of personal taste.
This would be good for teen guys who are interested in firefighter/police/military careers and those who want a relatively short, easy read with strong male characters & friendships.
Russ always idolized his firefighter father and knew that he'd one day follow in his footsteps. When his father dies while trying to rescue an old woman from a fire, Russ is crushed, but also fiercely proud because he knows his father died as he lived - heroically. At first, the whole town pays tribute to his father and the other firefighter who was killed in the blaze, but when people begin thinking that there might be more to the story of what happened that day, Russ has to face the fact that even heroes are only human.
This was an interesting story about the nature of heroism, with some great descriptions of the firefighter lifestyle. I didn't love the somewhat showy writing style, and caught myself skimming more than once, but that's probably a matter of personal taste.
This would be good for teen guys who are interested in firefighter/police/military careers and those who want a relatively short, easy read with strong male characters & friendships.
barbn's review
2.0
Russ always idolized his father, Russell. A brave firefighter (with a formidable mustache) and an upstanding man, Russell was a hero and a mentor to his son. When Russell (along with a fellow firefighter, the father of Russ's childhood friend and neighbor, DJ) dies rescuing an elderly woman from a house fire, he becomes an idol and hero for the entire town. Russ becomes a local celebrity, honored and recognized almost every where he goes.
Things get complicated for Russ when his father's reputation and skills are called into question with the fire department's routine investigation into the blaze that killed Russell. Russ has always dreamed of becoming a firefighter himself; he questions his future career because of his father's choices. Russ is shuned by the community for his father's actions, especially when the elderly woman injured in the fire dies. Most importantly, Russ begins to question his relationship with his father.
It is clear from reading the dust jacket of Hot House that Russell's choices and actions are going to be called into question. Yet, this part of the plot wasn't actually revealed until more than halfway through the book. The first 100 pages are all about how much the town builds up Russ, DJ, and the image of their fathers. It didn't need to take 100 pages to establish that.
The last half of the novel progresses quickly and compellingly. We learn that Russell and his co-worker were both abusing drugs and alcohol and were drunk and high at the time of the fire that caused their death. Russ tries to atone for and understand his father's actions and becomes closer to his childhood friend in the process. Despite being shunned repeatedly by the community (someone even vandalizes his father's grave), Russ remains committed to his decision to become a firefighter and steadfast in his view of his father as a hero.
The pace of the first portion of the novel and the writing style (long chapters and choppy sentences) factored into my rating. I would recommend Hot House to seventh to ninth grade boys. There isn't much objectional language or content to be concerned with, although there are a couple of drinking parties mentioned. The difference between perception and reality and the issue of image will appeal to adolescent readers.
Things get complicated for Russ when his father's reputation and skills are called into question with the fire department's routine investigation into the blaze that killed Russell. Russ has always dreamed of becoming a firefighter himself; he questions his future career because of his father's choices. Russ is shuned by the community for his father's actions, especially when the elderly woman injured in the fire dies. Most importantly, Russ begins to question his relationship with his father.
It is clear from reading the dust jacket of Hot House that Russell's choices and actions are going to be called into question. Yet, this part of the plot wasn't actually revealed until more than halfway through the book. The first 100 pages are all about how much the town builds up Russ, DJ, and the image of their fathers. It didn't need to take 100 pages to establish that.
The last half of the novel progresses quickly and compellingly. We learn that Russell and his co-worker were both abusing drugs and alcohol and were drunk and high at the time of the fire that caused their death. Russ tries to atone for and understand his father's actions and becomes closer to his childhood friend in the process. Despite being shunned repeatedly by the community (someone even vandalizes his father's grave), Russ remains committed to his decision to become a firefighter and steadfast in his view of his father as a hero.
The pace of the first portion of the novel and the writing style (long chapters and choppy sentences) factored into my rating. I would recommend Hot House to seventh to ninth grade boys. There isn't much objectional language or content to be concerned with, although there are a couple of drinking parties mentioned. The difference between perception and reality and the issue of image will appeal to adolescent readers.
dtaylorbooks's review
3.0
I feel kind of bad that I didn't love HOTHOUSE because it's supposed to be this deep read about kids getting over the deaths of their firefighter dads. It's supposed to be touching and endearing and I think it was supposed to make me cry but overall I didn't feel all that much.
I liked the topic of essentially canonizing the dead and then realizing, after the fact, that they might not have been perfect. That was probably my favorite part of the book because it elicited the strongest emotion from me. The way the town just turned on these two innocent boys was quite frankly disgusting. They elevated the two dead firefighters to god-like levels. They set up their own expectations. But these guys ended up not meeting those expectations and instead of looking in on themselves for blame the town projected it onto innocent people, as if it were them that did all the saint-claiming. That was kind of hard to read, especially when it got to reading how poorly Russ was treated. It even got physical and that was pretty disgusting. It shows the whole mob mentality all raw and front and center. I liked that for how horrifying it was.
But the rest of it, I felt like there was this distance to the MC that I just couldn't close. I got him talking about how his dad's death was affecting him and all of that but it seemed to gloss over the really important parts, like the actual death, the inquiry, the newspaper articles, things like that. All of that was skimmed by and you kind of got this afterthought reaction from Russ about everything that was going on. He's essentially gone through his life naive and not willing to see what was right in front of his face and I felt the narrative was that kind of distant. It kind of came crumbling down at the end and that gap closed a little but not that much and it was really too little too late.
The voice was kind of irksome too. Hanging out on the edge of trying to be a little too hip and teenage-ish. It rubbed me the wrong way a bit right from the beginning. I'm sure that played into how closely I didn't get to the text but nothing I can really do about that.
Ultimately it wasn't a bad read and I did enjoy reading HOTHOUSE but I didn't really connect with it. The elements that Russ was reacting to were kept in the background, thus eliminating weight from his reactions, I thought. They weren't grounded out at all. I was in Russ's head the whole time but I still felt a distance, like you could see him lying to himself, which he really was with all of those flashback memories he kept having. But I think those ended up doing the story a disservice because it kept him too far away from the present. It's a bit subdued in terms of recent contemporaries but not bad. It's different so it has that going for it, especially since it's a male POV. I've read better but it's still okay.
I liked the topic of essentially canonizing the dead and then realizing, after the fact, that they might not have been perfect. That was probably my favorite part of the book because it elicited the strongest emotion from me. The way the town just turned on these two innocent boys was quite frankly disgusting. They elevated the two dead firefighters to god-like levels. They set up their own expectations. But these guys ended up not meeting those expectations and instead of looking in on themselves for blame the town projected it onto innocent people, as if it were them that did all the saint-claiming. That was kind of hard to read, especially when it got to reading how poorly Russ was treated. It even got physical and that was pretty disgusting. It shows the whole mob mentality all raw and front and center. I liked that for how horrifying it was.
But the rest of it, I felt like there was this distance to the MC that I just couldn't close. I got him talking about how his dad's death was affecting him and all of that but it seemed to gloss over the really important parts, like the actual death, the inquiry, the newspaper articles, things like that. All of that was skimmed by and you kind of got this afterthought reaction from Russ about everything that was going on. He's essentially gone through his life naive and not willing to see what was right in front of his face and I felt the narrative was that kind of distant. It kind of came crumbling down at the end and that gap closed a little but not that much and it was really too little too late.
The voice was kind of irksome too. Hanging out on the edge of trying to be a little too hip and teenage-ish. It rubbed me the wrong way a bit right from the beginning. I'm sure that played into how closely I didn't get to the text but nothing I can really do about that.
Ultimately it wasn't a bad read and I did enjoy reading HOTHOUSE but I didn't really connect with it. The elements that Russ was reacting to were kept in the background, thus eliminating weight from his reactions, I thought. They weren't grounded out at all. I was in Russ's head the whole time but I still felt a distance, like you could see him lying to himself, which he really was with all of those flashback memories he kept having. But I think those ended up doing the story a disservice because it kept him too far away from the present. It's a bit subdued in terms of recent contemporaries but not bad. It's different so it has that going for it, especially since it's a male POV. I've read better but it's still okay.
lindagreen's review
1.0
Read as 2011 Arkansas Teen Reads Award nominee.
Honestly, I couldn't stand this book. The premise was good but the layout drove me crazy. The lack of chapters was so irritating! I struggled through the first 100 or so pages of "hero worship" only to get to the "twist" around page 130 or so and almost tossed the book down I was so angry. I felt like I had wasted so much time for that? This book may appeal to a very select audience but only if the reader can move beyond what felt like betrayal by the author's plot and the lack of substantial division in scenes.
Honestly, I couldn't stand this book. The premise was good but the layout drove me crazy. The lack of chapters was so irritating! I struggled through the first 100 or so pages of "hero worship" only to get to the "twist" around page 130 or so and almost tossed the book down I was so angry. I felt like I had wasted so much time for that? This book may appeal to a very select audience but only if the reader can move beyond what felt like betrayal by the author's plot and the lack of substantial division in scenes.
spaceyfaerie's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, this is good but not good, the kind that you can't stop thinking about. It painted a very realistic (especially because it was a good deal confusing, I think) picture about dealing with the death of a highly-admired parental figure who, surprise, surprise, turns out wasn't perfect. I enjoyed this, but the writing style and lack of side-issues/questions being dealt with was a bit of a turn-off. I won't jump to recommend this, but I won't warn against it, either . . . but I have read better books about these same issues/struggles.
More...