Skip to main content

HERO by Mike Lupica


copyright date: November 2010
primarily marketed for: grade 6 and up

Hero by Mike Lupica was a refreshingly fast-paced exciting book to read after slogging through Matthew Cody’s Powerless as a class read aloud to prepare for our author visit with the author.  Although both books are appropriate for a 6th grade audience, Hero is much more appealing for students beyond 6th grade. 

Hero starts out describing a few moments of Zach’s father’s life, from his father’s point of view.  The rest of the book flips to a third person account of Zach’s adventures after his father is gone.  Zach begins to discover he has superpowers, but Lupica manages to tell this superhero story so well that it almost seems plausible. 

The story is set in New York City. Being a fan of the city, I enjoyed the talk about landmarks and the city feel to the book.  Not to mention, how fun it is to imagine living Zach’s life as the child of parents who serve the president and presidential hopefuls.  It is a charmed life, and he even has a live-in caretaker whose daughter is conveniently Zach’s best friend.

Although the action of this story is wrapped up at the end, and we are sure we know who to trust and who is a “Bad,” it is clear by the ending of this book that Lupica is planning a sequel (maybe even a series). 

I enjoyed this departure from his usual sports themed stories.  If you are into the idea of superheroes, you are sure to like Hero.   
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...
1 comment
Read more

ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin

copyright date: September 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (8 th grade and up) I wish I would’ve known this was the beginning of a series before I started this book.   Then again, I might never have picked it up if I thought I might be committing to multiple books… At any rate, this is not a story I will be sad to return to this fall when the sequel is released.   Anya’s story takes place in New York City, in the future.   Around the time you will be old enough to be grandparents. This is a sort of post-apocalyptic, dystopian kind of book in a mild way.   Basically, the United States has self-destructed, and yet life seems to go surprisingly similar to the way we live nowadays.   Except that water and paper are costly and hard to come by.   Chocolate is prohibited.   Caffeine is an illegal drug.   Which is all to say that the setting alone is intriguing. Add to that setting, the fact that Anya is the oldest daughter of the ...
3 comments
Read more

NOTHING SPECIAL by Geoff Herbach

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) This is Geoff Herbach 's sequel to Stupid Fast and continues Felton Reinstein’s story in true Felton fashion.   This is definitely a smart guy book—a book for smart guys, who definitely love a good chuckle. The story opens at the end of summer with Felton typing a letter to his girlfriend Aleah while flying in an airplane on his way to retrieve his younger brother from Florida.   The entire book is written as one giant letter to Aleah explaining how his summer led him to this moment in time.   After Felton and his brother Andrew got some help with their mother’s issues, Felton went right back to throwing himself into football and track—because he is stupid fast.   However, Andrew did not cope quite as well as Felton did.   Felton ignores his brother’s cries for help and continuously lets him down.   His brother ends up cooking up an elaborate plan to run ...
1 comment
Read more