Heat by Mike Lupica

Audience: 10 and up

Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Michael Arroyo loves baseball more than anything in the world. It has always been his and his father’s dream that Michael would pitch at the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. But now his father’s gone and Michael and his brother Carlos are on their own. Michael’s getting closer and closer to his dream, but he’s surrounded by problems. First social services has been snooping around, and then another coach accused Michael of being older than 12, a claim he can’t fight because his birth certificate was left behind when he and Carlos took a boat over from Cuba.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) I didn’t expect this book to have a complicated a plot as it did. I was expecting a fluffy sports book that was all about how Michael was the most amazing pitcher ever, nothing could stop him, etc, etc, etc. And while Michael was the most amazing pitcher ever, there was more to the book than just his talent. I was glad to see the character, Justin, was just as talented (although much better at being a jerk), because it made the story more realistic.

The plot twists about his father’s death, social services, the letter questioning his age, and Ellie all kept me entertained. I was really surprised by the plot a couple of times, like when Carlos was arrested for scalping tickets. So while I felt fairly certain that everything would work out in the end, there were lots of moments when something unexpected happened and I would wonder how the characters were going to work things out.

Questions:

Do you think Carlos is responsible enough to take care of himself and Michael?

Will Michael team make it to Pennsylvania?

Is it fair for Carlos to have to give up so much for his brother?

Keep reading!

-Paige