The Labors of Hercules Beal
Gary D. Schmidt
Book summary:
Hercules Beal is named after the mythical hero of the same name. But, as he says, he is nothing like Hercules the myth. So, when a new teacher assigns him the task of re-creating the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Herc is not very excited… at first.
Life is tough for Herc, what with losing his parents, and running the family business with his older brother.
As he goes through all the modern twelve labors, Herc makes new friends, and realizes many things about life, including that some things are better with more than one person. Each labor comes with new problems for Herc to overcome, and without the help of his friends, Herc won’t be able to complete his labors.
Year published: 2023
Publisher: Clarion Books
Illustrator: none
Religion / belief system: mentions church + Christianity
Profanity and violence: “crap”, “freaking”, “a**”, “dang”, mentions hell, Lord’s name in vain, “heck”, death
*Note: It may seem like there is a ton of language in this book, but most of the words are only used one or two times throughout the book.
Drinking, drugs, smoking: drunk
Romance: kissing, dating (slight, not Herc but his older brother)
Book type: fiction
Genre: realistic
Miscellaneous: mentions gods, divorce
Series: none
Thoughts: What a truly incredible book. Such a powerful plot, as with Schmidt’s other books. Herc is such a great character, and I love how deep the characters + plot are.
*Note: do not read this book before Just Like That (also by Gary D. Schmidt) otherwise plot spoilers.