The book Heat by Mike Lupica was a baseball story about a kid named Michael Arroyo who grew up in the background of Yankee Stadium. Michael lives in the Bronx neighborhood with his older brother. The services are always trying to capture the two brothers because they know they are living on there in New York. Michael always dreams about getting into Yankee Stadium, but he is too poor to afford the cost. Another one of Michael’s dreams is to play in the Little League World Series. This dream of Michael’s gets in to a bad situation when a player on the opposing team accuses him of being too old to play in the league he is in. A problem that comes from this accusation is he does not have parents to prove it. Also, his birth certificate is still in the country he was born in which is Cuba. This set up of the book will set the book to be an action packed story on Michael’s and his brother’s life. The book is also a very moving story about Michael’s life and how heroes came to the rescue for him. The heroes you would never have saw coming for a young kid growing up in the Bronx outside of Yankee Stadium. I think if you enjoy an inspirational baseball story about a young kid growing up facing adversity you will really enjoy this book. Overall the book Heat by Mike Lupica was a very interesting and action packed story that many baseball loving fans would enjoy.

This was a good book. Michael Arroyo starts out a fatherless boy just trying to get by. He and his brother are living on their own with only their neighbor to help them. Michael leads his baseball team to many victories until he gets suspended for not having a birth certificate. Michael is also trying to fool child services so they dont split him up from his brother. He endures many problems until he meets El Grande and he helps him get his birth certificate and keeps he and his brother together. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book is really good, I rated it 5 stars. It is about a Cuban boy, Michael, who can throw serious heat when pitching for his Little League baseball team. His bestfriend and catcher, Manny, believes he even can hit 80 mph, which is a magic number like 100 is for major league players.

I felt that this book had a lot of action and really gripped your attention. The only part that could have been improved was how fast the plot changed from bad to good. He was just sitting on the bench thinking about how he couldn't play because there was complaints that he wasn't 12 and without his birth certificate in Cuba, he couldn't prove it, when suddenly he got it and everything was a fairy tale ending.

This book was a good read, and I would recommend it to any one who plays baseball or likes it. It was relatively easy to read but some of the parts, like losing his father, requires a higher level of thinking/maturity to grasp.

“Heat” by Mike Lupica is a realistic fiction based novel about Michael, a baseball player from Cuba, who appears to be too good for his little league team. People started questioning his age leaving him suspended from his team until he can show his birth certificate which is stuck at his native home in Cuba. With no parents to help him, Michael and his brother had to work together to survive in New York and attempt to recover his birth certificate. After a long time of waiting and searching, Michael eventually starting losing hope on achieving his dream of playing in the Little League World Series at Yankee Stadium. Personally, I find these situations of losing hope in your dreams very sad. Mike depicts Michael as a smart kid who will do whatever he can to play baseball. After facing an obstacle, he works really hard to get around it to hopefully accomplish his dream. While I was reading this book, I found the plot of the story to be somewhat predictable. This story seemed to have a very similar end to a lot of books I have read. The one main thing that I really loved about the story was the involvement of sports in this story. I have always had an interest for sports and it really showed in my enjoyment of this book. In a way, I found myself hoping Michael would find his birth certificate and achieve his dream. This book would definitely appeal to any sports enthusiast or someone who likes realistic fiction.

Michael Arroyo, of Mike Lupica’s Heat (2006), is an extremely talented baseball pitcher. He is so gifted that the opposing players and coaches question his age legitimacy. However, he is unable to prove his age as his birth certificate is in his birthplace, Cuba, and he lives in New York City. Considering his father died a few months before the story takes place, the characterization does very well to encompass Michael’s difficult situation and attitude, and his older brother, Carlos, as a wise father-figure. The plot is very enjoyable to follow as it combines an interesting drama with great baseball fan aspects.
The story reminds me of Carl Deuker’s Painting the Black because they both involve the protagonist maintaining a secret from everyone around him. Both of these stories do well as dramatic baseball-integrated stories. This very tame novel has a theme of never giving up on dreams and keeping confidence and hope. Michael is able to display these themes through the help of Carlos and his friend, Manny. Heat is a great story for baseball fans of any ages or anyone looking for an interesting and inspirational story.

Heat is a great little book for anyone who loves baseball! I find it hard to not fall in love with these characters and get behind their cause. I loved Michael’s story and his amazing abilities as a 12-year-old boy. This is a great book to have on a classroom bookshelf, but I do not see a teacher being able to come up with much to teach from this novel. I would love to teach it to my future children for them to learn acceptance of someone who is different than them. I do not see anyone being able to hate this book. You need to know some background knowledge of baseball and what it is like in a city. I personally do not like baseball all that much, but it should not hold anyone back from enjoying this book. I would give this book a thumbs up overall!

The book heat is a fiction story. This book is about a young boy named Michael Arroyo who is an immigrant from Cuba. He is extremely talented at baseball, especially pitching. He has big dreams of one day playing in the Little League World Series. With is 80 mph fastball he has a pretty good chance too. He also dreams of becoming a major league pitcher someday. The title "Heat" means two things. He can throw a sizzling fastball, and his life is really rough. His mother died of cancer at a young age, and his father died of a heart attack. He know has to live with his older brother Carlos to survive. Michael has even more problems now. If the U.S government finds out that they are parentless, then they have to move into a foster home. One of the coaches from little league protests that Michael can't play until he gets a birth certificate from Cuba. I chose this book because i love baseball and it is my favorite sport. This book by the cover was a sports book, and sports book i seem to understand better because it's more familiar to me. I also enjoy reading a great baseball book because the baseball books always seem to talk about more than just the sport.

Title : Heat

Author : Mike Lupica

Main character : Michael Arroyo

Michael Arroyo, a 12 year old boy immigrant from Cuba, comes to the United States for better opportunities to play the sport he loves which is baseball. Everyone loves him for his outstanding pitching and talents he has for the sport. Michael Arroyo lives in a small apartment in the Bronx, growing up with his brother Carlos and watching the Yankees play everyday.

Right before heading into the Little League Playoffs, Michael's teammates believed that he was too old to play for their team so they asked for Michael's birth certificate. Michael did not own a birth certificate so he did not have any evidence that would state his real age or where he is from. Without that, Michael was kicked off the team during the playoffs and was not to return unless he brought his certificate. Luckily, some of Michael's friends helped him find his birth certificate just in time for him to play his playoff game in the Yankee Stadium. It was always his dream to play in the Yankee Stadium and make it to the Little League World Series.

I would recommend this book for anyone who has a passion for any sport and experiences challenges. Michael Arroyo gets passed all of his fears and is gifted all of his dreams. This book was very interesting because of how well Michael expressed himself during each situation and not worrying too much, even if his career was at risk. It will never be easy to earn something you love doing. I learned that everything requires patience and a lot of positivity.

Heat by Mike Lupica is aboutI a Cuban boy, Michael, who can throw serious heat when pitching for his Little League baseball team. His best friend and catcher, Manny, believes he can hit 80 mph, which is a magic number like 100 is for major league players.I felt that this book had a lot of action and really gripped your attention. The only part that could have been improved was how fast the plot changed from bad to good. He was just sitting on the bench thinking about how he couldn't play because there was a lot of complaints that he wasn't 12 and without his birth certificate in Cuba, he couldn't prove it, when suddenly he got it and everything was going wrong . This book was a very fun book. I would recommend it to any one who plays baseball and is a 6th grader. It was very easy to read and was very entertaining. I also recommend all of his other books like Fantasy League.

Personal response:
I read the book Heat by Mike Lupica. I thought it was a great book because I like to read about sports. This book happened to be about the sport that I am participating in right now, baseball. I liked how it showed the other side of living, without privileges, and how the characters overcame their struggles.

Plot:
This book is about a 12 year old named Michael and his 17 year old brother, Carlos. They live in the South Bronx, New York, right by Yankee stadium.The two of them are Cuban immigrants, and are barely making it by because Carlos is always working. Michael has a passion for baseball and so does his brother. Michael has a strong arm for his age, so much so that every time he plays a little league team, the coach wants to get proof that he is 12. There is a problem with that. He doesn’t have a birth certificate with him in the United States. He contacted people in Cuba but nobody could find the certificate. Another big problem is Michael and Carlos can't tell the authorities their father is dead. They could gain more support from the government but they have to keep it a secret until Carlos turns 18. When he is 18, he can legally take care of Michael and himself. Times are tough. Carlos is laid off his job because the company didn't have enough money to pay him. On top of everything else, the brothers have to deal with the authorities because of their immigration. Carlos is devastated. Michael is just trying to stay under the radar and play baseball. It is hard on Michael with all of the officials on his back about his arm and birth certificate. The two of them come up with a plan to get their uncle to stage as their dad for the coach. The plan works but Michael is forbidden to play baseball until he gets a birth certificate. Michael has a big game coming up and he needs all the help he can get to find his certificate. He contacts El Grande, a professional baseball pitcher from Cuba, for help. They manage to track down the certificate and Michael is able to play in the game. Mr. Gibbs, the coach, finds out that the boy's father is dead and he takes them into his custody until Carlos turns 18. Carlos is working again because Mr. Gibbs gets him a good job. Michael won the district final game at Yankee stadium, surrounded by his friends and family.

Characterization:
Michael and his brother Carlos are the main characters in this book. Michael and Carlos are brothers. They are Cuban immigrants and live in New York City. They are going through some tough times. It is hard for Carlos to support Michael at such a young age. Michael is really good at baseball and Carlos works as much as he can for his brother. The two of them together are very strong young men. They tackle many big problems, like the birth certificate, and it all turns out okay in the end. Throughout the story the reader can see both of them mature as they face life’s issues.

Setting:
This book took place in South Bronx, New York City. The time period is modern times. I assume the time period because of the equipment they used in the story. The setting is perfect for the plot line because they are going through tough times in the South Bronx, where most people don't have a lot of money.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to middle school or high school boys, interested in sports. It is a very good book for life lessons on how to face tough times. Young age boys could get a different perspective on life and realize what they have. Even if they don’t like baseball, it is still a good read.

I really liked this book, it was a very predictable book but it had some real life problems which made me think that this is real, things like this happen sometimes. This book was very detailed and had somethings that were very sad. This book had a lot of hints to what the theme is, this book had a symbol from the start that came back at the end. This was very tough times for the people in the book but as the book progressed it got better and better. I liked the ending a lot it was one of the most liked endings I've read.

the book heat is a very good book, the story line was so good, it was one of those books that i didn't want to stop reading because it was so good. the main character Michel was such a fascinating character, he surprised me many times, i was shocked. the book made me even more shocked, the character in the book made the story so interesting, normally i don't like sports books, but this one was so good.