This book was my absolute favorite book of fourth grade. At the time, I was really into sports books and this book fit the billing. But what is beautiful about Heat is that it's not just about sports. Mike Lupica deals with friendship, family, and coping with loss in a way that seamlessly integrates into the baseball theme.

The characters and their relationships are beautifully developed. I especially loved seeing how Michael and his brother interacted, trying to make a family after losing their dad. These interactions and Lupica's easy-to-read style kept me flipping the pages.

A delightful read!

I really don't know much about baseball, but I still enjoyed this book. Baseball was more the setting while the story was about brothers from Cuba whose father dies once they arrive in the US. The brothers hide their father's death in order to stay together and not get split up/taken away by "official persons." Although the boys expressed some fear of being sent back to Cuba, I had to keep reminding myself that the story was not focused on their legal status as citizens, but only about being parentless and sent to foster care. I guess I hear too much about illegals on the news these days so I kept thinking that was the problem.

tI really enjoyed this book. I knew I would like this book because in a way it's similar to one of my favorite authors styles of writing. Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about childhood struggles and growing up in a lifestyle that's difficult and proposes a lot of conflict and adversity within your life, which sometimes seems unfair but that's just how it is sometimes. An in The heat by Mike Lupica you see this with Michael arroyo because he's here from Cuba with his brother illegally because they're father dues and his brother Carlos is taking care of him but Carlos isn't old enough to necessarily be classified as a adult . The struggles he faced and the attention he got because he was such a great pitcher really threatened his way of life even almost getting him deported. The heat was a very interesting book because it had a lot of action that catches your attention, when you start reading the book, it's like once the plot gets going you don't wanna put it down. 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 okay. Which made the plot loose attraction and ultimately leaves you like really? that's it? This quote used that I think really makes you look at the book from a outside view is " A family of three had become, in Michael Arroyo's young mind, an army of two"(Mike Lupica 47). I think what the author is saying is, is say hypothetically Michaels dad isn't necessarily gone as in dead but gone as in not apart of his life anymore. Leaving Michael and his brother to fight in a place where they're new but have better opportunity then they would in Cuba. But then I got to thinking in a different way such as what if the quote means that Michael still thinks of his dad as apart of the family but not as much apart of the family as he would be if he were there. Because in the book we're reading in class Tim o'brien the things they carried the character Tim says " They were still my buddies, at least on one level, but once you leave that boonies, the whole Conrad business gets turned around. You become a civilian. You forfeit membership in the family, the blood fraternity, and no matter how hard you try,you can't pretend to be part of it(Tim o'brien 185)". Even tho this didn't happen I wonder if Michaels dad comes back will things be the same between them? How does perspective shape or alter the truth? Because we were all made differently our views tend to be very different or very similar. Some people can't handle the truth and sometimes we think the truth isn't enough or isn't relevant enough to bring up. Even more so we know we can't tell the truth because it's not what people want to hear or it puts us in a bad situation
. Michaels father recently passed away, which means Michael and his 17 year old brother have to keep their secret as long as they can until he turns 18. Because of Michael's huge throwing arm, other teams suspect he's not 12 years old. In this instance you can't tell the truth because you risk to many things such as being deported, separated, put into foster care etc. Depending on the situation and how a person chooses to take it on does most likely alter the truth. 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.

Hey, Manny here, teammate and best friend of Michael Arroyo, one of the best baseball players in our town. Michael hasn’t been himself since he was kicked off our team for being too old. Come to think of it, even when he is himself, I don’t know that Michael is even happy. You see, a little secret of his that he let me in on is that at a young age, his father died, leaving him with his older 17-year old brother, Carlos. The thing is though, technically a 12-year old child (Michael) has to be raised by someone 18 or older. If foster care found out about this, Michael and Carlos would be split up in a blink. Curious to see if he needed help and find out what is going on with him, I decided to ask him a few questions to find out what’s going on.

Q: What is it like for you and Carlos having to fend for yourselves?
A: For the two of us, It’s been real tough, nothing has been the same since Papi passed away. There isn’t a day where I don’t think about it at least once.

Q: How many people have you told about your secret/How many people know?
A: Besides you and Carlos only Mrs. Cora. Mrs. Cora is a neighbor of ours who helps out. But other than that, I’m not sure that any other people know, that’s what I hope at least.

Q: Who has helped you and Carlos throughout your life after your father died?
A: Mrs. Cora, Mrs. Cora assists us in our everyday lives. From homework, to making sure our grades are where they need to be, to making sure we’re in bed at the right time, she’s always been a big help to our family even since before Papi passed away.

Q: How badly do you want to get back out on the baseball field?
A: Very badly, I’m unhappy with how I’ve been treated by the league. Baseball isn’t just a game to me--it’s everything, I feel so empty without it. I absolutely need to get back out on the field.

Q: Why were you kicked off our team, you told me you were the same age as me?
A: Well, you see, being that I am from Cuba, and I don’t have any real parents that could find one, I don’t currently have a copy of my birth certificate. That birth certificate would prove that I am in fact 12 years old and that I am eligible to play 12U.

Q: Honestly, do you think that you have a future in baseball?
A: Honestly, I do believe I could still be playing baseball in the distant future. My dream has always been to play at Yankee Stadium, and considering the track I’m on, I do not plan on giving up on it.

Q: How much attention have you gotten from the local news?
A: I’ve received a pretty good amount of attention from the local news. Ever since I caught a purse thief by heaving a baseball and luckily hitting them, the media has been on me quite a bit saying that I’m the next “baseball prodigy” and that I’m very talented.


Q: Do you enjoy the attention?
A: At first, it was cool to be on the news and have people be recognizing me on the streets. Now, however, these media people are asking for photo ops and my father to get involved and I feel like they’re forgetting that I am just a 12-year-old who is good at baseball.

Q: How is Carlos doing?
A: Carlos seems to be doing fine overall, he is usually just tired. I understand how hard it must be for him to be ‘raising’ me while also dealing with the two jobs he does to pay the rent.


Q: Do you talk to Carlos a lot?
A: I don’t talk to him that much. The only conversations I really have with him are quick short ones considering he spends most of his time away from home at school or working his two jobs.

I like this book because it was interesting how quickly it took to show the life of the main character, Michael, and what problems he was facing in his life. I also liked how Michaels best friend Manny and his family always try to help him out and give him advice. What I didn't like abut the book was how confusing it was when it jumped from Michael pithing, to when he was looking at this girl who was across the basketball courts. What i also liked about this book was when Michael got what he needed to be able to pitch and met his hero and become friends with his daughter.

I gave 'Heat' by Mike Lupica five stars. I love baseball and this book has a lot of it. There's also family drama mixed into the sport action. Lupica does a great job of keeping the reader attached. He understands what gets athletes excited. I'd bet that every baseball player who read this book would want to be Michael. Michael is the protagonist, he is a 12 year old Cuban boy who can pump 80 miles per hour! I can't even do that at 15 years old! Overall, I love how Lupica is so great at understanding athletes, and I love baseball.
I don't like how easy to read it was. I realize it was my choice of the book, but I wish there were more difficult books like this. I thought that there could've been another conflict because 'Heat' was quite boring at many times. Also, the statistics given to the players are completely unrealistic, no 12 year old is going to be throwing 80 miles per hour. At first, when I saw "80 miles per hour," I had to re-read it, then laugh at it. My entire review summarized is, 'Heat' by Mike Lupica is definitely a five star book.

"Heat" is a book about a boy who grows up in the Bronx and is a big baseball player. It's more than just a story about a boy who loves baseball. The main character is Michael Arroyo and he's 12 years old. Unlike any other 12 year old, Michael can throw an 80-mph fastball which is unheard of for a 12 year old. I can't even throw 80 and I'm 17. Because Michael is so dominant, other coaches begin to question if Michael is really 12 or if he's lying about his age. But since he's living with his 17-year old brother and his father died before they moved from Cuba the summer before, Michael has to find a way to get his birth certificate to prove he's 12 years old and lead his team to the Little League World Series. I loved this book because I love baseball and it's unlike any sports related book I've read in the past because the story is so different. It's intriguing and it made me want to know what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves stories where the heroes prevail and heartwarming endings. Also, anyone who loves sports will love this book.

The book Heat by Mike Lupica was about a twelve year old boy Michael who has a special ability in baseball and it his arm. He lives alone with his older brother, Carlos, they live in the South Bronx in the shadow of Yankees stadium. Michael has big dreams to pitch in the little league World Series. He is so good that rival coaches start questioning him and are asking him for a birth certificate. It's not his age that's the problem he just can't let the authorities find out that his father died until Carlos turns 18 so he can have custody over Michael. Michael has really bright future but he has to lay low so that they don't find about his father. The find a birth certificate for Michael so the coaches stop digging into his past. His team makes it to the World Series and he helps them try and win it.
I loved how I was really able to connect with the book, the book had a lot of conflict between characters which helped them grow closer and made the book really good. I didn't like how it didn't talk about the not so important characters it might just be me but I find books more interesting if I know about the characters problems and inner conflict. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes being around the game and that understands the game. Although I would still probably recommend it to friends. Overall, I really liked this book and rate it five stars.

This book is about a young boy living in New York. He is living in the Bronx, and is close to Yankee stadium. His dad had brought him and his older brother over from Cuba when he was younger. He wanted to concentrate on baseball, but soon his life twists and turns when his father dies making him and his 17 year-old brother orphans. He doesn’t want to be split apart from his brother, so they have to hide their father’s death for a few months until his older brother turns 18. Soon he is facing many problems like taking care of himself, girls, people asking about his father, and people are questioning his age. He leads his team to the little league world series, and brother turns 18. This book was a great realistic fiction story of tragedy and victory. I have read it over and over and I definitely would recommend this story to anyone who likes baseball, or even just a good story.

This book was very anti-climactic but also very emotional because it showed how as a team you could get things accomplished and that when life is hard you always have your friends and family by your side at all times. This book was also very original because it has all the basic twist and turns that every book has. And while reading this book it got me thinking on if it was fiction or not because the luck these two boys had to be taken in that easily and also one of them getting a job and getting more money is very slim in the real world. But overall it was a very interesting, amazing, and adventurous book.

This book was a little complicated for me because of all the baseball terms, but overall this book really helped me learn that in my own life, it's important to be optomistic in the hardest times. Michael is the protagonist that came with his brother carlos, and his father. Michael and Carlos face the most horrific truth... will they be able to make it through for two more months? Read more to find out the traggedy that has taken place and learn something while your reading!

it was really good! i thought it would be all totally sports but it wasnt