I'm not usually a big fan of sports stories, but Lupica's characters have real soul. This novel is about a 12-year-old Cuban American boy who is an extremely talented Little League pitcher. The only problem is that he is so good, some of the other coaches in the league start to question whether or not he is actually 12 years old. Unfortunately, his birth certificate is still in Cuba, and circumstances have made it extremely difficult to retrieve. Will Michael be able to play? And who is that beautiful girl who keeps coming to watch him pitch? She sure isn't your average baseball fan...

I am looking forward to reading more books by this talented sports author.

This novel shows the endurance of hardships some kids face when there aren’t parental figures in their lives. It’s very tough to grow up without your actual parents, let alone any parents. In this book, the two brother’s overcome obstacles trying to keep them from succeeding in life. They had to endure hardships throughout the book. With the help of sports and friends they were able to overcome all the obstacles.The life lessons both friends and sports provided shows the irreplaceable qualities that will never be taken away and will shape them for the rest of their lives. This book has a sort of suspense that makes the reader not want to put it down. Baseball may be the center of this book, however, the possibility of dreams becoming reality makes anyone ponder the question. How does it relate in people’s lives? Imagine a random person’s life, the odds stacked against them. What they were able to do to turn it around is simply speechless. In this book, the brother’s show the willingness to not let anything stop them from overcoming just about anything. They also let nothing that seemed impossible get in the way of accomplishing their goals. Heat is definitely a good read for any type of audience.

in the book Heat by Mike Lupica a 12 year old pitcher (Michael Arroyo) is just too good for his competition. His team from Brooklyn, NY have aspirations to go to the Little League World Series behind Michael's arm. The opposing coaches think he is too good to only be 12 years old, so they call the Little League capital of the world (Williamsport) to ban him until he shows his birth certificate. The real problem is that he can't find his birth certificate over here or in Cuba where he once lived. Before his father passed away he told Michael and his older brother Carlos that there were more opportunities in the U.S than in Cuba. This story is about an underdog team who wanted to prove everyone wrong.

This was a really good book and I liked it because I can relate to it. I read this book all the way back in 6th grade and forgot what I was about so I decided to re-read it. I never have any major critics on Mike Lupica books because I feel like he has the perfect balance of telling a story and giving in game descriptions. There is never too much character development because that is not what this book is geared toward. Lupica also does a great job at using real life events and making realistic fictional stories.

I would recommend this book for someone who likes a story of overcoming adversity. The story is very straight foward, so there is not any hidden themes, as the reader can just sit back and enjoy the story for what it is. This is the type of book that you would read at the beach because it has an easy flow and vibe to it. Heat is an 8.5 out of 10 because my attention span was held throughout as the story was compelling enough.

Heat by Mike lupica is a book about a boy from bronx new york named Michael who is very good at baseball. Michael imigrated from cuba and has been playing baseball since little leagues. A kid onmichaels baseball team justin is the coaches son and does a complaint on michael because he cant prove his age because his father left his birth certificate in cuba and his family can afford to get a new one. Michael meets a man named Manny who is actually a famous yankees player. Manny coaches michaels team and leads them to the championship game. I rate this book 3 stars because it was an intresting book about a boy who moved to new york and haas good detail about whats going on durring the baseball games. But it was not the best book i have ever read but still inspirational."God lets everything happen for a reason. It's all a learning process, and you have to go from one level to another." I thought it was a nice quote becuase it says not everything is given and learning from your mistakes if good. I liked this book because in class we are lerning about our memories. In this book michael talks about memories of his dad good and bad. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys baseball or is look for a inspirational story about a kid living in the bronx in poverty.