Hero by Mike Lupica

Lupica, Mike Hero, 288 p. Philomel (Penguin), 2010.  Violence:  G (action hero/villain violence – think Incredibles).  Zach Harriman’s father always returns from his incredible missions for the President of the United States.  But then one time he doesn’t.  Zach, suspects something sinister and a mysterious old man seems to confirm his opinion.  Zach is something special – but how can one teenaged kid save the world from any kind of bad when he can’t even stand up to his personal bully?  Fans of Lupica’s sports fiction will only be sort of pleased with this fantasy offering and fans of fantasy probably won’t notice this at all.  Lupica’s attempt at this genre does not hang together as well as his originals.  At the end the book feels like one big advertisement for a new series.  I would suggest Michael Carroll’s Quantum Prophecy series, Yancey’s Alfred Kropp books, or Powerless by Matthew Cody.  EL, MS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher