Heat

Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt
he is only twelve years old, and he has no parents to offer them proof.

While this book took me a little while to get into, once it started to pick up pace it was a very enjoyable book. The second half of the book was much more exciting and easy to read than the beginning.

Great for middle school boys, this book follows 12 year old Michael as he tries to pitch his little league team to the World Series. However, he faces many problems along the way. Michael and his older brother Carlos are living on their own because their dad died, and no one cane know because the boys don't want to get sent to child services and separated. Also, because Michael is so good, the other teams want proof he is only 12- the only problem is that his birth certificate is back in Cuba. Michael, Carlos and his best friend Manny, with the help of their friendly neighbor, Mrs. C, try everything to help get Michael back to playing. They even have Manny's uncle pretend to be Michael's dad so the child services would stop bothering him.

Michael lives in the Bronx, and dreams of going to a Yankees game one day. Always on the outside, he only dreams of going to a game to watch his hero, El Grande, pitch a game. When a mysterious girl shows up to watch Michael play ball, Michael's instant attraction to her ends up proving to come back and help him.

I don't want to give too much away, so if you don't want to be spoiled skip this paragraph (it's more for my sake so I don't forget the book). They mystery girl, Ellie, turns out to be El Grande's daughter. While Michael's team is in the final play off game to get to the world series- and Michael still cannot play, El Grande shows up at the game to tell Michael they got his birth certificate from Cuba (El Grande has connections). Michael ends up bringing his team back from being down and they win the game. They make it to the world series, but the book ends after the first pitch (which is a strike) and the end is left up to the reader to decide. Also, Mrs. C tells the child services everything and the child service man offers to help, and delays paper work so the boys can continue to live on their own until Carlos turns 18, in a couple months. Happy ending! ( )

This YA novel follows twelve-year-old Michael Arroyo, a baseball pitcher who can really lay down some heat. The problem? He is so good that another coach accuses him of lying about his age. To make things worse, he has no birth certificate and he is hiding another secret, too. Will he have to give up baseball to keep his secret? A solid book with some plot surprises, good tension, and nice morals. And very good baseball! Now it's my son's turn to read it. ( )

A 12 year old Cuban boy named Michael (Miguel in cuban) Arroyo is a baseball sensation for his New York district little league all star team. The other coaches take an interest in him because he throws too hard to be that young. When they send a letter to the Little League commissioner and he finds that Michael doesn’t have a birth certificate on record so he can’t play.
This book was short but great. I really like Mike Lupica’s style of writing because it always makes me think. Like in this story it made me think “How would I feel if I was 12 and my dad died?” It’s hard to write a good sports story but Mike Lupica always does it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball or sports in general.

It touches your heart, mind, and soul. 5 stars, best book ever. Michael Arroyo shows the true meaning of baseball. ( )