Heat

Huh. I did not expect this. I don't give a **** about sports, especially baseball. But baseball is only the vehicle of a much better story. One of belonging. I liked this a lot.

Michael Arroyo is a 13-year-old Cuban American who lives in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. Yes, he is a Little League ballplayer, and, yes, he has a dream: to pitch in the Little League World Series. To do so, his South Bronx All-Stars will need to beat the best the greater New York area has to offer in the regional championship, to be played in--you guessed it--Yankee Stadium. This setup sounds like yet another Rocky meets Bad News Bears tearjerker: the immigrants from the Bronx take on the white-bread rich kids from the suburbs. It is that (with some notable twists), but it's much more, too. Michael and his brother, 17-year-old Carlos, have a problem: their beloved father is dead, and the boys are hoping to avoid a foster home by show more pretending Papi is visiting a sick relative in Miami. Lupica wrings plenty of genuine emotion from the melodramatic frame story, but he sidesteps the slough of social significance by building characters who speak for themselves, not the author, and by enlivening the story with a teen version of street humor. The dialogue crackles, and the rich cast of supporting characters--especially Michael's battery mate, catcher and raconteur Manny--nearly steals the show. Top-notch entertainment in the Carl Hiaasen mold. Category: Books for Older Readers--Fiction. 2006, Philomel, $16.99. Gr. 6-9. Starred Review show less

Michael (Miguel) Arroyo is a transplant from Cuba with a heck of a pitching arm. He is the star of his Little League team, which is hanging on him their hopes of getting to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Michael has a secret to keep, which becomes even more complicated when his true age is questioned by coaches from opposing teams. He also has a love interest which has a suprising twist, as help comes from some unexpected all star sources.
The quip-loaded dialog between Michael and his best friend Manny gives the plot in this book the driving force that it needs to hit a home run.

Yankee Stadium – the iconic (and now purely symbolic) baseball park where the likes of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio have played. Twelve-year-old Cuban immigrant Michael Aroyo has grown up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. He can hear the crowd roar when El Grande, the Yankee’s powerful Cuban pitcher, throws another strike. He can watch the crowds go in and out, but he can’t afford to enter the great stadium himself, especially now that it’s only himself and his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos at home. Michael knows that he has the potential to be one of the greatest little league pitchers ever. He knows he has the potential to lead his team to the little league world series. He knows his team should be playing show more their final division game inside the hallowed walls of Yankee Stadium. Yet, here he is, standing on the sidelines watching his team struggle without him. It turns out that another team has contested Michael’s age and Carlos can’t seem to find the birth certificate. If only they could ask Poppy. If only they could hide there secret until the end of the season.
With wit and charm Mike Lupica, who specializes in sports-themed stories, creates a full cast of believable characters who hinder and help Michael in his quest to become the next El Grande and to achieve his dream. There’s wise-cracking catcher Manny, who always has Michael’s back; old Mrs. C. who supplies more than the occasional meal; snarky Justin who’ll do almost anything to get Michael off the mound; and mysterious Ellie, who seems to only show up when El Grande in on the Yankee’s roster. The author has a great talent for combining tons of baseball details with fun dialogue and real emotion to create a full and entertaining story. Even people who don’t like baseball will like Heat by Mike Lupica. show less

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.

Heat was the first of many Mike Lupica novels I've read. Lupica creates a fantastic story about a twelve year old boy, Michael, who is a sublime pitcher for his little league baseball team. Set near old Yankee Stadium, Michael is surrounded by baseball; it is practically his life. From Cuba, baseball is all Michael has ever known and dreams of playing professional ball. Michael is such a talented pitcher for his team that many coaches suspected he was older than the little league baseball legal age of twelve. Michael was in a quandary; he had no access to his birth certificate which would prove his age. This is a pretty common theme in Little League baseball today. There have been a myriad of kids who have been accused of changing their show more birth certificates and pretending to be younger than they really are. This prevalent theme and Lupica's ability to put the reader into Michael's shoes creates a riveting, fictional story about a boy's dreams and childhood. This book is a must-read for all young baseball fans. show less