Schmidt, Gary D. Labors of Hercules Beal, The. Clarion, 05/2023. 352pp. Fiction. GRADES 5 – 7. $19.99 978-0-358-65963-1. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Seventh grader Hercules has a lot that sets him apart. He lives next to the ocean on a farm and nursery his family has owned longer than you can imagine. But since his parents’ untimely death, he and his older brother Achilles struggle to keep the business, and what’s left of their family, together. His workload is increased when his new teacher, an ex-Marine, assigns him to perform and reflect on the twelve labors of the mythic Hercules. Neighbors, natural disasters, feral cats, and his brother’s possibly vampiric girlfriend all combine to produce a memorable year. While Hercules’ grief is palpable, his staunch determination to carry on, and his personality˗filled descriptions, make the story more comic than tragic. The majority of the characters read as white. Reviewed from an ARC.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired