The Trouble with Heroes

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner read by Mack Gordon

Bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing.

One summer.
46 mountain peaks.
A second chance to make things right.

Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now.

Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing--he has to bring along the dead woman's dog.

In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

Critics Review

Take one drooling dog, add one pretty desperate kid, mix in mountains--a lot of mountains--sprinkle with unexpected cookie recipes and hard-nosed quirkiness, and let rise. You'll know it's finished when the generosity and hope and truth of this novel run over. Let it.
Newbery Honoru2013winning and bestselling author Gary D. Schmidt
With astute intention and invention, each verse touches your soul and puts tears in your eyes--the kind of tears that comfort and heal.
Renu00e9e Watson, New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning author
Split this story like a log, and you'll find concentric circles of metaphor and meaning on every page. There are passages that will gut you, and others that will leave you laughing out loud.
Nikki Grimes, award-winning author of ORDINARY HAZARDS
Equal parts suspenseful adventure and heartrending emotion, this beautiful book will capture your heart.
Jasmine Warga, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A ROVER'S STORY and Newbery Honor-winning OTHER WORDS FOR HOME
The Trouble with Heroes is a heartfelt, moving page-turner that tackles grief, loss, anger and redemption. Another Kate Messner triumph!
Dan Gemeinhart, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN and THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE
The pitch-perfect tween voice spills out of the poetry with raw authenticity. Any tween who's ever lost someone, made bad choices, or felt unworthy of love will identify with Finn.
Kip Wilson, award-winning author of WHITE ROSE
As always, Kate Messner writes with an acute understanding of the emotional lives of today's kids, and her respect for readers shines on every page. Messner is the Judy Blume of a new generation.
Anne Ursu, author of NOT QUITE A GHOST
Pack your tissues and hold onto your hearts as Finn sweeps you into a tale that traverses the peaks and valleys of adolescence, of life, of grief, of growth.
K. A. Holt, award-winning author of HOUSE ARREST
A masterpiece. . . . Part funny, part fascinating, and fully rooted in a deep emotional soul, readers of all kinds will be rooting for Finn Connelly with everything they've got.
Ann Braden, award-winning author of FLIGHT OF THE PUFFIN
Finn's journey will speak to every kid who's felt the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Laura Shovan, award-winning author of TAKEDOWN
Magnificent and moving. The Trouble with Heroes is a triumph--as healing and inspiring as the view
from a mountain peak.
Julie Berry, New York Times bestselling author of LOVELY WAR
Tenderly proffers the the healing power of nature. . . . A gently reflective, bittersweet, and redemptive story.
Booklist, starred review
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
A timely meditation on grief, anger, and the solace offered by nature.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
Sincere, and heartrending. . . . Hiking, and the way it encourages us to test our physical and emotional limits, could be an apt metaphor for healing.
The Wall Street Journal
This verse novel covers a lot of ground, literally and metaphorically, and thoughtfully grapples with the big ideas of life.
Horn Book
Hopeful . . . with complex, imperfect characters that feel effortlessly real. . . . [Reminds] readers that everyone, including heroes, faces challenges, but by working hard and finding support and community, they can move forward, one step at a time.
BCCB
Tween and young teen readers who appreciate contemporary fiction or mixed media novels should find plenty to ponder in this emotionally potent narrative that contains more heart-wrenching moments than the Adirondacks have high peaks.
Shelf Awareness
Gordon's narration captures the many poetic and visual elements of the text.
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