The book "Hero" by Mike Lupica is about a 14-year-old boy named Zach Harriman whose father dies in a plane crash. Zach struggles with his father's death until he meets Mr. Herbert, who tells Zach he has special powers. Zach saves a senator from an assassination attempt by using his new abilities. It is later revealed that Mr. Herbert is actually Zach's grandfather, and Zach decides to use his powers to fight bad guys, like his father did.

1. Hero
By: Mike Lupica
Jack Grundman
Reading-Roche
Period 3
5/13/12
S

2. MIKE LUPICA: BIOGRAPHY
S Mike Lupica is a famous sports writer in America. He first started his writing career as a
coverer for the New York Knicks. He was 23 when he started doing this job. He became
the youngest ever at a New York paper in the New York Times. For the past 15 years, he
has been a TV anchor for ESPN’S Sports Reporters. He even has his own program on
ESPN2 called The Mike Lupica Show. In 1987, Mike began “The Sporting Life” column in
Esquire Magazine. He has published many things in different papers. He even won the Jim
Murray award in 2003 for the National Football Foundation. Mike has written many books
with other people but he also has written many books by himself. Some of them include:
Jump, Full Court, Dead air, and many, many more. He has so many New York Times Best
Sellers for mostly all of his books. Mike Lupica has inspired people for many years.

3. SUMMARY
S Zach Harriman is a 14 year old boy who lives in New York. One day, he comes back
to his apartment and there are policemen waiting for him there. Zach’s father had
died. Zach is never the same after his father’s death. One day, on a cool night, Zach
sees a jogger jogging. He sees a man hiding in a bush. Zach stays in the joggers
way and then he moves for the jogger. When Zach looks back at the bush, the man
is gone. Kate, Zach’s friend, lives with Zach because Kate’s mom is the Harriman’s
housemaid. Zach is desperate to go to his dad’s crash site. He finds no evidence at
the crash site. Then, a man by the name of Mr. Herbert talks to Zach and tells him
that he has magic inside him. Zach runs after the man and then finds himself at
Central Park. His Uncle John tells Zach not to trust Mr. Herbert. After a day at
Central Park, Zach comes home and on his laptop has a message that says “Trust
no one”. He realizes later that Kate wrote that message. His mom is helping a
senator named Senator Kerrigan. One day at a speech, a voice in Zach’s head says
to look up. He then sees a person going to shoot the senator. Zach saves the
senator from near disaster. Mr. Herbert gets hit with the bullet. Will Zach ever find
the truth about his father’s death? Read to find out.

4. CHARACTERS
Main Character
- Zach- main character, teenager, normal life till dad died.
- Mom- helps Zach when dad dies, helps senator Kerrigan on his
campaign
- Kate- helps Zach when dad dies, teenager, Zach’s best friend.
Supporting Characters
- Dad- dies in plane crash, helps the world and fight the bads.
- Mr. Herbert- talks to Zach, trains him and tells him he has
powers.
- Senator Kerrigan- runs for president, Zach saves him.

5. PLOT
Introduction
- Meet Zach and his family
- Setting- New York City, Present
Rising Action
- Zach’s dad is on a plane and he has just captured someone bad.
- When Zach comes home from Central Park, bad news.
- Zach’s dad died. Zach is never same after dad’s death.
- Kate and mom try to cheer Zach up.
- Zach gets bullied less at school.
- Zach’s mom is helping Senator Kerrigan with campaign
- Mr. Herbert meets Zach at his dad’s crash site.

6. PLOT CONTINUED
Climax
- Zach finds out that Mr. Herbert is his grandpa.
Falling Action
- Zach is at central Park listening to a speech.
- A voice inside his head (his dad’s voice) says to look up
-
his life. up and sees a sniper. He then pushes Kerrigan out of the way and saves
He looks
- Mr. Herbert gets hit with the bullet. Mr. Herbert dies.
Conclusion
- Kerrigan thanks Zach for saving his life.
- Everyone is nicer to Zach and Zach decides to chase the Bads.

7. NEW VOCABULARY
1. suspicious- adj. arousing suspicion; inviting distrust. Pg.43
2. Faded- v. To lose brightness or loudness. Pg. 109
3. Beat- v. To mark or count. Pg. 114
4. Polishing- Made or naturally smooth or shiny. Pg. 128
5. Hoodie- n. Also a sweater; something like a sweater. Pg. 148

8. STARRING ACTORS:
Zach Harriman played by Drake Bell

9. STARRING ACTORS:
Elizabeth Harriman played by Julie Bowen

10. STARRING ACTORS:
Kate played by Jennifer Lawrence

11. STARRING ACTORS:
Tom Harriman played by Patrick Dempsey
Mr. Herbert played by Craig T. Nelson

12. STARRING ACTORS:
Senator Kerrigan played by Tom Cruise

13. SOUNDTRACK TUNES
S Zach saves the Senator scene.
taken from Footloose soundtrack;
Track 4: “Holding Out for a Hero”

14. RATING
I gave Hero a rating of
3 out of 5 stars
This book was a great book, but it was confusing to read
and the book changed the topic often when it should have
been still going on the same topic. It had a lot of action and
there was some fight scenes here and there. I liked this
book and I do (even though I did not rate it high)
recommend to anyone who likes action and drama.