tThe plot of “Heat” shortened up is a kid moves to New York City from Havana, Cuba to be free and to play baseball. Michael, the main characters, father dies from a heart attack trying to help a woman from her boyfriend who’s mad at her. The only people that know about are Carlos, Michaels brother, and Mrs. C their neighbor. During the summer Michael is playing baseball for the Clippers, a local baseball teams in the Bronx. As the season goes on they keep winning and Michael can pitch around 80 miles per hour. About half way through the season the other coaches think that Michael is over the age 12, which is the age limit, so he needs to have a birth certificate to prove how old he is. But all he has is a certificate that says when he was baptized, so he is suspended from play. There was Mr. Gibbs an “Official” person they called him, he worked with foster kids and he also made sure to help kids so they didn’t get into foster care. Mr. Gibbs knew something was up with Michael and Carlos, he just didn’t know what. Michael’s idol, El Grande, is a superstar baseball pitcher for the Yankees that Michael picked up all of his technique from by watching him on television. One day Michael and Manny, Michael’s best friend, were playing catch at the stadium where the Clippers played their games and practiced at, and there was this girl watching them from a distance. Michael tried talking to her bust she laughed and ran away. Then a few weeks later she was there again and she actually came and talked to him this time, and when Michael first laid eyes on her, he really liked he. The only thing he didn’t know was that she was El Grande’s daughter, Ellie. Michael still couldn’t play and Mr. Gibbs and a few other people were trying to pull some strings and try to see if they could find Michael’s birth certificate in Havana, Cuba, but they were not having any luck. One day before a Yankee’s Game he went and tried to meet El Grande so he could give him a note to give to Ellie because he had made Ellie mad and wanted to make up for it. El Grande arrived and Michael was waiting and yelling out for him, but El Grande wouldn’t answer until he started singing this song about a cat that was from Cuba. Then El Grande answered and Michael told him everything that was going on. It was the game to win their conference to go to the District 22 Championship game which was Michael’s dream to do and he couldn’t play. This game was against their arch rival Westchester South, and the coach from the other team was the one that got the petition to prevent Michael from playing. The Clippers were down 5-7 at the top of the last inning, and then El Grande, Mr. Gibbs, Michael’s family, and some guy who was the head person in charge of all the games that got played. El Grande made some calls in Havana and he got Michael real birth certificate and then Michael got to play. The Clippers won and went on to Yankee Stadium to play in the District 22 finals.The main character was Michael, then there was Manny, Papi Michael’s deceased father, Carlos, and Mrs. C. They were some pretty important characters that came up in the story a lot. There’s Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Minaya the baseball coach, Ellie, Ramon a criminal Michael stopped. There is also less important characters names that isn’t that relevant. “Heat” took place in the Bronx in New York City. It was usually at Michael's apartment building or Macombs Dam Park where the baseball field where the Clippers played was. The time is modern time everything is basically the same as it is this very day except it was in the summer. The setting impacted the story because it was in a bigger city and there was a lot more competition than there would be in a smaller area. I would recommend this to boys or girls from sixth to twelfth grade. It is more for people who like to read sports books, otherwise I don’t think you would like it very much. I recommend it because at some parts it makes you laugh. It also makes you question if Michael will ever be able to play again or not by the end of the season.
Hello my name is Giuseppe Mattera, I think that the author wrote this book for many reasons, one of the reasons is to get people to work for their dreams. Because in the book the author tells us that Michael, his father, and brother sneak into the United States to look for new opportunities. The family moves to New York city in search for jobs. A few months after they move to the big city Michael's father dies. They face many problems in the United States. Michael's brother works many jobs just to provide from him and his brother. In Cuba Michael was one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the area. Michael always had a dream to play in the little league world series. While he is reaching for his goal he runs into a huge problem, one of his opponents asks to see his birth certificate because they do not believe that he is 12 years old. The reason they cannot find his birth certificate is because his father was the only one who knew where they were. I think the theme of the story is poverty. In the story it tells us that Michael and his family move to America with little or no money at all. When his father died him and his brother did not know what to do. Michael's older brother went in search for jobs while Michael stayed home and practiced baseball. I think that the author made this the theme because 45% of the world lives in poverty everyday. Another reason why I think he made this the theme is because he is trying to show people just how hard it is to work two jobs and be an illegal immigrant. Michael and his brother have barely enough money to survive.Michael's brother at the age of 17 is trying to keep their dads death a secret because if people know the kids will go in foster care. They are trying to wait till his brother turns 18 so that he can legally take care of his brother. The style of this book is first person, the author is very descriptive about everything in this story. He points out a lot of details and he tells us what the people in the story look like and how they act. The way he wrote the book made me understand it a lot better and it made it a lot easier to read. The author made this book easy to understand because he was trying to get a point out to the readers. In the beginning of the story the author described a lot of things and then he would use them later in the story so he was for shadowing. The book is meant for people that like and play the sport not for people that do not like it. This book gives a lot of life lessons that people can learn from. Personally I thought that this was one of the best books I've ever read. I loved the way that the author describes things and how smoothly the story flew along. I also felt that there was a lot of action and it really gripped your attention. The only part that could have been improved is how fast the plot changes. In one part of the story it tells us that he wasn't doing very good and he was sitting on the bench and then before you know it he was the best player on the team. This book was very similar to the last book I read the Big Field. In both of these books the author likes to describe things in the beginning and then talk about them later in the story. I read this book because i am a huge baseball fan and I would recommend this book to any one that is interested in baseball.
What do You think about Heat (2007)?
Heat, by Mike Lupica is one of the greatest books on overcoming obstacles I have ever read in my life. Lupicas use of imagery and diction makes you feel like your with the characters. The book is about a young 12 year old Cuban American boy named Michael who is a newly orphaned boy after losing his father to a heart attack at age 9. Michael lives with his older brother Carlos and they try to avoid being caught by social services and sent into foster care and possibly never seeing each other aga
—Collin Clack
Heat by Mike Lupica is a great book. It really grabs your attention. If you love baseball or books about baseball, this is the book for you. Heat is about a 12 year old boy with a booming pitching arm. He is a Cuban immigrant. He now lives in the Bronx growing up all his life watching the Yankees play. Other teams don't believe this 12 year old boy named Michael is young enough to play because he is so good. The problem is, he doesn't have a birth certificate to prove it and he can not get one. Both of his parents have died and he is living with his brother, who is 17 years old. No one knows he is living with his brother alone. If they do find out, they will be separated from each other. The title, "Heat" could mean two things, either it's that Michael's pitching arm is sizzling fast or that both of his parents have died and he has to go through that heat. This book was a great book. I think Mike Lupica, the author, did a great job writing about the situation Michael Arroyo is in and what he has to deal with. Throughout the book, I could easily visualize what was happening. I really liked this book. It wasn't all about baseball. It was also dealing with real life situations. This book also inspired me, because a 12 year old boy having to go through all of this without his mother or father. I couldn't imagine doing that at 12 years old. In the end, Michael solves all of his issues and gets to pitch at the Yankee Stadium. He even meets his idol, El Grande, along the way. This is a really good book. I would recommend it to many people. If you want a book that is hard to put down and is inspiring, I would grab this book off the shelves and start reading.
—Shane Ridge
tThe book Heat by Mike Lupica is a great book. Michael the main character is a great baseball player on a good team. They are number one in the conference and they are going to the little league world series. Other teams don’t believe that he’s young enough to participate because he is so good. The problem is he doesn’t have a birth certificate to prove it and he can not get one. His parents both died and he is living with his older brother who is under the age of 18. Nobody knows that Michael is living with just his brother and if people find out they could be separated from each other.tI really liked this book. I think the author did great with the situation that Michael has to deal with and really did well showing the characters personalities. Through out the book I could easily vision what was happening and for me that doesn’t happen often when I am reading. I think this book was really good and I would read it again if I couldn’t find anything new to read.tHeat is an amazing book and I would rate this a 10 out of 10. I really hate reading and for me to give a book a 10 out of 10 is really good. I like the characters and how Mike Lupica wrote out the story. It’s a good book to read for many age groups. I like how its about sports and has the drama of him trying to find a way to continue with his teams.
—Matt Graham
