Mastering a boy’s first person middle grade voice is not an easy task. Often the voice sounds either too young or too old making the story less believable.
That’s not the case with Gary D. Schmidt’s newest as Hercules Beal is a winner. His heartfelt and often hilarious narration is, well, “oh boy, oh boy.”
Cape Cod is the wonderful setting for this story. Hercules takes daily walks with his cat and dog to watch the sunrise each morning from a nearby dune. It’s there he says hello to his parents who were tragically killed in an auto accident. He’s still trying to cope with life after.
His older brother moved back to town to care for 12-year-old Hercules and they both have a huge job: taking care of the Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery. Of course Hercules also has school to deal with as a new 7th grader at the Cape Cod Academy for Environmental Sciences.
It’s there he meets his teacher, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer (he was a supporting character in Schmidt’s 2007 THE WEDNESDAY WARS). His way of teaching is like a military commander: “It’s a tough world, Beal.” But the result is splendid. He gives each student an individualized eight month assignment called ‘A Classical Mythology Application Project.’ Hercules is given the task of referencing each of the twelve Labors of Hercules and finding the meaning in his own life. Little does he know that through the process he will become a hero, be laughed at, and through each step begin to find peace in his new life along with mental healing.
The book is a lengthy 352 pages which won’t be a problem for established readers. The Labors of Hercules Beal is an entertaining and memorable read.
BOOK BIRTHDAY: MAY 23, 2023
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT THE LABORS OF HERCULES BEAL by Gary D. Schmidt
- There are a fantastic set of supporting characters like the previously mentioned Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer. There’s Violet, his brother’s girlfriend who for sure must be a vampire according to Hercules; and several neighbors who provide timely help. Pirate Cat and Mindy are the two animal characters that do much the same in a quieter way.
- For the many kids who won’t pick up this book because of the size or the content, a read-aloud would be the remedy where discussion could take place about the many themes brought forth, especially about self discovery and healing.
- Cape Cod comes to life with all the special characteristics, especially the ever changing weather.
- The scene where the Beal Brothers must rescue a neighbor caught in a raging storm is a real page turning part of the story.
- For writers: A lesson in how to write meaningful character ARCS.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gary D. Schmidt is the best-selling author of many books for young readers, including Just Like That; National Book Award finalist Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; Orbiting Jupiter; the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; and the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday Wars. He is a professor of English at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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COMMENTS ARE WELCOME BELOW.
BE SURE TO ALSO VISIT THE OTHER BLOGGERS ON TODAY’S MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY!
Always in the Middle... 
I love the premise of basing a story around the 12 labours of Hercules and it sounds like it’s done really really well. I agree that getting the voice right for a 12 year old boy when writing in first person is difficult, so kudos to the author! Thanks for sharing!
This sounds like a great story. It’s awesome that it would be a good read aloud for more reluctant readers.
Gary Schmidt is the best! Just finished the storm scene and it was a nail-biter for sure. Thanks for sharing this book, Greg!
I love the minor connection to The Wednesday Wars, which is a book I really enjoyed a while back! It sounds like this story steals readers’ hearts just as well, and I can imagine the longer length gives the arcs room to breathe and be fully realized. Thanks so much for the thoughtful review, Greg, and have a great week!
Gary is a talented writer; thanks for featuring his newest book. Sounds like a good read. Thanks for including me in MMGM.
Oh, my. A new Gary D. Schmidt book, and I didn’t know about it. I have to get this, and soon. It sounds delicious. I love Schmidt’s writing. Thanks for the heads up.
This may be an unpopular opinion but I didn’t think Schmidt mastered Herc’s voice. As a middle school librarian (on Cape Cod) the ‘oh boy, oh boy’ sounded too old fashioned to be authentic. Also, as a Cape Codder, there were so many glaring inaccuracies related to the setting that it pulled me out of the story page after page. Schmidt is such a talented writer so I was disappointed that he, and his editors, didn’t do their due diligence in researching the setting. We lack an abundance of deciduous trees so ‘leaf peeping’ is not a popular hobby. You go to Western Mass or New Hampshire for that. Also spring on Cape Cod is late… does not happen until late May. We have zero things blooming in April. There are loads of other examples but I don’t want to pile them on because I love the story, character development and messages about grief, healing, community and belonging and I so badly want to be able to set aside my other disappointments and just enjoy the good.
Thanks for commenting. Sorry to hear about the setting not being an accurate depiction. Herc’s voice is closer to what I’ve experienced with middle grade boys the past 30 years in the Rocky Mountain west. Must be the high altitude 🙂