Heat by Mike Lupica
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Character Analysis
In the novel " Heat" by Mike Lupica, Michael Arroyo is the protagonist. Michael Arroyo leads his team each year to the little league playoffs. Michael is very active, caring, and loyal. Michael's passion is baseball. For example," Michael's best friend is baseball[pg.91]."He is a dye heart baseball fan and he practices extremely hard. Michael wants to travel to Williamsport to compete in the world series. There are some conflicts in Michael's way. Michael's father Victor Arroyo left to go to Florida, since then Michael's life has changed. For example, Michael couldn't play baseball until he got his birth certificate, since his father wasn't here. Instead of being one of the best players on the team, Michael Arroyo either watches the game on the bench or coaches third base. In the playoffs, Michael's team was versing Westchester South and Justin is pitching for them.Before the game Justin was very rude to Michael because they are enemy's and Michael can't play in that game. In the end Michael finds a solutiobn to the problem and was able to pitch for his team. To tie it all up, Michael Arroyo is a hardworking, active baseball player who is trying to fulfill his dreams to get into the big leagues.
Williamsport fields
Michael's dream place to play.
Birth Certificate
Michael couldn't play in Williamsprt because he came from Cuba, they needed a birth certificate to confirm his age. Luckily El Grande and Ellie found his certificate, so he can play in Williamsport.
Bullies
From Westchester South there is a mean kid named Justin who ends up being rude to Michael during the games they vs. each other.
Book Talks: Heat by Mike Lupica
How Can the Theme and Setting Advance the Plot in the Story?
In the novel " Heat" by Mike Lupica, the theme and the setting advances the plot by telling Michael's love for baseball also how he got into the Williamsport fields. For example, "Michael grabbed his glove off the kitchen table... stuffed the ball in his pocket... locked the apartment door behind him, headed at Macombs Dam Park[prologue]." Another example is "the field had always been a safe place for him[prologue]."This shows that the major theme in the story is hardwork and dedication. Michael spends time on the field day through night to make himself better so he can get his baseball team into the big leagues. In addition, El Grande said to Michael, " are you going to be standing here talking all night, or are you going to warm up[pg.200]?" It is evident that Michael has gotten a chance to show what he can do. This also shows a big transition from when Michael was playing in the small little leagues to the big Williamsport fields.
Book Review
I have recently read the book " Heat" by Mike Lupica. In this book 12 year old Michael Arroyo has an amazing pitching arm. One day he decided that he wanted his little league team to play in the Williamsport championships but he had major obstacles of his own to face. When his father dies he had no birth certificate or couldn't confirm his age to play in Williamsport. That doesn't stop Michael from fulfilling his dreams. My first impression of the book is that it will be a very good book because it is about baseball and all of Mike Lupica's books are always very good. Heat has a really good story line and it grabs your attention. Mike Lupica does a great job teaching me that to never give up and do whatever you can to make your dreams come true. The one word I can use to describe this book is inspirational because the book talks about Michael practicing his hardest for his team to play in Williamsport and how he overcame all this huge obstacles in his life. I would give this book a 5 stars because it is a very interesting book and it is perfect for baseball fans.