1. Hero By: Mike Lupica The Penguin Group Copyright: 2010 Report By: Jacob Burnham

2. Introduction This story takes place in the heart of New York City and begins with news of Tom Harriman’s death in a plane accident reaching his family after one of his top secret missions.

3. Protagonist/Antagonist The protagonist of this story is Zach Harriman a fourteen-year old boy living in New York and coping with the news of his father’s death. The antagonist of the story is the group of people only known to the reader as the “Bads”. The Bads are a group of people who seek to insert chaos throughout the world through any method they can.

4. Identification Of Central Conflict The central problem of this story revolves around the mysterious plane crash resulting in the death of Zach’s dad. Zach tries his best after his father dies to find out more about the circumstances around his father’s death but ends up finding out more than he wanted to know.

5. Minor Characters Kate: Kate is Zach’s best friend and is also the only person Zach truly trusts throughout the book. Uncle John: Uncle John is Zach’s dad best friend and the family lawyer who gives Zach advice that is sometimes not the best. Mr. Herbert: Mr. Herbert is the older man who acts as a mentor to Zach yet keeps plenty of secrets from him.

6. What Critics Said One book review stated that Hero is a great book because Mike Lupica does a great job of developing characters and make the character of Zach really seem like a real person. http://www.fictitiousmusings.com/2012/03/08/h ero-by-mike-lupica/ http://www.fictitiousmusings.com/2012/03/08/h ero-by-mike-lupica/ Another review said that this book is unlike many any others by the way it feels like it is happening in real time and also references past events to make it a great recomendation. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3 756026 http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3 756026

7. My Take On The Novel I believe that Mike Lupica did a great job with really connecting the main character Zach with the reader by placing the book in real time. This book was interesting to read, decently easy to read, and would easily receive a recommendation for readers who readers who enjoy a book that makes reading less tedious.