Abandoned children--Juvenile fiction; Mental illness--Juvenile fictio; Emotional problems of teenagers--Juvenile fiction; Teachers--Juvenile fiction; Art--Juvenile fiction; Creative ability in children--Juvenile fiction; Mothers and sons--Juvenile fiction; Determination (Personality trait) in children--Juvenile fiction; Optimism--Juvenile fiction; Survival skills--Juvenile fiction; Caricatures and cartoons--Juvenile fiction
Thirteen-year-old Hector is a talented artist, a doer of good deeds and an enemy of evil. His mother even calls him her superhero. So how has he found himself without a home, skipping school and even stealing from his best friend?
It begins when his mother forgets to pay the rent. Heck knows her intentions are good, but sometimes she just can't hold it all together. When they are evicted, she asks him to stay with his best friend for a few days until she figures something out. Then she disappears.
Heck Superhero wants to protect his mother from shame, so instead of staying with his friend, he decides to hide out in an abandoned car, confident he can handle life on the streets. Heck discovers that his hyperactive imagination pales next to the reality of life on the streets, and he is soon lured into a world where good and evil are difficult to distinguish. But he is convinced that if he can find the right good deed to perform, everything will be forgiven and he will return to his three-dimensional, superhero self.
When Heck befriends a deeply troubled street kid, things spin out of control. Can Heck save him like any superhero would by performing the ultimate good deed? The question sets the stage for a heroic battle between Heck's imagination and the reality of his mixed-up life. The more that reality intrudes into his comic-book fantasies, the more the pace of this startling and insightful story moves from breakneck to breathtaking.
· Notable Children's Book (American Library Association)
· Best Book for Young Adults (American Library Association)
· 2005 Alberta Children's Book of the Year
· 2004 Editor's Choice, Kirkus Reviews (United States)
· 2004 California Top 10 Library Association
· 2004 Pennsylvania Top 10 Library Association
Nominations· Governor General's Literary Award 2004 (finalist) (Canada)