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thukpa's review
3.0
As a foster parent, this was a fascinating glimpse inside the mind of a kid who loves the parent who is unable to care for him, and just trying to figure out not only the right thing to do, but simply what to do.
absentminded_reader's review
3.0
A young homeless boy named Heck, whose dysfunctional mother gets them evicted, struggles to survive on the streets while using superhero fantasies to help him cope. Not light reading by any means.
Here we have a main character who steals from his friend, takes drugs, lies to authorities, trespasses, and stubbornly refuses all offers of help. When Heck takes drugs and we experience him being high I was very tempted to put the book down. It was overall an unnecessary moment to experience, IMO.
Still Leavitt's writing was engaging and kept me reading. The plight of this young man was delicately handled and we watched him grow, reach epiphanies, and step "top side". The ending, though bittersweet, was handled well.
Overall, a good read and thought provoking tale of an anti-hero.
Here we have a main character who steals from his friend, takes drugs, lies to authorities, trespasses, and stubbornly refuses all offers of help. When Heck takes drugs and we experience him being high I was very tempted to put the book down. It was overall an unnecessary moment to experience, IMO.
Still Leavitt's writing was engaging and kept me reading. The plight of this young man was delicately handled and we watched him grow, reach epiphanies, and step "top side". The ending, though bittersweet, was handled well.
Overall, a good read and thought provoking tale of an anti-hero.
manda_panda95's review
5.0
Martina Leavitt, you sneak up on me every dang time. Your books are all SO different, and I always think I won’t like them. But then you go and hit me with all sorts of feels.
alinaborger's review against another edition
I still don't know what to think about this book. It's sad. It's oddly positioned between middle grade and YA in terms of content. It reminded me a little bit of the Cynthia Voigt books back in the 80's in terms of how Heck views his homelessness pragmatically and protectively.
The comics gimmick doesn't really work here--it doesn't read as genuine from neither Heck nor Leavitt. There's a lot of telling about comics rather than a sense of that coming from inside the character. But I forgive it as a reader because Heck's belief in the magic rule of the universe (do good and nothing bad will happen to you) is utterly realistic--it makes it possible for to read his sweet, willful naiveté on the page. It raises the emotional stakes for him and makes his situation even more distressing for the reader.
The comics gimmick doesn't really work here--it doesn't read as genuine from neither Heck nor Leavitt. There's a lot of telling about comics rather than a sense of that coming from inside the character. But I forgive it as a reader because Heck's belief in the magic rule of the universe (do good and nothing bad will happen to you) is utterly realistic--it makes it possible for to read his sweet, willful naiveté on the page. It raises the emotional stakes for him and makes his situation even more distressing for the reader.
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