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beautifulminutiae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, and Grief
annieree's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent
purplepenning's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Vomit
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
whitneymouse's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The writing is mid at best. It’s repetitive (something his teacher calls him out for and he never fixes). If I saw “you wouldn’t believe x. You really wouldn’t believe it…you just wouldn’t believe it.” I get it 🙄 same with millimillionth.
But the worst part is that this child, whose parents apparently LOVED Greek myth SO MUCH that they named their children Hercules and Achilles, somehow doesn’t know anything about the myths he was named after and that his parents love so much. So here’s the short version:
Hercules murders his first wife, Megara, and their children. To atone for this, he’s told by the Oracle of Delphi he needs to do 10 years as a slave to King Eurystheus, who gives him labors to do and also two rules for those labors. Rule 1: you can’t get paid and rule 2: you can’t get help. Why? Because he’s ATONING FOR MURDER! He breaks both rules anyway and that’s why he does 12 labors instead of 10.
Got it? Good. Then you’re one step ahead of this character, who tries to pass it off as “Hercules was sad his family died and omg, isn’t Eurystheus so mean for yelling when he gets help from his nephew, Iolaus? I don’t think it’s too much to ask your family for help!” Well, it is when you’re atoning for murder and you know that’s one of the TWO rules you need to keep. His version of most of the labors was so inane and it drove me nuts. Also, like his namesake, he doesn’t even do like half of his labors. At one point, he acknowledges that his situation is nothing like the labor he’s supposed to be doing & we’re supposed to just accept that?
Additionally, losing your parents in a tragic accident is in no way the same situation as murdering your entire family and having to try and atone for it. And he’s learned NOTHING about Hercules the myth (as he’s called) because he ends the book with “well, he did other things until he became a god” and his take away is that Hercules was kind of a jerk and he had to “try and do better”. Except he IMMEDIATELY kills Iphitus and has to go back to the Oracle and do more enslavement, so he is not “trying to do better.” It’s maddening. And kids today read a LOT of Greek mythology. Better retellings of those myths, too. I’m sure more than one child will be frustrated by how poorly Hercules (and by extension, Schmidt) understands his source material.
So overall, no, I wouldn’t recommend this. It was a Herculean feat to finish. And I’m beyond words professionals wanted this book to be nominated for a Newbery. Kids deserve better.
Moderate: Car accident, Animal cruelty, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Murder
There's also repeated floodings/near drowningslesliecarolineh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Hercules Beal...I was not 100% sure if I was going to jive with the story after contemplating the description for a few months but I am happy to report back that I was 100% wrong to be.
The Labors of Hercules Beal is a story of growth, grief, friendship, and family. Readers are thrown into the emotions that Hercules feels throughout the story as he discovers what his name means to him, how to cope with the loss of his parents, and what friendship can truly mean.
I am planning to recommend this book a lot.
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
library_kb's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
cboddie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Grief and Car accident
sab_reads14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gary D. Schmidt books never miss!!
I read Okay for Now back in February and from there, I binge-read so many of his books (my favorite being Just Like That) and when I heard that each of the kids’ in Holling’s seventh-grade homeroom was going to get their moment to shine—Doug in Okay for Now, Meryl Lee in Just Like That, and now Danny in The Labors of Hercules Beal, I was beyond excited. And when I found out that it was taking place in present-day, with Danny as a veteran-turned-teacher I was doubly excited.
And this book did not disappoint.
There’s so much I want to talk about here, that I unfortunately can’t due to spoilers, but if you’ve been a fan of Schmidt’s works in the past (especially those set in the world of The Wednesday Wars) definitely pick this one up.
You won’t regret it.
Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death and Injury/Injury detail