The Labors of Hercules Beal

By: Gary D. Schmidt

Libby audiobook 8 hours

Read by: Fred Berman

Published: 2023

Genre: YA realistic fiction, humor

 

There are things about Schmidt's writing that irritate me . . . like the excessive repetition of words and phrases. At least in this book, there's a bit of a purpose to it, but it's still irritating.

 

Hercules is a twelve-year-old seventh grader living with his older brother Achilles at the Beal Brothers Nursery. Their parents died in a car crash the previous year and life is very different for both of them. 

"Herc Beal knows who he's named after - a mythical hero - but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercule's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod - and not a single Hydra in sight."

By the time we get to chapter 13 - "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides" - I was crying. This book has heart. And grief. And growth.

• Viola (Achilles' girlfriend, then fiancee) is not a vampire
• Mindy (Hercules' dog) and Pirate Cat (from one of his labors) accompany Herc to the dunes in the morning to watch the sun rise and say good morning to his parents
• Ellie has to move away to Ohio and she and Hercules really miss one another
• Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer (Danny from The Wednesday Wars) is married to Mai Tee! (Not sure how to spell her name, but it took me until the end of the book to make the connection. I loved his character SO MUCH! 
• I love how each of the labors corresponded to the myth. I love how Hercules grew as a character and his 150-word "reflections" went from basic to more expressive. 
• I love how he tried to rescue "Ira" the statue from auction with only $76 for his dear neighbor who missed her husband.
• I love how he and the cranky bus driver became friends of a sort.

 

I kind of want to re-read Lizzy Bright to see if the irritating repetition of words and phrases is present in that book, too. The last two of his I've read have had it. Other than that, this is another wonderful book by Schmidt. 

The vocal work by the reader was fantastic! He captured the different characters very effectively.