Customer Reviews
An Awesome Baseball Book! 
2008-06-25
Heat is one of the most enjoyable, interesting books I've ever read. Michael, a typical boy with a great right arm is the main character. He lives with his brother Carlos. His dad is supposedly caring for a sick relitive in Florida. Michael faces hardships and problems, but keeps himself going with friends and Carlos.
Baseball helps Michael with his life problems as well. It makes him feel ike all of his problems can disappear. But things in Michael's life aren't always so picture-perfect.
One boy in Michaels baseball league thinks Michael is too old for little league baseball. He is jealous of Michael because is right arm is so powerful. He and his father(the coach of his son's little league team) demand a birth certificate for Michael's ability to play. Michael was born in Cuba so he has a very hard time trying to find his birth certificate.
Michael has a best friend named Manny. I think he is te perfect so called "side-kick" for Michael. He is funny and keeps Michael's spirit up through out the book. Over all I give Heat five stars!
Gretchen - Grade 5
G.Brickley's Book Review 
2008-04-10
The book Heat by Mike Lupica is about baseball. Michael is a kid and a star pitcher for his little league team. When his brother gets arrested for trying to break into Yankee Stadium and his dad dies in Florida, his family, his friends, and his baseball falls apart.
This book is really good because it gets into the details of baseball. It is also about problems like his friend Ellie losing his friendship with Michael because he was frustrated with everything that his mouth let out things that he didn't mean. Anybody who likes baseball, no matter how old, will like this book. Those who don't like baseball will still like the conflict in this book.
HEAT 2008-03-28
Heat is about a boy named Michael Arroyo he is a 12 year old boy who is living in america illegally; he left his birth certificate and he doesnt have any citizen ship papers.Michael lives in a working class neighborhood his family is very poor. He plays for the clippers in a local baseball team he is the best team he can pitch 60 mph the fastest in the league. Michaels dream was to play in the little league world series. Michaels father promised to be there to watch michael play in the game unfortuntely he dies before anything happened. Michal has a friend named cole who plays with him on the team they alwys practice at mcombs dam park a ark that is in really bad condition in a bad neghborhood. Michael is hiding from the league that he is not a citize and if the social serivices ever found out he' woill bge deported.
The Big Heater 2008-02-20
How do you lie about your dad's death? Michael and Carlos did. Michael is 12 while his brother Carlos is 17. With their dad dead Carlos has to try to make a living for both of them. Michael loves baseball like his friend Manny. Late in the baseball season a hot shot boy call Michael out and says he is 14 because of how tall and how fast he throws a baseball. Later he needs to get a birth certificate so he can play, but his birth certificate is back in Hispana were he used to live. Another trouble his family is facing is a child services guy wants to meet their father. Manny hires his uncle Timo to pretend he is their father (Timo is an actor). Will they fool him? I gave the book a ten out of ten for the amazing originality of the problems. This is a sports book for sports fans from the ages 11-15. The book shows how lying goes deeper and deeper until someone is bound to find out. There is but one controversial part in the book. Will Carlos and Michael get caught?
Fun and thrilling 2008-02-13
I loved "Heat" because of all the great things it had inside of it. Heat is about a 12 year old baseball player named Michael Arroyo who lives in New York City. He is a very good pitcher in the city league. The main theme of the story is that he is too good for his league. The coaches in his league wonder if he is older than the rest of the league. Once this problem comes upon Michael, he has is asked to show the league his birth certificate so they can make sure he is the same age as everyone else. But problems fall like rain on Michael and he cannot give them the certificate because he has lost both of his parents and only has his brother for his family. Michael has to get all the help he can to get past the coaches who are so curious. Michael cannot live without baseball so he will try anything and everything to get it back.
Heat is a book for ages 10 and up. Heat is a fun book that all sports fans will adore. Heat has thrills!
--Kyle Dickson
Heat-The Fabulous Baseball Story 2008-01-11
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.
Heat 2007-12-19
Michael Arroyo is a twelve-year-old kid who lives in Bronx, New York. Michael's father has died recently, so he lives with his seventeen-year-old brother (Carlos). While Carlos works to raise money to put food on the table, Michael plays baseball for a local Little League team as a pitcher who throws Heat. When some of the coaches in the league get suspicious and think Michael is too old for their age group, they force him to present a birth certificate. When Michael can't produce a legal birth certificate, they tell him he can't play until he shows one to the director.
I thought this book was interesting and kept you reading until the end. It did an amazing job at describing a problem that some kids may face today. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes baseball or just an enjoyable book. The author, Mike Lupica, has written two other books about kids in athletics and problems they have. They are titled Travel Team and Summer Ball. Both of which are exciting.
Heat-The Fabulous Baseball Story 2007-12-17
What if you were so good at baseball that people did not believe you were the age you say you are? Then what would happen if you had no way to prove your age? This happens to Michael Arroyo in Mike Lupica's realistic fiction novel titled Heat.
Heat tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Michael Arroyo. He is such a good pitcher that many coaches demanded he produce a birth certificate proving he is twelve. But the certificate is stuck back home in Cuba and Michael has no way of getting it. No mother, no father, and his brother Carlos is the only family he has.
Heat is the best baseball book I would recommend for those who like baseball. Michael has many things going wrong for him as described above. But on top of that, if the social services find out Michael is living with no parents, they could separate him and his brother. His dream is to pitch in the Bronx and social services could ruin that. As you read the book, you find yourself hoping events will happen in Michael's favor. Heat is an entertaining story of a boy who has big dreams in baseball.
9-year old son loved it! 2007-12-17
My 9 year old son read this book last summer and totally loved it. He's not a huge reader, preferring to actually be playing the sports, but managed to finish this over the course of one week. He thought it was fantastic.
Baseball and much, much more! 2007-11-02
As an adult delving into literature written for middle grade kids, I have to say I loved this book. Too many at this age speak down to kids as though they are not smart enough to understand bigger words or concepts. This book simply tells the story without the overuse of wordy explainations.
The story centers around the Main Character, Michael Arroyo, who is a phenomenal Little League pitcher. Baseball is Michael's joy and his passion. But most of all, it is his outlet; because baseball is not the only thing going on in Michael's life. In fact, there are more important issues that haunt the young Bronx player. When life deals Michael and his brother the most devastating blow a child can experience, more bad luck seems to follow. Then, when things can't seem to get any worse, a trumped-up charge might keep Michael off the ballfield too.
Mike Lupica does a wonderful job weaving difficult reality into this heartwarming story of baseball, friendship and family. What more can a reader ask?
