From the #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica comes the story of one unsuspecting boy poised to follow in his superhero father’s footsteps Fourteen-year-old Billy Harriman can feel the changes. The sharpening of his senses. The incredible strength. The speed, as though he can textmessage himself across miles. The confidence and the strange need to patrol Central Park at night. His dad had been a hero, a savior to America and a confidante of the president. Then he died, and the changes began in Billy. What Billy never knew was that his father was no ordinary man-he was a superhero, battling the world's evil. This is a battle that has been waged for generations and that knows no boundaries. And now it's Billy's turn to take on the fight. It's Billy's turn to become a hero. “[N]othing Mike Lupica has written will thrill you like this.” –William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride   “Sportswriter and novelist Lupica offers a change of pace from his previous sports stories for younger readers, deftly reworking the traditional superhero origin story into a moving tale of adolescent growth.” – Publisher’s Weekly   “[T]he stage is set for a sequel to what looks like a surefire hit.” – School Library Journal   Gr 6-10–In a major departure from his YA sports fiction, the popular Lupica opts for a high-concept, high-octane action thriller. When the father he idolizes dies in a covert government operation, 14-year-old Billy Harriman is determined to find out who killed him, and why. In the course of his investigation he discovers that his father had superpowers, and that he has inherited them. Guided by a mysterious older man who identifies himself as Mr. Herbert, and supported by his wise and sassy girlfriend Kate, Billy begins to come to terms with his destiny. As his socially prominent mother assumes a leading role in the campaign of the presidential candidate his father had backed, Billy finds himself at odds with his father's old friend (and mother's current advisor). The teen eventually becomes convinced that Uncle John is allied with the forces responsible for his father's death. After he uses his superpowers to thwart an assassination attempt on the candidate, he confronts Uncle John, who remains evasive about his involvement with the shadowy organization that seems to have targeted Billy and his family. With all the major issues unresolved at the novel's end, the stage is set for a sequel to what looks like a surefire hit.–Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Lupica, best known for his popular sports novels for youth, explores new territory in this title, which begins with a highly skilled American agent’s first-person account of a dangerous solo mission in the Balkans. By the second chapter, though, readers learn that the agent died during his mission, and the story is picked up by a new narrator, who shifts the telling to third person and the focus to the agent’s son, Billy. After learning that he is being pursued by shadowy bad guys, Billy is ambushed in New York’s Central Park. Luckily, though, he has recently discovered that he possesses supernatural powers, and he overcomes his attackers. Lupica effectively unfolds this high-adventure story, which sends Billy on a classic hero’s journey with two possible guides, one of whom turns out to be treacherous. At the end, Lupica implies that it’s going to take more than one book to tell Billy’s story, which should please the inevitable new fans this effort will attract. Pair this with William Boniface’s The Hero Revealed (2006). Grades 6-9. --Todd Morning Praise for Hero :   “[N]othing Mike Lupica has written will thrill you like this.” –William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride   “Sportswriter and novelist Lupica offers a change of pace from his previous sports stories for younger readers, deftly reworking the traditional superhero origin story into a moving tale of adolescent growth.” – Publisher’s Weekly   “[T]he stage is set for a sequel to what looks like a surefire hit.” – School Library Journal Mike Lupica is the author of multiple bestselling books for young readers, including QB 1 , Heat, Travel Team, Million-Dollar Throw, and The Underdogs. He has carved out a niche as the sporting world’s finest storyteller. Mike lives in Connecticut with his wife and their four children. When not writing novels, Mike Lupica writes for New York's Daily News, appears on ESPN's The Sports Reporters and hosts The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN Radio. You can visit Mike Lupica at mikelupicabooks.com   1   THERE were four thugs, total gangsters, in front of the house with their rifles and their night-vision goggles. Four more in back. No telling how many more inside.   So figure a dozen hard guys at least, protecting one of the worst guys in the world.   Not one of them having a clue about how much trouble they