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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
The Trouble with Heroes
Reader Score
94%
94% of readers
recommend this book
Current The New York Times Best Seller
An instant New York Times bestseller!
A USA Today bestseller! Read with Jenna Jr. Summer Reading List Pick! "Genuinely moving." --The New York Times Book Review "Explores the healing power of hiking." --NPR's All Things Considered The Week Jr.'s Book Club Pick Bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing. One summer.46 mountain peaks.
A second chance to make things right. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing--he has to bring along the dead woman's dog. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.
Book Details
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publish Date: Apr 29th, 2025
- Pages: 368
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.50in - 6.00in - 1.50in - 1.00lb
- EAN: 9781547616398
- Recommended age: 09-14
- Categories: • Family - General (see also headings under Social Themes)• Social Themes - Death, Grief, Bereavement• Sports & Recreation - Camping & Outdoor Activities
About the Author
Messner, Kate: -
@KateMessner
New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books for kids who wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow, The Next Scientist, and The Scariest Kitten in the World as well as novels for older readers like Breakout and The Trouble with Heroes. Kate also writes the popular History Smashers graphic nonfiction series and leads the multi-author team behind The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class chapter books. She splits her time between upstate New York and southwest Florida.
www.katemessner.com@KateMessner
Praise for this book
"Take one drooling dog, add one pretty desperate kid, mix in mountains-a lot of mountains-sprinkle with unexpected cookie recipes and hard-nosed quirkiness, and let rise. You'll know it's finished when the generosity and hope and truth of this novel run over. Let it." --Newbery Honor-winning and bestselling author Gary D. Schmidt
"With astute intention and invention, each verse touches your soul and puts tears in your eyes--the kind of tears that comfort and heal." --Renée Watson, New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning author "Split this story like a log, and you'll find concentric circles of metaphor and meaning on every page. There are passages that will gut you, and others that will leave you laughing out loud." --Nikki Grimes, award-winning author of ORDINARY HAZARDS "Equal parts suspenseful adventure and heartrending emotion, this beautiful book will capture your heart." --Jasmine Warga, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A ROVER'S STORY and Newbery Honor-winning OTHER WORDS FOR HOME "The Trouble with Heroes is a heartfelt, moving page-turner that tackles grief, loss, anger and redemption. Another Kate Messner triumph!" --Dan Gemeinhart, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN and THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE "The pitch-perfect tween voice spills out of the poetry with raw authenticity. Any tween who's ever lost someone, made bad choices, or felt unworthy of love will identify with Finn." --Kip Wilson, award-winning author of WHITE ROSE "As always, Kate Messner writes with an acute understanding of the emotional lives of today's kids, and her respect for readers shines on every page. Messner is the Judy Blume of a new generation." --Anne Ursu, author of NOT QUITE A GHOST "Pack your tissues and hold onto your hearts as Finn sweeps you into a tale that traverses the peaks and valleys of adolescence, of life, of grief, of growth." --K. A. Holt, award-winning author of HOUSE ARREST "A masterpiece. . . . Part funny, part fascinating, and fully rooted in a deep emotional soul, readers of all kinds will be rooting for Finn Connelly with everything they've got." --Ann Braden, award-winning author of FLIGHT OF THE PUFFIN "Finn's journey will speak to every kid who's felt the weight of the world on their shoulders." --Laura Shovan, award-winning author of TAKEDOWN "Magnificent and moving. The Trouble with Heroes is a triumph-as healing and inspiring as the viewfrom a mountain peak." --Julie Berry, New York Times bestselling author of LOVELY WAR