- Governor General's Literary Award 2004, finalist
- Notable Children's Books (American Library Association)
- Best Books for Young Adults (American Library Association)
- 2005 Alberta Children's Book of the Year
- 2004 Editor's Choice, Kirkus Reviews (United States)
- 2004 California Top 10 Library Association
- 2004 Pennsylvania Top 10 Library Association
- Quill & Quire BfYP Top Five Selection
- CBC Radio One Sounds Like Canada Recommended Title
- Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nomination
- Canadian Children's Book Centre Starred Choice
Thirteen–year–old Heck is a pretty normal kid with some artistic talent and a hyperactive imagination. Life with his mother has been hand-to-mouth but not catastrophic. He has a modest, passive support system: his best friend and some kindly acquaintances.
When he and his mother are evicted, she assumes he's staying with his friend. Heck, confident of his own ability to get by and wanting to protect his mother from criticism, decides not to ask for help. For the next few days he brushes up against a harsher reality than he anticipated. He's hungry, broke, homeless and plagued by a toothache.
Heck has a series of encounters involving varying degrees of callousness, harshness, and risk. He sustains himself (and the reader) with his wit, imagination and optimism. As Heck faces the challenges of growing up on the streets—including drugs, pain, hunger, theft and homelessness—he must come to terms with his choices, his perceptions of himself, and his perceptions of others.
Heck Superhero is award–winning author Martine Leavitt's most recent foray into the world of today's urban teenager. Heck is as real as Martine's other troubled teenager, Tom Finder (Red Deer Press, 2003). And, like Tom Finder, Heck must find the inner strength to face the truth.
Reviews
"Heck Superhero is a stunning achievement."
-- Quill & Quire
"Heck Superhero propels its readers into realms they may scarcely have dreamed of. As a novel, it manages to be both exhilarating and profoundly moving."
-- The Globe & Mail
"Unique, fresh and unflinching, Heck Superhero is a true stunner."
-- CM Magazine
Other accolades for Heck Superhero:
- Quill & Quire BfYP Top Five Selection
- CBC Radio One Sounds Like Canada Recommended Title
- Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nomination
- Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Starred Selection
Martine Leavitt is an award-winning writer of young adult fiction. She fell in love with fantasy fiction when she read J.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings two weeks before high school final exams. She coundn't put it down and almost failed. It was a pivotal moment. She went on to read many fantasy novels, including The Dragon's Tapestry, The Prism Moon, The Taker's Key and The Dollmage. With her latest novels, Martine Leavitt turns from fantasy to the fertile ground of teenagers' immaginations.
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