There are so many good debut novels this year, and this is another one. It may have earned another star if the middle portion fit a little better. The whole section with cows seemed a little weird to me. But I loved all of the main characters, including Booler! Although it was clear to me from early on that Maisie had some kind of health issue, I understand why Hank didn’t pick up on it. I will recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book about empathy and/or pet lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Description
Shiloh meets Raymie Nightingale in this funny and heartwarming debut novel about a ten-year-old that finds himself in a whole mess of trouble when his new friend Maisie recruits him to save the dog next door.

Hank Hudson is in a bit of trouble. After an incident involving the boy’s bathroom and a terribly sad book his teacher is forcing them to read, Hank is left with a week’s suspension and a slightly charred hardcover—and, it turns out, the attention of new girl Maisie Huang.

Maisie has been on the lookout for a kid with the meatballs to help her with a very important mission: Saving her neighbor’s dog, Booler. Booler has seizures, and his owner, Mr. Jorgensen, keeps him tied to a tree all day and night because of them. It’s enough to make Hank even sadder than that book does—he has autism, and he knows what it’s like to be treated poorly because of something that makes you different.

But different is not less. And Hank is willing to get into even more trouble to prove it. Soon he and Maisie are lying, brown-nosing, baking, and cow milking all in the name of saving Booler—but not everything is as it seems. Booler might not be the only one who needs saving. And being a hero can look a lot like being a friend.

This book has received awesome reviews! I found some parts hard, but over all, it feels a void and shows compassion; which is what the world needs. Whom better to teach it than children?

We Could Be Heroes
by Margaret Finnegan
Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Children's Fiction
Pub Date 25 Feb 2020



I am reviewing a copy of We Could Be Heroes through Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers:





Hank finds himself in trouble after an incident that involved the boys bathroom and a horribly sad book his teacher is having his class read. Hank finds himself with a week’s suspension, a hardcover that is slightly charred as well as the attention of the new girl Maisie Huang, attention he certainly did not expect.




Maisie has been looking for a kid who is brave enough to help her with her mission. She is determined to save her neighbors dog, Booler, Booler has seizures and his owner Mr Jorgensen keeps him tied to a tree, because of the seizures. Knowing what is happening to Booler makes him even sadder than the book did, he has Autism and knows what it is like to be treated badly because of it.



Hank is determined to show everyone different is not less even if it means he has to get in more trouble in order to prove it. It isn’t long before both Hank and Maisie are baking, brown nosing, and milking coed in order to save Booler. But is Booler the one who needs saving?




I give We Could Be Heroes five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

We Could Be Heroes tells the story of an unlikely friendship. The two kids join together in order to help a dog that is in danger. I am so looking forward to bringing this book into my classroom. The character development and the storyline is a great fit for my 4th-grade students.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, and sad, and hopeful. Hank, who is on the autism spectrum, likes his life newt and orderly. He also loved rocks. So when a new girl, Maisie, shows up bring chaos to his life, he has to adjust his way of thinking. This story also involves dogs, camping, and being a good friend. A good lower middle grade novel.

Two children join forces to save a dog named Booler. Unfortunately, help isn’t help if no one needs it. Booler’s owner is a elderly man who Hank and Maisie accuse of not being competent enough to look after him. Hank and Maisie bond over this shared goal even though Maisie doesn’t always tell the truth. Since Hank has autism I wanted to focus on the representation of his character the most. I didn’t enjoy watching Maisie lie and manipulate Hank. I know this is something that happens with all children at some point but it was still difficult to read. The shenanigans these kids get into are very believable and readers will find themselves laughing along with them. Caring comes in many different ways and this book will show that through two friends who don’t take no for an answer.

I'm all for books with autistic characters, especially when their presentation is varied. I want to see them facing a wide variety of issues. I appreciate that this one is more about small, commonplace issues: making friends, learning about a person's life, social boundaries. These things are stuff that every kids deals with, it's just that ASD ids deal with it later and with more difficult than their neurotypical peers. I liked, too, that it doesn't shy away from difficult things. Their neighbor is frail, at a point where he probably shouldn't be living alone any more. But we want independence for him. Just like we do for the dog, even though ti probably isn't' the safest thing for him. I wasn't fond of the extremes of the climax. That degree of drama felt a little too far.