Let me start with this: The Wednesday Wars is awesome. I taught it for years, and it remains one of my all time favorite books. And clearly Gary Schmidt thinks so too, as he just keeps revisiting it. But instead of just constantly retelling the same story from another character’s perspective (ahem, Wonder), he’s given each of the main crew the chance to have their own story - Doug in Okay for Now, Meryl Lee in Just Like That, and now we meet adult Danny (aka Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer). And the other great thing about all of these books is that although they feature a character from Wednesday Wars, each one stands on its own.

Gary Schmidt’s books do have a particular formula - tweenaged protagonist, gruff teacher with a heart of gold, new friendships, and a sweet tweenage romance. This one is no different, although in a bit of a twist we’re not following Danny’s story, but the story of Hercules Beal. Danny himself is the gruff teacher with a heart of gold, and he’s perhaps channeling Mrs. Baker.

Hercules lives on Cape Cod with his brother Achilles. About a year ago, their parents died in a car accident, leaving the boys all alone (and meaning Achilles had to come back from his life as a globetrotting travel writer to run Beal Brothers Nursery and Greenhouse). They get along about as well as you’d expect, but luckily Herc has his dog Mindy, and Pirate Cat to keep him company. Much to Herc’s dismay, Achilles enrolls him in a new school for his 6th grade year: the Cape Cod Academy for Environmental Sciences. There, along with his Future Friend Henry and sometimes nemesis Ty, we meet Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer. He hasn’t had friends since the 7th grade, he’s seen some stuff, and he doesn’t care if you like his class or not. Thinking everyone needs grounding in the classics, he gives every student in his homeroom a personalized, yearlong assignment. Hercules must reenact the twelve labors of his namesake - perform, do, make, happen, execute, accomplish. Once he starts the labors, each chapter ends with his required reflection…and a note from his teacher. I liked seeing these progress along the way, and again - he’s totally channeling Mrs. Baker with some of these comments and it made me smile.

As expected, Hercules has adventures and hardships and learns important lessons along the way. All of Gary Schmidt’s books are sort of rooted in tragedy (none more than Orbiting Jupiter), but he also has a way of making you laugh. I was a little bothered at the beginning, because Hercules sounds enough like Holling Hoodhood to be distracting. He even repeats “I swear I am not making this up”, although he says “oh boy oh boy” instead of Holling’s preferred, sarcastic “Terrific.” But at one point, Danny points out that Herc reminds him of Holling, so perhaps that’s by design. Or maybe Schmidt’s characters just all sort of sound the same.

I liked Herc, and Mindy the dog, and Pirate Cat, and all the rest, but I confess I was mostly here because of Danny Hupfer. It’s interesting that Schmidt chose to include him in this way, while Doug and Meryl’s stories basically pick up where Wednesday Wars leaves off. We get a bit about Danny’s background, but this is very much Hercules’s story. I think I may have liked it better if Danny’s appearance had been more like Lil’s brief cameo in Pay Attention, Carter Jones. If you love Wednesday Wars as much as I do, you just want the story to be about him, which gives Herc and the gang short shrift, because they’re pretty cool too.

But that’s really a minor quibble. I laughed, I cried, I loved it.

This is a beautiful book about Hercules, a 6th grader who, with the help of a militant but kind-hearted teacher, learns how to process the grief, guilt, and fear he has over the death of his parents by making connections with his life to the impossible labors of Hercules, the myth. The relationships and characters are well defined. Although this is a novel that covers some very serious topics and is sad, it also made me laugh.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

The Labors of Hercules Beal is Gary D. Schmidt's latest book. It is about Hercules, a boy who has lost his parents and is attending a new school. His homeroom teacher gives each student a personalized assignment. His task is to replicate the feats of Hercules, the mythical legend. Hercules isn't sure how to replicate and write about these, but he does. In the process, he learns about who he is and what is important to him. This book was a great read. The characters were some of my favorite. They came to life as the story was told. The plot was solid and moved at a good pace. I can't wait to share this with my students.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. Gary D Schmidt does this so well- creates characters that grab you in and you can’t help but be completely captivated by them. Hercules may have list his parents, but he shows an inner strength and will. Achilles may have been thrust into a position he did not expect, but in his own way, he really does care. The gruff tough Seargent Lt. teacher may have a steely exterior, but his crustiness soon splits open to reveal a soft, caring side. I love how the author uses Hercules the myth’s labors to bring out our Herc’s indomitable spirit.

Hercules Beale is an amazing character. The story is perfect. Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer is the best teacher for a Hercules. What resonated most for me was The reflections Hercules did for each labor and how the original myths resonated with Hercules today. That and when Mindy and Pirate cat “clean” his plate enough to not wash them. I look forward to sharing this book with students.

The Labors of Hercules Beal is another excellent book from Gary D. Schmidt. Hercules Beal has to deal with the death of his parents, a new school and life with his older brother running a Nursery. His school task of writing a paper each week on the actual Hercules labors enables him to grow and realize their are people who care about him and his troubles.

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt is such a well-written and heartfelt story. I loved this book and the characters, the lessons learned, and the way the scenes were written to bring them to life and make you feel all sorts of emotions.

Hercules is enrolled in a new middle school, and his teacher assigns him to duplicate the mythical Hercules's Twelve Labors in real life. We see Hercules grow as he completes each task. He finds different ways to interpret each Labor and soon realizes he’s not alone in the world.

I would recommend reading this book for all ages.

#TheLaborsofHerculesBeal #NetGalley @HarperChildrens

Gary D. Schmidt has done it again—written a book that takes your heart—characters that are so real you feel that you are walking in the dark morning up the dunes in Cape Cod with Hercules Beal, his dog, and the pirate cat to watch the rising sun and say good morning to his mom and dad who are no longer with him.

Gary Schmidt does something magical as an author. He brings back characters from his other books— ones you know and love and sometimes they are forty years older, and you are so happy as a reader to see them again that if you’re anything like me- you cry.

That’s another thing Gary does. He makes you laugh and cry on the same page. Sometimes even in the same sentence.

The main character, Hercules Beale — who has lost a lot— starts a new school with a new homeroom teacher- Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer (Yes, Danny Hupfer from The Wednesday Wars) who gives him an assignment that is to last the entire school year- perform, do, make, happen, execute, accomplish the Twelve Labors of Hercules— and recognize their relevance in his own life. This sounds like an impossible assignment to Hercules Beal. Capture a Nemean Lion? Go to hell and back?

But with the help of his brother, friends, teachers, and neighbors he realizes that he can survive loss and that he isn’t alone in this beautiful and terrible world.

I loved this book. I did what I do when I get to the end of any of Gary Schmidt’s books. I cried just because it was over. You can bet millions that I’ll be at my little local bookstore buying this book the day it comes out and I’ll read it again in print and I’ll probably love it even more the second read —if that’s possible.

Please do yourself a favor and if you haven’t read Gary D. Schmidt or if you haven’t read ALL of his books- read them now and then in May, you’ll be more than ready for this gem. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Yes, Hercules Beal is his real name even if he is the smallest kid in his class. This year has been really hard, like as hard as the real Hercules' twelve labors. With his parents killed in a car crash and his older brother feeling resentful that he has to give up his career as a worldwide journalist to return home to run the family nursery business and raise his little brother, Hercules is not feeling any love. Throw in a school change, his best friend moving away, a hurricane and a former marine Lt. Colonel as his new 7th grade teacher and Hercules is feeling anything but heroic these days. Assigned to complete the twelve labors of the mythological Hercules in his current setting, young Hercules finds that the lessons that applied to the ancient Hercules still apply today. With a supporting cast of characters wonderfully unique, Hercules learns that even heroes don't have to go it alone to get through the tough times. Beautifully written with middle grade insight and a community's worth of compassion, readers will cheer for Hercules and learn valuable lessons along the way, just as young Hercules does. Recommended reading for every middle school student.

I wonder if Gary Schmidt has given us Hercules Beal to make up for taking away Holling Hoodhood. The similarities between the characters are so evident, Danny Hupfer (Holling's childhood pal in "Wednesday Wars" and now Hercules' ex-Marine Lt. Col. teacher) compares the two, saying "they both wanted to give happiness to others". But I respect Schmidt's right to do whatever he wants with his characters - even killing them. Schmidt doesn't flinch from writing about kids facing serious problems but always balances the grimness of reality with the belief that life is still worth living, and encourage kids to reach out to others in times of stress. Hercules gets up early every day to watch the sun come up over the ocean - one of the few things which comfort him after his parents' death 18 months prior- sunrise being a classic symbol of rebirth and hope for a new day. He and his older brother Achilles "practice being normal" as they both struggle with the weight of grief and the responsibility of maintaining the family's generations-old nursery business. Their routine is upended when Hercules goes to a new school with Lt. Col. Hupfer for a teacher. Hupfer quickly sizes up the burden Hercules carries and (as part of school unit on classical mythology) assigns the boy the task of re-creating and writing a reflection of each of the twelve labors of classical hero Hercules. Re-creating the labors forces our Hercules out of his emotional paralysis and slowly realize he's not alone in his suffering and there are people around him to help. Schmidt engages readers thorughout with laughter, tears, shocks and triumphs. I would also expect this novel to spark interest in classical mythology (Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" gets a mention) . Schmidt's fans will be pleased to see references to characters from previous books: new readers won't pick up on those details but will fully embrace those characters anyway. An essential purchase for all middle grade collections.

Another middle-grades winner! The Labors of Hercules Beal is charming, funny, relatable, interesting - all the things you want to see in a book. The characters are well-developed and the story line is well-paced. A must have for any classroom library.

(And, as he’s done before, Gary D. Schmidt has brought back characters from The Wednesday Wars!)

The Labors of Hercules Beal is a well written captivating story about 12 year old Hercules Beal. Hercules life isn’t going as he expected over the course of the summer his life was about to change due to a tragic event involving his parents, his brother Achilles is now raising him on their family farm/nursery. With this change comes a new school that he is forced to start the sixth grade in. The Cape Cod Academy for Environmental Sciences and his new teacher is a retired marine lieutenant colonel. Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer has not left his marine life altogether and runs his class like he would a troop he was in command of in the marines. He assigns the class the hardest project in the world the Classical Mythology Application Project. Each student is assigned some outrageous assignment such as drawing an atlas that chronicles the journeys of the twelve major gods and goddesses and have 8 months to complete them. In addition to that they must submit short but regular reflections regarding the contents of their project.
Hercules of course is given a project that correlated with his name he is assigned the task of researching the twelve labors of the famed Hercules, how they might be performed today and in one-hundred-and-fifty-word reflections on how he performed each Labor or recognized the relevance of the Labor during some event he has experienced, chronicling his growing awareness of the meaning of the stories and how they connect to his own life. Hercules starts his project with labor one the one in which Hercules has to trap the Nemean Lion. Hercules greatest challenge with these projects is how to perform them in modern times and then reflect on them. Thorough out the book Hercules learns and grows as he completes his labors and basically triumphs over things that seem daunting and impossible. Hercules Beal is a new beloved character who is not perfect but shows that imperfect people can make a huge difference to the lives of those around him. Gary D. Schmitt is a masterful story teller and his characters come to life on the page the realness and connectivity and lessons to be learned are so memorable and endearing.

Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer has got to right up there in the top ten best teachers ever! Love how he knows exactly what every student needed, even if life is tough. The whole story is fabulous and so well written. Amazing

This is a novel about Hercules Beal. His brother enrolls him in Cape Cod Academy for Enviromental Sciences, where he is given the assignment to replicate the 12 labors of Hercules from Greek Mythology. Through his labors we learn about Herchules, his neighbors, his brother & his brother's girlfriend. We learn about how his parents were killed in a car accident. We see Herchules grow and the relationship between the brothers grow and change with each labor.

I found myself cheering, crying, holding my breath, and screaming as I read this book. I found myself not wanting this book to end and even now I wish/hope there might be a sequel! I highly recommend this book!

This book made me laugh and cry and filled me with hope. Hercules Beal experiences a lot of difficult events in his young life and he comes away from them stronger. I loved this book and got totally absorbed in what was happening in the book.

"The Labors of Hercules Beal" by Gary D. Schmidt is an extraordinary novel about a young man who comes to know himself through an unusual school assignment: replicating the 12 labors of the Greek hero, Hercules. His social studies/language arts teacher at the Cape Cod Academy for Environmental Sciences, former marine, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer, has methods which are both unorthodox and intimidating. As part of this odd assignment Hercules has to write reflections for his teacher. These letters and his teacher's responses vary between funny and moving. Hercules has recently lost both his parents to a car crash. His older brother Achilles has returned from a successful travel writing career to help run the family business: the Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery. The brothers' relationship is at the core of the story. The secondary characters are really interesting as well and include Achille's girlfriend, Viola the Vampire, Mr. Moby, the grumpy bus driver, and Hercules' best friend Elly. I recommend this book for anyone who has ever experienced the loss of someone they loved. It is ultimately a book about hope, and how we can do hard things, even Herculean labors like healing from great pain, with the help of others.

This is one of the best middle grade books I’ve ever read! A truly unforgettable and fun read about Hercules (yes, that’s his name too) is given a class assignment to show how the Twelve Labors of Hercules can relate to his everyday life. Two years ago Hercules lost his parents so it’s just he and his older brother, Achilles. As Hercules finds different ways to interpret the Labors, he realizes he’s not alone and he hears “sometimes you need a disaster to teach you something new.”

Gary D. Schmidt books never miss!!

I read Okay for Now back in February and from there, I binge-read so many of his books (my favorite being Just Like That) and when I heard that each of the kids’ in Holling’s seventh-grade homeroom was going to get their moment to shine—Doug in Okay for Now, Meryl Lee in Just Like That, and now Danny in The Labors of Hercules Beal, I was beyond excited. And when I found out that it was taking place in present-day, with Danny as a veteran-turned-teacher I was doubly excited.

And this book did not disappoint.

There’s so much I want to talk about here, that I unfortunately can’t due to spoilers, but if you’ve been a fan of Schmidt’s works in the past (especially those set in the world of The Wednesday Wars) definitely pick this one up.

You won’t regret it.

This was okay, but I felt that the plot was overall rushed and I also didn't really connect with the story or the characters.