The Labors of Hercules Beal

I loved this story of a boy coming to terms with the death of his parents.  His teacher, an ex-military man, gives his class projects for their mythology class.  Hercules gets a project in which he has to complete the feats that his mythical namesake completed and reflect on them.  In his reflections, he slowly starts to heal, forgive, and move forward.  I ADORED his teacher and the role he played in Hercules' education and healing.  (FIC SCH)

Sort of Super

This graphic novel is on the 23-24 Great Stone Face reading list for the state of NH.  It is the first in the series where the reader meets Wyatt, a middle school boy who accidentally (or was it?) gets super powers.  The problem is his dad, the police officer, has told him he can not use them yet.  He and his brilliant sister, with the help of their grandma, refuse to sit by and do nothing when a mysterious crime spree starts to affect their town.  I like that the disappearance of their mother will be a thread tying the books together.  However, I found the Principal's storyline toward the end to be quite ludicrous and wished the author had gone a different route there.  My student readers will probably love it, though!  (GN GAP)