The Labors of Hercules Beal Review: A Children’s Novel about Learning to Cope by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: The Labors of Hercules Beal
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Publication Date: May 23th, 2023
Genres: Coming of Age; School stories; Mythology
Pages: 352
Reading Age: 9 and up (intended audience middle grade to young adult)
Warnings: The principal character’s parents have recently died. In the beginning, he is very bitter. There are several catastrophic events (see details below).
Brief Summary of The Labors of Hercules Beal
Hercules Beal is, as you might suspect, named after the mythical hero. He is also the smallest kid in his class. He is dealing with the recent death of his parents in an auto accident and starting at a new school. And then his new homeroom teacher gives the class a project in classical mythology. His specific project? Duplicating the mythical Hercules’ 12 amazing labors in real life, The problem? There aren’t any Nemean Lions or Hydras on Cape Cod.
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The Labors of Hercules Beal Review (Contains Spoilers)
First – it took me a while to get into the story. Hercules is, to use his own words, a “jerkface”. Not a likable character. But that is the story – a twelve-year-old who has been thrown a lot by life, learning about life, learning about himself, and learning about others. Once I got about a third of the way in, I felt differently.
In facing his own version of the labors of the mythical Hercules, the story’s Hercules helps rid their beach neighborhood of a group of feral cats (and picks up one of his two pets in the process). He goes with his brother’s girlfriend in a Volkswagen packed with plants to fulfill an order (and starts admitting she is not a vampire).
He helps his neighbors weather a storm with hurricane-force winds – and they come together to save one of them. Each of these (and others) is tied to a specific labor of the mythical Hercules. Through all of this, with help from family and friends, he is learning to cope with the tragedies he has faced – in particular, the death of his parents.
This story does a lot of subtle educating. In looking at reviews, one thing I am seeing a lot is reading the book is getting kids interested in exploring classical mythology. You also learn a lot about plants (the Beals run a nursery) and the geography of the setting – Cape Cod.
Recommended in general and as a resource for both mythology and for learning to cope with tragedy.
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The Labors of Hercules Beal Discussion Questions
Themes to Discuss: Growing up; friendship; community; grief; self-discovery. Note: Several of these have adult dimensions
- First – the mythical Hercules. Which of the labors was most challenging? Why? Which did you think was the most difficult and why?
- What was your opinion (if any) of the mythical Hercules when the story began? When it ended?
- For Hercules Beal – which of his labors resonated with you? Why?
- If you were going to match up something in your life to one of the labors, what would it be?
- Did you learn anything about plants? What was it?
- Hercules believes Cape Cod is a good place to live. What do you think about where you live?
Favorite The Labors of Hercules Beal Quotes
Sometimes being still is the hardest thing to do – but in fact, the most productive.
It’s a tough world, Sugimoto.
I’m not telling you not to be angry, Beal. That would be telling you not to be a human being. I’m telling you not to act when you’re angry. There’s a difference
It’s been a pretty lousy year and a half since the Accident, and the Universe owes me one.
The Labors of Hercules Beal Quotes
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