The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

Finn Connelly, a seventh grade boy, grapples with the grief of losing his firefighter father as he climbs 46 mountains. Why? As reparations for kicking the wrong headstone. This short novel explores complex life themes in the format of an English poetry assignment.

Reading Level: 9-14
Read Aloud Age: 9+

This book is wonderful, complex and engaging. With many different writing mediums such as texts conversations, recipes, poems, letters, and diary-type entries, we come alongside Finn as he processes the grief of losing his father while climbing 46 mountains. This book has multiple heavy themes, so if your child is sensitive to any of these, this may not be a good read for them. Themes of alcoholism, absent workaholic father, death and grief, the 9/11 tragedy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and money problems are all entwined through each chapter. I personally enjoyed his relationship with the dog, which started off as a dreaded one, growing into a meaningful man and beast friendship. The dog is a very cheerful constant throughout the novel, and we see Finn’s character growth as he starts to see the mountains through the eyes of his new pal.

While there is some soft language, it is nothing major and is carefully used to convey the emotion Finn is feeling. While it is a heavy book, it is also very light-hearted at the same time. The text conversations with his mom are very humorous. The author balances this well, and makes each chapter enjoyable through the hard themes, a reflection of summiting mountains.

Language: stupid, freaking, farty-butted (describing a dog), butt, crap, nerd, my God (describing awe)

Questionable Behaviors: grave vandalism, school failure, emotional outbursts, alcoholism

Sexual Content: none

Other Things to Know: talks a bit about ghosts (doesn’t claim that they’re truly real), bear attack description

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Kyra. To learn more about Kyra, click HERE.

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