Hero - Hardcover

Rottman, S.L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1561451592 ISBN 13: 9781561451593

Publisher: Peachtree, 1997

Synopsis

Heroes are hard to find, especially for Sean, who, at fifteen years old, has never had it easy.

He's estranged from his father and abused by his mother—Sean feels he has nowhere to turn. Suspended from school and with a mounting police record, he is one step away from serious trouble. Sentenced to community service for violating curfew, Sean is sent to Mr. Hassler's farm, where he's forced to confront his fears and take charge of his own life. When Sean is faced with a dangerous situation that tests his true character, he learns just what it means to be a hero.

In an age where it seems that few truly worthy heroes exist, S. L. Rottman has written a compelling and realistic portrayal of the conflicts that drive a young man toward his destiny.

About this title

About the Author

S. L. Rottman is a former teacher and the author of several young adult novels. A graduate of Colorado State University, Rottman lives in Colorado.

Reviews

Grade 7 Up. This earnest first novel tackles a topical subject?the emotional effects of child abuse and abandonment?and gives readers both a realistic picture of the damage done and reason to hope. Hot-headed, confused, and fiercely defensive, 15-year-old Sean is easily drawn into fights at school and then tangles with the law. What he is not telling anyone is that his alcoholic mother has been taking out her frustrations on him, physically as well as emotionally. Sean is sentenced to community service at a horse farm. Under Mr. Hassler's steady hand, the boy experiences, and sometimes resists, the structure and guidance for which he has hungered. When he assists at the birth of a foal that bonds with him, Sean discovers the rewards of attachment and trust, as well as the responsibility of caring for a young creature. However, patterns of distrust, violence, and isolation cannot be overcome in one week of community service. Sean is tested, fails, and emerges to try again, all the while gaining a sense of personal responsibility for his future. In places the plot is contrived; the foal is rejected by its mother, providing an oh-so-obvious substitute on which Sean vents his rage. Also, a concerned teacher keeps showing up at all the right moments to cheer the young man on. Nonetheless, Rottman avoids the expected ending. Through Sean, she gives readers a convincing and difficult protagonist and a fresh perspective on what it means to be a hero.?Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rottman's first novel pits a bitter teenager against some caring adults and levels his defenses with the prospect of a secure future. Sean, nine years after his parents' divorce, has never recovered from their separation, which left him in the care of his alcoholic, abusive mother. His father sends support payments but, according to Sean's first-person narration, takes no other interest in his son. When Sean, after misbehaving at school, is assigned to perform community service at a ranch, he is confronted by the outwardly gruff Dave Hassler, a veteran of WW II and all-around old-timer. Called upon to help deliver a foal, muck out stalls, and spread manure over gardens and fields left fallow for the winter, Sean finds himself enjoying the hard work, sense of accomplishment, and security of Dave's environment. When a former best friend, Rick, comes to settle an old score, Sean strikes back, definitively. Convenient encounters (a teacher, Mrs. Walker, shows up at the oddest times), information-laden incidents of eavesdropping, and over-extended parallels between a mare who rejects its foal and Sean's home life mar this debut. A homework assignment about heroes forms an awkward bracket around the main story, in which Sean's surly, snarling mother is a caricature cast among other more realistically drawn adults, and Dave's shining heroism is a transplant from another era entirely. (Fiction. 12-16) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peachtree
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1561451592
• ISBN 13: 9781561451593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 221