Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
True bravery, friendship in suspenseful tale for dog lovers.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Leo spends most of his time imagining he's a gladiator of ancient Rome, until he meets a dog called Jack Pepper. Jack has a knack for making friends, and soon the whole town knows and loves him but none more than Leo. Jack even pulls Leo out of a pond, which Leo fell in while doing something he knew was wrong. Somehow the wrong version of the story gets out, and the whole town thinks it was the boy who saved the dog instead. Leo feels terrible about the lie but doesn't know how to set it straight. One day, a huge sinkhole opens in the middle of town, right where Jack Pepper was waiting for Leo. Can Leo, who's only 11, help find and rescue Jack before it's too late?
Is It Any Good?
HERO starts out slowly, with frequent repetition of Leo's desire to be, well, a hero, becoming a bit heavy-handed. It also takes a while to create a real sense of place with the confusing use of U.S. vocabulary such as "trash can" in what has to be a small town somewhere in Europe. Things pick up considerably when Jack Pepper appears, and eventually author Sarah Lean displays a more authentic ear for dialogue. These flaws are unlikely to bother kids and tweens, though, especially dog lovers. The final third builds nicely, and the pages will keep turning.
The happy ending shows kids what real friendship is and that growing up takes different kinds of heroism, not only bravery in battle.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about friendship between people and animals. Why do we love stories about them so much? What can they teach us?
Do you have a pet, or have you ever made friends with an animal even if it wasn't your own? Did you learn anything from each other, and if so what did you learn?
Jack likes to imagine he's a gladiator of ancient Rome. If you could time-travel, what era would you visit? What interests you about it?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Animals , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Katherine Tegen Books
- Publication date : February 3, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 208
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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