Can Michael and his brother Carlos keep their secret about their dead father until Carlos turns 18 years old? Heat by Mike Lupica is about a boy named Michael Arroyo who lives in New York City and is from Cuba. Michael is a 12 year old baseball star with the hopes to make the Little League World Series. Carlos is Michael's older brother who takes care of Michael because there parents are dead. The main character of the book is Michael.

Michael who is a great baseball player and helps his team to win almost every game has other coaches wondering about him. One of the other teams coaches calls Michael out on his age and wants the league to see if he is really 12 years old. The league asks him for a birth certificate but he doesn’t know where it is. He has no parents or relatives to call back in Cuba. His father was the only one is his family who knew who to call to find Michael's birth certificate. As Michael tries to find his birth certificate the league suspends him until he finds it. He is left with watching the team from the dugout. People start trying to help him but they start to wonder if Michaels father is really alive and is visiting his dead brother in Florida. Mr. Gibbs is one of the guys who was helping Michael but then he started to dig deeper into the death of Michaels father. Carlos is only 17 years old and is taking care of Michael but they are in jeopardy of going to a foster home. Since Carlos is only 17 years old, Michael could be put in a foster home because he doesn’t have a legal guardian. Will Michael be able to keep his secrets and dream to go to the Little League World Series before it is too late?

What sparked my interest for this book, was that it had great detail and an amazing storyline. You get to know the characters really well throughout the book. Some of the characters come in right away and others come in at different times during the story. It makes you think, what if I was Michael? You can put yourself in his shoes and experience what he is going through. The story flows perfectly without missing a single detail. You will ask yourself a lot of questions while reading the book and will want to keep turning the page to see what will happen next. The conflict and details fit together really well, which makes it easier to follow the rest of the story. If you like books with lots of action and a great storyline this is the perfect book for you.