num_pages: 220
description: Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family's escape from Cuba, Michael's only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system--or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael's secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.
language: English
title: Heat
titlecomplete: Heat
genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Young Adult, Teen, Sports, Baseball, Family, Fiction
ratings_count: 22386
series: Heat
awards: awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Charlotte Award, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: California Young Readers Medal
category: Middle School/Junior High, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: Truman Readers Award, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award
publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers