Hero by Perry Moore

Thom Creed, a teenage boy trying to balance his thoughts about his homosexuality and his superheroic powers, is face with many problems throughout Hero. His father dislikes all of these attributes, but Thom just has to live on. He decides to tryout of the League, a famous group of professional superheroes, and makes it on the team. He is put into a training team with four other superheroes: a speedy named Kevin, a "hot" (literally) girl named Scarlet, a kid named Larry who can create any illness, and a clairovoyant old lady named Ruth. Ruth is the olnly one on the team who respects Thom. She can 'see' all of his problems. Ruth tells Thom how she relates to Thom's problems. When Ruth was younger, she fell in love with an African American. She explains her story to Thom. Thom Creed also has to deal with his family problems. His father is an ex-hero who hates everything about superheroes. When he figures out about Thom's joining of the League, he goes berserk. Thom Creed, in return, gets pissed and destroys his father's old costume. As the story unfolds, Thom Creed figures himself out. Thom wants to satisfy his father, but at the same time live his own life. I find this book very interesting because it balances fiction and realism. Thom Creed faces the same problems that many people face today, such as how to deal with his homosexuality, and how to live a life with a normal career. The superhero part is te fictional, creative aspect of the book. Also, I realized that in almost every book, Freudian ideas are tied in. Thom Creed has to deal with his superego, ego and id. His first reaction is to do what is only best for him, but, he also has to think of other people when he makes decisions. Many characters in this book have different opinions over many problems, and they have to think about the right way to deal with them.