Living on Cape Cod, Hercules Bean is no hero. His parents both died in a gruesome car accident last year, and now he lives with his older brother, who moved in with his girlfriend to keep the family's garden center. He's more of a weakling. Being named after a Greek demigod has meant nothing but ridicule. Now in 7th grade, Hercules is confronted by a new social studies teacher, a retired Marine commander who runs his classroom like a drill training ground. He's strict and demanding, but he's also fair. When he assigns a year-long project connected to various aspects of social studies, everyone groans. Hercules' fear is realized when he's assigned the performance of Hercules' Twelve Labors. How is Hercules supposed to do all of that mythical stuff in real life?
Missing his parents terribly, and convinced that his brother's girlfriend is a vampire (seriously, Hercules has never seen her out in the sun), Hercules has to figure out a way to perform the twelve labors and report on his progress in monthly meetings. Working with his teacher, Hercules soon accomplishes the first of his twelve labors, and discovers along the way that they not need be exactly like what Hercules the hero confronted. His friends and his family join him and start giving him leads, helping him complete more of the labors. When a hurricane hits Cape Cod, Hercules is faced with his hardest labor yet.
Making friends along the way, Hercules manage to accomplish all of the labors, and realizes that there is more to a community than working alone. A really humorous story, The Labors of Hercules Beal will thrill the fan of Greek myths with multiple references and how these would apply in real life. Despite his sorrow, Hercules remains upbeat and optimistic, and eventually successfully completes this assignment, learning valuable lessons along the way.
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