When Heroes Die

by Penny Raife Durant

Book Overview

Devastated to discover that Uncle Rob, his hero, is dying of AIDS, twelve-year-old Gary, in need of advice and guidance in his life, finds that it is Uncle Rob himself who gives him strength to face the future.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689317646
• ISBN13: 9780689317644
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Atheneum Books
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

When Heroes Die

At 12 years of age, fatherless Gary is developing his basketball skills and falling for the charms of Shanna, his first girl friend. But his world crumbles when it is revealed to him that his beloved role model, Uncle Rob, has AIDS and is gay. Gary's changing relationships with Shanna,  his best friend Sam, and with Rob, are convincingly sketched in a book suitable for Form 1 onward. Rob's final days and death are,  though starkly shown, still appropriate for the reading level.