Finn Connelly is caught vandalizing a woman’s cemetery headstone. But the deceased former hiker’s daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: She’ll drop the charges if he agrees to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer.
Finn Connelly is caught vandalizing a woman’s cemetery headstone. But the deceased former hiker’s daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: She’ll drop the charges if he agrees to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer.
Everything’s kinda gone wrong for 13-year-old Finn Connelly in one irritating jumble of dumb choices.
First of all, the teen is still struggling with his dad’s death, some two years back. And he sorta blames his dad for dying. Now most everybody would tell you that raging over somebody dying isn’t such a smart thing, but that doesn’t stop Finn.
Finn’s also upset that he’s absolutely nothing like his dad. That guy was a star athlete, a heroic firefighter, a man who ran toward bad things to help when they happened. Finn just causes bad things.
On top of all that, Finn is in danger of failing seventh grade. He missed several gym classes that he’ll have to make up. And he refused to finish an English final involving a massive poetry project. He had his reasons: One, it was poetry. And two, it was supposed to be poetry about heroes. That’s a subject Finn says he doesn’t believe in.
Oh, and did I mention that Finn capped his poor decision-making by promptly running out and angrily kicking over some old dead lady’s headstone?
He didn’t even know the lady. It’s just that her headstone was near his dad’s grave. And while his dad’s headstone was squat and too heavy to budge, the dead woman’s grave marker was … very breakable. And a cemetery security camera caught the whole thing.
This, however, is where Finn’s series of very dumb choices takes a forced turn.
It seems that the daughter of the woman whose headstone Finn kicked wants to offer the teen a deal: She won’t press charges; Finn won’t even have to cover the hefty price for the repairs. But that’s only if Finn agrees to a summer project. The woman’s deceased mother was a famed local mountain climber. So she wants Finn to hike his way up all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. Oh, and Finn also has to take her deceased mother’s dog on the trails, too.
Arrg!
Finn doesn’t even enjoy walking all that much, never mind hiking up mountains! With a smelly-furred, gassy dog, nonetheless. But the hikes seem to be the lesser of punishments. Hey, maybe he can even write about it all in poems and check off his English class and exercise requirements at the same time.
Let’s see …
School is important.
It’s bad to damage headstones.
This is a haiku.
Well, that’s a start, anyway.
Finn finds a card that is printed with the Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Though not a system of faith, there is a simple belief at the core of this story. It suggests that facing a challenge—such as a difficult mountain hike—can help us separate ourselves from our everyday struggles and think differently about things.
Not only does hiking let Finn experience the beauty of the world around him, but it gives him time to think and work through his feelings for his father. Finn also begins to talk with the experienced adult guides who hike with him. And with time, much of the boy’s angry feelings begin to dissipate.
Though we never directly meet Finn’s father, Noah, we learn about him through Finn, such as the fact that he was a hero who was famously photographed saving a young woman’s life during 9/11. However, Noah also had a drinking problem that turned into alcoholism. And Finn is surprised to learn that Noah began mountain hiking to help him work through that addiction. Finn has some misconceptions about his father that he realizes were false.
Finn’s mom is a kind and caring woman. She works to deal with her son’s anger while also staying connected with him and trying to keep him safe during his mountain hikes. In fact, that connection becomes a point of humor as the story goes on. For instance, Finn sets up an automatic response to Mom’s texts that always reads: “I am not lost in the woods or being stalked by a panther or getting swatted by a bear.”
Another member of Finn’s family is his grandmother, who owns a bakery. Her baked goods and the bakery itself are things that give the teen a sense of foundation. And Finn comes up with a hiking-related idea to help bring in more finances for the struggling business.
There are also several adults who step in as helpers for Finn’s mountain-hiking quests. One of those is an older former coach who coached Finn’s father when he was in high school. Coach is also an Alcoholics Anonymous coach who helped Noah with his addiction.
Finn kicked down Edna Grace Thomas’s headstone, and we learn quite bit about her as well. She was acquainted with Noah and helped connect him with hiking. We also learn that Noah positively impacted Edna’s family in heroic ways.
There’s no profanity in the mix. But Finn does use the word “freaking” in his dialogue and opines that Edna’s dog is “smelly-furred and farty-butted.” In fact, early on in the story, Finn is rather obnoxious and self-focused.
There are several discussions about alcoholics and Finn initially believes that his father drank himself to death. But that’s not true.
There are several slightly violent moments in the midst of Finn’s hikes. The worst happens when a bear attacks and Finn is left bleeding and unconscious (saved by Edna’s dog). Finn also discovers some writings about a certain “Calamity Pond” where a man was shot by his own gun at some point in history. We’re told of someone’s death from COVID-19.
None.
Have you ever read or written much poetry? What did you think of the fact that this whole story is presented in poetic verse? How did it affect the story for you?
Early on, Finn comes off as a pretty angry guy. What changes for him? What is it about the mountain hikes that impact him positively? Have you ever gone out for a long hike with someone? What did you like most?
What qualities make a hero, in your opinion? Who do you think showed themselves to be heroes in this story and why? Individuals such as David, Joshua and Esther are all thought of as heroes in the Bible. What do they all have in common?
The Trouble with Heroes is a story written in various styles of poetic verse, including haiku, sonnet, acrostic, riddle, free verse and ode. That alone might give some young readers pause as they venture in. But the book’s verses weave a compelling story about dealing with grief, wrestling with priorities and facing life’s challenges, one steep uphill hike at a time. It’s an excellent read.
Parents of younger readers should, however, be aware that there is some angry disobedience in this story; discussions of alcoholism and grief; and some light violence.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
