Margin Notes

“Climbing isn’t about
reaching the top.
It’s about pushing past limits
of what you thought you could do.
If you never fall, never fail, you’re not growing,
you know?”

In The Trouble With Heroes, readers meet Finn Connelly, a thirteen-year-old still dealing with his father’s death and the anger that has built up around it. After falling behind on schoolwork and knocking over the gravestone of a well-known local climber, Finn is given an unusual option: spend the summer climbing all 46 Adirondack High Peaks with the climber’s dog instead of facing prosecution.

What starts as a punishment becomes a routine that pushes him to face his grief, his frustration, and the silence he’s been carrying. The climbs, the poetry assignments he owes, and the steady support of the people around him help him take small steps toward understanding himself again.

The book addresses serious topics including parental loss, 9/11, alcoholism, and PTSD, but it handles them with clarity and care. Finn starts the story shut down and angry, and the hikes give him a structure he cannot avoid. He calls the adults who join him “babysitters,” but each person has a connection to his father or to the woman whose grave he knocked over. They walk beside him, offer steady presence, and give him room to feel what he has been pushing away. Over time, readers see him shift from resistance to small moments of honesty, then to reflection, and finally to the early stages of healing. Each character helps him take one more step forward, both on the trail and within himself.

This is a great recommendation, particularly in classrooms where students are exploring grief, identity, accountability, or resilience. The accessible verse style makes it engaging for a wide range of readers. It lends itself well to ELA or social-emotional learning discussions about how communities support healing and what it means to redefine heroism in personal terms. Grab a tissue before you begin but, important spoiler, the dog survives the entire book!