Hernandez,
Daniel and Susan Goldman Rubin. They Call
Me a Hero: A Memoir of my Youth. Simon & Schuster BFYR, New York, 2013.
223 pages. Tr. $17.99 ISBN 9781442462281
Plot
Description:
On January 8, 2011 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
was shot, along with several members of her staff and citizens. Daniel Hernandez was a 20 year old intern
working in Giffords office and when he heard the shots ring out he immediately
ran to the aid of the victims. Hernandez
was the first to reach Giffords and he saw that she had been shot in the
forehead, but she was still conscious and responding. Hernandez had had some first aid and trauma
training in high school and knew he needed to elevate the wound and apply
steady pressure. Doctors later
attributed Hernandez’s actions to be responsible for saving the Congresswoman’s
life. In They Call Me a Hero, Hernandez recounts what happened that fateful January
day and chronicles his childhood and adolescence growing up in Tucson and how
he first became interested in politics.
Review:
They
Call Me a Hero is a thoughtful memoir of an exceptional
young man. It is clear that Hernandez is
a humble person who is uncomfortable with being labeled a hero, but he also
realizes he has been put in a position in which he can have a positive
influence. Hernandez clearly cares
deeply about education and improving the lives of children through public
service. By telling his story in this
book Hernandez will be able to reach and inspire even more tweens and teens. As a gay Latino man Hernandez is a role model
to many communities and discusses briefly in his book on his experiences
growing up gay and about his early education as a bilingual student.
Genre:
Nonfiction
Biography/Memoir
GLBTQ
Reading
Level/Interest Level:
Grades 6 and up
Author’s
Website:
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