Gary D. Schmidt’s 2023 middle-grade novel The Labors of Hercules Beal is narrated by seventh-grader Hercules Beal as he completes his own version of his mythical namesake’s 12 labors for a school project. Navigating life without his parents, he learns about himself and the world, revealing the themes of Community Impact on Individual Healing, The Benefits of a Shifted Perspective, and The Significance of Setting on Personal Development.

This guide refers to the 2023 Clarion Books print edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material includes frequent discussion of parental death.

Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Hercules Beal details his impending enrollment at the Cape Cod Academy for Environmental Sciences and reveals that his parents died a year ago. His older brother, Achilles, has moved home to run the family business, Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery. Hercules believes that his hometown of Truro, Massachusetts, is the most beautiful place. Every morning, he watches the sunrise from the Dune with his dog, Mindy.

At school, Hercules meets Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer, his demanding homeroom teacher, as well as Henry Sugimoto and Ty Malcolm, his classmates. In science classes, he learns about environmental systems, while in geography, he writes about where he lives, prompting the story of how his ancestors started the family business. In humanities class, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer assigns a Classical Mythology Application Project unique to each student. Like his mythical counterpart, Hercules must perform 12 labors and then reflect on them.

The first mythical labor was to capture the Nemean Lion. Elly, Hercules’s best friend, tells him that the task will reveal itself. This proves true when a one-eyed cat lures Hercules and Mindy to an abandoned house, where an “Ugly Cat Pack” ambushes them. After Mr. Neal, a neighbor, saves them, Hercules invokes the help of Elly, Henry, and Ty to rid the house of cats. Despite injuries, Hercules succeeds and adopts the one-eyed feline, whom he names Pirate Cat. Later, Hercules reflects on the advice of another neighbor, Mrs. Savage, to look at things in the “right light.”

The second mythical labor was to kill the nine-headed Hydra. The boy’s task becomes clear when, on a Friday, the biodiversity teacher asks him to procure nine species of plants by Monday morning. Hercules accompanies Viola, Achilles’s girlfriend, to Cleveland to obtain them. On the trip, Hercules recalls his father being hooked up to nine machines in the hospital. When the man died, Hercules requested that one stay on, and he can still hear the hum of it. Returning home, Hercules reflects on that constant hum as a sign of his parents’ love. When Hercules worries about the third labor, which was to capture the Ceryneian Deer, Henry suggests that seeking the elusive animal is like leaf peepers discovering the perfect fall foliage. So, Henry, Elly, and Hercules paint every leaf on a tree an autumnal yellow. Tourists clamber to see it, but when a fog causes the paint to drip, the kids wind up on the news and are punished with community service. The next day, the tree naturally turns gold, and Hercules reflects that it is better to wait for things than to chase after them.

One stormy night, Mrs. Neal gets trapped beneath her collapsed house. Achilles and Hercules attempt to rescue her. Mr. Neal’s yelling reminds Hercules of his recurring nightmare of his parents’ deaths. Eventually, Hercules pulls her to safety. Later, Hercules compares this to the fourth labor of capturing the Erymanthian Boar and determines that things can change quickly. Meanwhile, damaged during the storm, the Academy is unsafe, so the Beals offer their farm as a temporary site for the school. Because another storm is forecasted, they only have one day to empty the old building—much like the mythical Hercules had one day to clean the Augean Stables. Hercules asks Mrs. Bontemps, another neighbor, for help, and she amasses an army of retired teachers. As the storm intensifies, Hercules dashes inside to retrieve Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer’s military medals. In his reflection, the boy recognizes the importance of having a plan and relying on others.

Holidays are painful for the Beal brothers, and they remind Hercules of the hero’s sixth labor to get rid of the Stymphalian birds. Around this time, Ty Malcolm calls Hercules an orphan, so he breaks Ty’s nose. Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer advises against acting on anger. Then, after learning that Achilles is worried about him, Hercules invites his brother to see the sunrise on Christmas morning. In his reflection, Hercules notes the importance of being prepared for anything. One snowy January morning, Mindy injures her leg. Alone, Hercules seeks help from his grouchy neighbor, Mr. Moby. Seeing the dog, the man softens and drives his school bus to the animal hospital. After Mindy is cared for and they make it back safely, Mr. Moby invites Hercules in for lunch. Later, Hercules ponders the Cretan Bull—the beast captured in the seventh labor. The bull was not always rampaging. Hercules thinks this is true for people too, maybe even the drunk driver who killed his parents.

The eighth labor was to capture the people-eating horses of Diomedes. Hercules thinks of this when he is awakened nightly, first by the shrieking prey of the cat pack, and then by the cats themselves when coyotes kill them. When Mr. Moby catches two coyotes instead of shooting them, animal control transports the animals to Maine, where they will be happier, pleasing Hercules. Then, in February, Mrs. Savage must sell her animal sculptures—even the beloved hippo replica of her husband, Ira. Hercules accompanies her to the auction, planning to buy Ira. There, the auctioneer guesses Hercules’s plan and helps him secure the hippo. The boy recalls the ninth labor to retrieve the belt of Hippolyta and reflects that a person should fix things when they can.

During the 10th labor to gather Geryon’s cattle, the mythical hero encountered many obstacles. Hercules questions how so much could go wrong until his world crumbles. When Viola and Achilles break up, Hercules admits his fear of losing Viola, so he urges his brother to make amends. Then, Hercules worries about Elly, who is in Ohio because her parents separated. Later, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer dubs the boy a survivor and gives him one of his military medals. Hercules learns to keep going even when everything goes awry. This mettle is tested when Viola and Achilles go to Hawaii. Left to run the business alone, Hercules encounters multiple problems, including how to deliver 125 crabapple trees. With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer and many others, Hercules learns that things are easier with help, which was also the case in the mythical 11th labor to retrieve the Golden Apples of the Hesperides.

In the final mythical labor, Hercules entered the Underworld to capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog. The boy is uneasy about the idea of going to hell and back. When Achilles is badly injured in a car accident, Hercules finds himself in a familiar situation, except this time, he has many people with him. After Achilles recovers, Viola drives Hercules to Ohio to visit Elly. Back home, he presents his project and realizes that even though the world is a tough place, he can survive it.