Alice Childress' A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich was published in 1973. Set in the ghettos of Harlem, New York, the novel was written for young adults. It follows a thirteen-year-old teenage boy named Benjie who struggles with things no thirteen-year-old should, like food and housing insecurity and, perhaps most insidiously, drugs. Benjie struggles with heroin. Although he thinks he can stop using it whenever he wants, he is still on the substance and has no plans of quitting. At school, he struggles to fit in and make school worth his time. At home, he deals with troubled parents who struggle to make ends meet. In the end, all Benjie wants is for someone to believe that he can be more than a teenage drug addict. He doesn't find that person until Butler encourages him to kick his drug habit and become a better person capable of doing good in the world.
When it was published, Childress' novel received exceptionally positive reviews from critics, who were shocked by its excellence. Kirkus Reviews called it "A frank and forceful novel." The New York Times called the novel a "Surprisingly exciting, entertaining book that demystifies the pusher and the problem he sells by centering on the unwitting victim, Benjie." Those positive reviews translated into the novel being turned into a film. That film, which was released in 1977, received mediocre reviews. Critics called out the novel's direction and execution but felt positive about its acting.
