--- description: Find out why 'A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich' by Alice Childress on TIME's list of best YA books of all time. title: 'A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3f7f339ed8e7caa/698a1be016d8842f00c399c5/a-hero-aint-nothing-but-a-sandwich-best-YA.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 11, 2021 # A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich by Alice Childress by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Set in Harlem in the early 1970s, _A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich_ explores the impact of racism and poverty on drug addiction through the story of a Black middle schooler who becomes addicted to heroin. Told from the distinct first-person perspectives of 13-year-old Benjie Johnson and a number of significant people in his life—including his mother, stepfather, drug dealer and best friend—the acclaimed 1973 novel, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, chronicles Benjie’s descent into addiction and subsequent struggle to get his life back. Pioneering playwright and novelist Alice Childress, one of the first Black women to have a play produced professionally in the U.S., reckons with what it really means to be a hero in a society that so often fails its most vulnerable. As[ Benjie’s stepfather tells a social worker](https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/04/archives/a-hero-aint-nothin-but-a-sandwich.html "undefined"), “I’m supportin’ three adults, one child, and the United States government on my salary… So, explain me no heroes.” Five years after its release, _A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich_ was adapted into a movie starring[ Cicely Tyson](https://time.com/5520571/cicely-tyson-time-optimists-cover/ "undefined") and Paul Winfield as two of the novel’s most important characters, Benjie’s mom Sweets and his stepfather Butler. —_Megan McCluskey_ **Buy Now:** _A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780698118546 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0698118545/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0698118545&linkId=42b0f959cb63e82e5e25b075e1c70b58 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6082943/a-hero-aint-nothin-but-a-sandwich/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6082943/a-hero-aint-nothin-but-a-sandwich/"},"headline":"A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich","datePublished":"2021-08-11T11:34:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:52:13.565Z","description":"Find out why 'A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich' by Alice Childress on TIME's list of best YA books of all time.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6082943/a-hero-aint-nothin-but-a-sandwich/","keywords":["Books","list","best YA books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3f7f339ed8e7caa/698a1be016d8842f00c399c5/a-hero-aint-nothing-but-a-sandwich-best-YA.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3f7f339ed8e7caa/698a1be016d8842f00c399c5/a-hero-aint-nothing-but-a-sandwich-best-YA.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6082943/a-hero-aint-nothin-but-a-sandwich/","name":"A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich"}}]}] ```