Brave Like My Brother

June 13, 2016
Ten-year-old Charlie Fuller exchanges letters with his older brother, Joe, who has been drafted, in this epistolary novel set during WWII. Most of the letters included are from Joe to Charlie, in which he describes training in Great Britain, opines on the conflict (“War is just life with bigger bullies”), and expresses regret for not being at home with Charlie and their family. Joe’s letters often reference the content of Charlie’s, providing a rough idea of what they might have said, but readers may still feel like they’re only getting half the story. Tension escalates as Joe encounters a spy and prepares to take part in “something big,” details of which he includes in the letters, but that wouldn’t have made it past the censors in reality, as Nobleman explains in an author’s note. Ages 7–10.

April 15, 2016
A newly drafted GI writes home from England to his little brother in Cleveland during World War II.Young Charlie's letters bookend the story, but it's Joe's letters home that make up the bulk of this quick read. The white private writes home about training and living conditions, describing a landscape so muddy the boys wear socks on the outsides of their shoes to keep them clean for an outing and a moving account of Thanksgiving with a local family, before chronicling one exciting adventure. Prominent in his letters are his difficulties with one particularly disagreeable fellow soldier. References to Charlie's letters describing his travails with a neighborhood bully challenge readers to fill in the gaps, prompting them to see parallels in Joe's interpersonal conflict and also preparing them for one missing letter that they will notice only from Joe's discussion of military censors. It's mystifying, then, that when Joe spools out--over months of letters--his blow-by-blow account of the secret mission he undertakes, there is no evidence of censorship as he blabs repeatedly about the inflatable tank they carry as cargo. It defies credulity that Joe would easily recognize said tank in its uninflated state, and his minute recall is similarly unlikely.Though the epistolary format works well at the beginning, it ultimately founders. (Historical fiction. 7-10)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-In a series of letters home to his younger brother, Charlie, Joe describes life as an American soldier stationed in England during World War II. "War is just life with bigger bullies," he writes, encouraging Charlie to stand up to his tormentors, and sharing his own struggles working alongside a bully. He writes about the mud and rain, details of civilian life like rationing and blackouts, and a dog the soldiers adopt. When Joe and his bully are sent on a secret assignment, Joe faces risks that threaten the mission and his life. Except for letters from Charlie that bookend the story, the exchange goes one way, with Joe referring to Charlie's letters to fill in details of life back home. The format removes readers from the action and creates emotional distance. The approach of this high-interest, low-level book creates a story appropriate for younger readers but lessens its appeal as an action-packed war novel. The book is historically accurate beyond the license the author takes, and acknowledges, about how much information about D-Day preparations the censors would have allowed.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016
Grades 2-5 An American private's experiences as interpreted in letters home to his 10-year-old brother offer a slice of life during WWII. Beginning and ending with letters from the younger boy, the remainder cover June 1942 to June 1944 and are written from the soldier's perspective while he's posted in Britain. Large print and simple phrasing are supported by the older brother's age-appropriate storytelling, making this a good choice for reluctant readers. An afterword notes the importance of soldiers' letters as historic documents providing wartime information that would otherwise be missing from political histories, and while these are fiction, they do indeed emulate the realism of a working-class soldier's thoughts and observations as well as accurately portraying what he might encounter during his service. Both brothers' concerns vary from the mundanity of everyday life to the threat of mortal danger, but Nobleman always steers clear of melodrama. A good option for readers not quite ready for Chris Lynch's WWII series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)