Heart of a Shepherd

Ignatius, called Brother, promises to take care of his family's Oregon ranch with his aged grandparents while his father is deployed to Iraq for 14 months. Kirby Heyborne strongly relays Brother's growing awareness that he's a boy trying to do a man's job. Throughout the long year, no matter what he is doing, from raising orphaned lambs to surviving a prairie fire, Brother misses his father and prays for his safe return. Heyborne narrates primarily in Brother's youthful voice but also gives other characters distinctive voices--from the deep voice of Brother's Quaker grandfather to the lilting Irish brogue of his loving grandmother. Brother's day-to-day life on the ranch and his deep connection to the Catholic Church are recounted in this coming-of-age story, which is made immediately accessible with Heyborne's slow and evenly paced narration. L.A.C. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

January 26, 2009
In Parry's debut novel, 11-year-old Brother (his given name is Ignatius: "Guess they ran out of all the good saints by the time they got to me") helps manage his family's Oregon ranch. With his father in Iraq, his four older brothers at school or in the military, and his mother painting abroad, caring for family's livestock falls to Brother, his grandparents and some hired help. Though he is eager to prove to his siblings, grandparents and most importantly, his father, that he can handle it, Brother nonetheless struggles with the rigors of the job, his father's and brothers' absence and the stress of war ("I could never do it.... I could never take those salutes and the 'yes, sirs' and then take moms and dads into danger"). Slowly, Brother fills the shoes of his elders and realizes his own calling when he is literally tested by fire. Brother's spiritual growth and gentle but strong nature, in tandem with details of ranch life and the backdrop of war, add up to a powerful, unique coming-of-age story. Ages 8-12.