Brave Like My Brother

"Come back the same," writes ten-year-old Charlie to his brother, Joe, who has enlisted to fight in WWII. This epistolary novel explores both the challenges of war for Joe and the uncertainty for Charlie of being on the home front. Joe's letters describe life as a soldier stationed in Europe without sounding like a history book, but mostly they reveal the love Joe has for his brother. His gentle personality shows through when he gives Charlie advice about a bully and describes his own conflict with a fellow soldier. Joe makes frequent references to the censors as he talks about the food, the weather, the lack of adequate supplies, his general location, and the challenging training he endures. While describing a mission, he reveals something fascinating: the cargo they were transporting was actually (and inexplicably) an inflatable fake tank. Since the purpose of the tank would be classified for another forty years, the reader has to wait for the author's note for the full story. (The censors would never have let that information through in 1944.) The large font and Charlie's clear, breezy letters make this accessible to young independent readers. History lovers will find a lot of new information here, and informed ones will see the June 6, 1942, starting date as a rather obvious foreshadowing of big events to come. Nobleman keeps the suspense tight, leaving the reader to hope that Joe comes back to his family, changed or not. robin l. smith

This epistolary novel explores both the challenges of war for soldier Joe and the uncertainty for his ten-year-old brother Charlie of being on the home front during WWII. Joe's letters describe life as a soldier stationed in Europe without sounding like a history book. The large font and Charlie's clear, breezy letters make this accessible to young independent readers.