Blurb: Identical twins Johnny and Will are orphaned and separated as toddlers. Johnny is dopted by an abusive aunt in Tennessee. Will id adopted by a loving, affluent couple who live in the country near Birmingham, Alabama. When he grows into boyhood, Johnny runs away and is sheltered by Linc, a reclusive black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp. My Brother's Story tells of the twins' adventures as they struggle to reunite.
I was given an awesome opportunity to read a book, and write a review about it. As you know, I love reading. I read all things, as you can see.
This book kind of hit home with me because I educated middle school children, in South Carolina, for five years. I would think that my sixth graders would love to read this book. I would think that southern children would definitely understand the terms and language from this book. There is a bit of a language barrier, and for good reason.
Mix the loving series of Boxcar Children with The Parent Trap, and you get a bit of what this book is about. This book takes place in the Deep South, and after the civil war, I believe.
I think the author did a pretty good job with the two different points of views. You have Johnny's point of view, and then you have his brother's, Will. (Will and Johnny were separated because their parents passed away. I guess the Aunt of was next kin, and only wanted one. So Will was adopted by The Jennison's who took really good care of him, and gave him a pretty good life. However, Poor Johnny was mistreated by his aunt. He was sent to bed almost every night without food, and he was whipped, or switched, for spilling milk. He ended up running away, when his Aunt Min went to a "revival" for a weekend. Johnny meets a fun-loving loving black fellow who takes real good care of him. I'm totally not going to give away the rest of the book because that's not fun for you. But take it from me, it's a good book for middle grade kids.) As for the different points of views, I totally enjoyed hearing Will's story, and then Johnny's. You can also easily tell which story was the boys, because Mr. Johnson Jr did pretty well with Johnny's language and speaking and Will's. You can tell that Will was brought up from a loving, caring, and well educated family, and so he spoke better than Johnny. That's what made this fun to read.
I connected with Will though because he wanted his brother so bad. However, he made me laugh while reading. I think it is sometimes hard to write so that a reader can display any emotion, but Will...he likes to get into some trouble. You know, the typical boy trouble. When the two boys end up getting together, it is even worse. I just think it's funny how these boys act like real boys. They want to get dirty, make things, touch snakes, etc. And his explanation to his mother about why there were peas all over the floor is this "Well,...I was down in the woods with my slingshot, and I, uh...I killed this huge rattlesnake, see...I...uh, wanted to show it to somebody." His mother responded with "Yes..." Will continued, "I guess I wasn't thinking too good, Momma. I, uh, I kind of held it up a little to close to the screen. Jenny May was sitting there shelling peas, and...." I laughed out loud at this. It's pretty funny with the way he hesitates. Jenny May is there cook, and he must have forgotten that she didn't like snakes, much rather dead. haha.
Another reason this book would be good for middle grades is when the author, Mr. Johnson Jr., speaks about how Linc's father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan. This can definitely give the students an idea of what occurred in the South during the Reconstruction Era. Certain white people were always after the "colored folk". They thought they didn't have a place in this world. I feel bad for the lives that they lived, and how they were mistreated by this group of people who hid under white sheets. Teachers can use this knowledge to discuss the history behind it, and to even compare and contrast other stories that could be similar to this.
I truly feel that young readers would enjoy this book, and they will be rewarded with the contents this book holds. Please try to get any reader who loves to read, to read this. I especially believe that this book would help most boys to start reading and turning into life long readers. RARELY do I see a middle school boy with a book. Also there are really nice illustrations throughout this book that goes along well with the story. I definitely think that will help a boy's view of the story that is being told.
So buy this book, and read it!
To Purchase this book, you can do so through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/My-Brothers-Story-Blackwater-Novels-ebook/dp/B00HUC1QPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396972445&sr=8-1&keywords=My+Brother%27s+Story+by+Allen+Johnson+Jr.
