My Brother Sam is Dead ****

By James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier
Historical Fiction
211 pages

DEATH ****
VIOLENCE ****
PERIL ****
LANGUAGE ** (Mild)

I thought this was a really good historical fiction book. I don't usually bestow this honor on just any historical fiction book, because I usually don't like them. I don't like them because you can tell the characters are fake, and where the truth was stretched a little to incorporate the made-up character(s). The authors did a really good job of harmonizing everything together and making it seem real. It is a little descriptive with injuries and violence, but it won't too bad for older readers. Tim Meeker lives in Redding Ridge Connecticut in late 1700's, during the Revolutionary war. His family is Torry, which means they aren't siding with America or King George. That makes their family very vulnerable on both sides. Tim looks up to his older brother Sam, and when Sam joins the war as a solider for America, his family and town are torn apart. Will Tim and his family ever find peace in the midst of a war?