Coming-Of-Age; War Drama; Historical Fiction
My Brother Sam Is Dead is pretty textbook coming-of-age. Our main boy, Tim, who complains about chores, turns into our main man Tim, who tackles his chores with gusto. Okay, it's not just about chores, but you know what we mean.
Here's the thing, though. The whole growing up thing? It's not an easy road for Tim, because he does it during the American Revolution. Cue: war drama. The first chapter opens when Sam joins the Rebel army and the epilogue closes as Tim wonders if the war really was worth it in the end. From start to finish, you'll find war on every page of this book.
But it's not all about the Revolutionary War. My Brother Sam Is Dead also uses oodles of real events and real characters, landing it smack dab in the historical fiction genre. The main characters in the Meeker family are on the fiction side of things. But other characters from General Putnam to Mr. Heron actually lived or worked in Redding, just like they do in the book.
Who knew reading about history could be so much fun? Actually, we did.