My Brother Sam is Dead

James Lincoln Collier · Christopher Collier

Apr 2012 · AudioGO

About this ebook

Winner of the Newbery Honor! The Revolutionary War comes alive in this contemporary classic for young adults. The War had no clear-cut loyalties--it divided families, friends and towns. Young Tim Meeker's 16-year-old brother goes off to fight with the Patriots while his father remains a reluctant British Loyalist in the Tory town of Redding, CT. Tim’s always looked up to his brother, who’s smart and brave. With the war soon raging, Tim knows he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father. Over the course of the war Tim learns that life teaches some bitter lessons and does not guarantee clear answers. My Brother Sam Is Dead is a stirring, probing tale full of action and suspense, putting listeners right into the heart of the Revolutionary War.

Ratings and reviews

The title added a lot of tension while I read the book. Definitely made me cry. It's an interesting take on the American Revolution, written for a juvenile reader, that doesn't just spell out that one side was in the wrong or right in the war.

I read this back in middle school (over 15 years ago) and it is still a great read, only read it once (accelerated reading program) but I still remember it and most of the story line, but the ending is what I remembered most. Highly recommended for any age to read.

💂 Set during the American Revolution. Well written enough that the end is horrible. THE TITLE IS NOT MISLEADING AT ALL. This book is awesome! (Also really, really sad😭😿)

About the author

James Lincoln Collier has written many books for children, including Give Dad My Best and Planet out of the Past. He has also contributed more than five hundred articles to the New York Times Magazine, Reader’s Digest, and Boy’s Life. His honors include the Kidger Prize for Teaching, the Jane Addams Peace Prize, and the Newbery Honor. Christopher Collins is a writer of historical novels for children. Collier has taught at both the University of Bridgeport and the University of Connecticut. He has also served as Connecticut's State Historian. The violence and profanity in Collier's works is very controversial, rendering them banned from reading curriculums in certain schools. Despite the controversy, Collier's book My Brother Sam is Dead won a Newberry Honor in 1975. He has also written War Comes to Willie Freeman, and The Literature of Connecticut History and Roger Sherman's Connecticut for adults.