Brave Like My Brother

Ten-year-old Charlie Fuller exchanges letters with his older brother, Joe, who has been drafted, in this epistolary novel set during WWII. Most of the letters included are from Joe to Charlie, in which he describes training in Great Britain, opines on the conflict (“War is just life with bigger bullies”), and expresses regret for not being at home with Charlie and their family. Joe’s letters often reference the content of Charlie’s, providing a rough idea of what they might have said, but readers may still feel like they’re only getting half the story. Tension escalates as Joe encounters a spy and prepares to take part in “something big,” details of which he includes in the letters, but that wouldn’t have made it past the censors in reality, as Nobleman explains in an author’s note. Ages 7–10. (June)