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My Brother Sam Is Dead
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My Brother Sam Is Dead
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My Brother Sam Is Dead
Ebook199 pages3 hours

My Brother Sam Is Dead

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 13, 2012
ISBN9781620641989
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My Brother Sam Is Dead
Author

James Lincoln Collier

James Lincoln Collier is the author of more than fifty books for adults and children. He won a Newbery Honor for My Brother Sam Is Dead, which he cowrote with his brother, Christopher Collier. Twice a finalist for the National Book Award, he is also well known for his writing for adults on jazz. He lives in New York City.

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Reviews for My Brother Sam Is Dead

Rating: 3.5857842879901964 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

408 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tim and Sam are brothers. Their parents run a tavern in a small town in Connecticut. As the book opens, the Revolutionary war is just beginning. 16 year old Sam has joined the Patriots. Younger Tim is left at home with double the chores. Tim tells the story. While the central family is fictional, many of the secondary characters and events really happened, which explains in part why some secondary storylines are left unresolved.It is a curious title, where the title tells what happens in the last two pages of the story.The authors do not take a simplistic view of the American Revolution. The Patriots are not portrayed as glorious heroes. They have a mixture of motives and personalities both good and bad among them. Likewise, the Tories, who support the British are not portrayed as all bad either. Indeed, Tim and Sam's own father is a Tory.A good book for young people with an interest in history, and worthy of extensive discussion after reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really didn't think you could write a book about the American Revolution without picking one side or the other, but this book does an amazing job of that. You really can see the points of view of both sides, which I think is important for younger readers to understand. This book isn't going to hide the sadness of war or the problems of the time period and I liked that honesty. This is going on my list to recommend to young lovers of history.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nihilism for nine-year-olds.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book does a good job of making both sides of the revolutionary war (Tories vs. Patriots) equally sympathetic and equally hated forces. "War turns men into animals," says Tim's mother. The question the author really wants his readers to answer is this, "Could America's freedom been purchased without the bloodshed?" Good question. No easy answers.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    the book my brother sam is dead was a very interesting book.It had adventure,romance and action. the book showed the love between two siblings.this book was very touching
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sam enlists in the Rebel army during the Civil War and this decision is difficult for his father to comprehend because he stands with staying loyal to the British. While his brother is away fighting, Tim has to decide what side he stands on when it comes to the war. Their father ends up dying leaving Tim the man of the house while Sam is away fighting in the war. At the end, Sam does die leaving the family down to two.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A well-researched and written look at war and how it affects the local community. The subject matter was sobering, but worth reading for mature pre-teens and up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked the Torie perspective on the Revolutionary War.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I don't remember reading this one growing up, which is strange because of my love of books and all things history. I now see I didn't miss much, although my perspective might have been different if I had read it when I was 11 instead.

    Tim is growing up during the turbulent times prior to and during the American Revolution. He adores his obnoxious big brother, Sam, who is attending Yale and appears to be the smuggest, least likable person in the world. If I had to hear the phrase, "scored a telling point" one more time, I might have thrown the book away. Seriously, dude, you are the world's worst. Anyway, Tim has some serious hero worship going on for his big brother, who decides to drop out of Yale, steal his father's rifle (really, Sam? You are a bad person) and join the revolutionaries. Sam's parents are opposed to this, naturally, as no parent wants their 16-year-old son to join the military during war time. Sam does what he wants, and ultimately we get to the title of the book.

    Between Sam running off to enlist and the ending where he dies, a lot of sad, depressing things happen. It's Revolutionary times. Besides the war, you have cholera outbreaks, hunger, and decapitations. Plus you have to endure Sam's girlfriend Betsy Read, who is tied with Sam for "most unlikeable character is a children's book". For a young woman who should have been behaving like an adult, she acted like an obnoxious child.

    I'm sure there are better historical fiction books out there about the American Revolution. The only thing that saved this from one-star territory was the authors' notes at the end. I liked how they explained who and what were historically accurate and where they embellished or created things for the book. For the additional interesting information, I added one star. My recommendation? You can skip this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Living in Connecticut when the Revolutionary War breaks out, young Tim Meekers sees first hand what war can do, from tearing his family apart, then his little town, where neighbors betray each other and Tim is unsure which side is worse.Though this book is forty years old, I'd never heard of it before LT (that should become a distinction here: BLT and ALT). Better than I expected.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5


    This book was kind of traumatizing. People normally read this in school?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    W...T...F? Gah. I hated the way this ended; it just felt so cheap. We obviously know (from the title) that Sam is going to die, but the way in which the authors chose to kill him just felt so ridiculously wrong (not wrong as in unconscionable, but wrong as in poorly thought-out). Yes, I am aware that people actually died in this way, but it wasn't a common way to die by any means. Yes, I'm aware the populace should be aware that things like that actually happen in war, but I feel like ancillary events should be told through ancillary characters (they should have had a lesser character die this way). It would have been far more appropriate to have him die for desertion, disease, or actual battle wounds. I dunno; the way it turned out, I feel as though it would have been no less a worse ending if they simply had him trip and break his neck on a march or something.On a side note, the epilogue from "Timmy" contained one piece of interesting information I wish more adults and books would address with children; was the Revolutionary War necessary? The vast majority of people you meet never even consider it a possibility; it's just something that had to happen. After studying WWI though (and especially after reading Johnny Got His Gun), I've become thoroughly convinced that the Revolutionary War was unnecessary. Yes, the taxation was bad, but I feel remaining British subjects would have saved us many hardships down the line; no Civil War, slavery would have ended before it got to its worse, relations with Native Americans would have been slightly better, we would have entered WWI and WWII sooner (potentially ending them sooner), and, judging by other British colonies, we probably would have ended up independent anyway (and a bit more liberal than we are at the moment and possibly with universal healthcare!).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Summary:This story is based on real events stemming from the Revolutionary War. This story used real life locations and based some events of real life situations. There were fictional characters in this story, but the author tried to keep them as real as possible.Personal Reaction:My personal reaction to this story is that never take life for granted, because book stories can tell real life situations.Classroom Extensions:I will teach the class that story books can tell real life situations and locations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Genre: Historical FictionReview: This story is a Historical Fiction novel because it portrays true events from history (the American Revolution). At the end of the book, sort of like an author's note, the authors tell us that the information depicted in this story is true, the places, time, events, and deaths are true except for the Meeker family (the main characters). None of their story is true, but they are used because it could very well have happened with a family so similar to their story, but they are not true. Media: no media.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Genre: Historical FictionMedia: noneAge: MiddleReview: This book has characters who are not real people, however the events the book is based around are historically correct. The author does a good job of including real characters in the story as well.Character: Tim is a dynamic character. He starts out as a boy, and then grows into a man when his father is taken away by bandits. His thoughts about the war also change throughout the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Genre: Historical FictionCharacterization: (Graded by Stars)Review: Tim Meeker is close with his brother, Sam. Upon returning from Yale, Sam informs his family that he will be fighting with the Rebels in the American Revolution. However, their hometown, Redding, and family are Tories (British-side). This causes tension within their family. Tim sticks by his brother and his mother & father the entire time while struggling to figure out what he believes. This book is a good example of historical fiction because it includes both history and fiction. The authors included true characters and events that took place during the American Revolution, but the Meeker family is fiction. Media: N/A
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Genre: Historical FictionCritique: This is an excellent example of historical fiction because it takes place in a historical time period (the revolutionary war), with some real historical characters and is historically accurate in its portrayals of life in that time, however most of the characters (the main ones at least) and story itself are fictionalSummary: A young boy named Tim is torn between the two sides of the revolutionary war: on the one hand he has his older brother Sam, who he looks up to, fighting with the rebel revolutionaries for freedom, and on the other hand is the rest of his family, who is more in support with the Brittish. Tim learns that the sides of the war are only part of life in that time, and tries to discover which side he would be more in line with, because the lines are more blurred and muddled than what is portrayed now in the history books; all he really knows is that he does not support the war in general, regardless of which side. Tim also learns that, regardless of how glorious the war seems to be painted by those in support of it, the war is affecting everyone's lives whether they are involved in it or not, in very difficult ways, and that it is not all it is chalked up to be. Style: The authors make excellent use of imagery throughout the entire book. Since the setting and characters take place in history, and since the plot is based on historical instances, imagery is an important way to convey the story to those who are not familiar with the time period and who have not lived in it. It makes good connections and makes it seem real and relatable to those who read the book.Media: There are no pictures, and the book does not say what the front cover uses, although it looks like either paint, colored pencil, or pastel
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Read this back in fifth grade, very good book! I always loved the title!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Sam is a die hard Torie who want to beat the Lobserbacks. Tim, Sam'slittle brother always looked up to Sam. Tim is left to fend for the tavern and his mother after a horrible trip to buy products for the tavern with his father. They don't know if Dad is alive or will TIm make it. THis would be a great book to use for middle school kids when talking about how the Revolutionary war was.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    From back cover:"Sam, you stole father's gun!" "I have to have it. I can't fight without one." "But we need it at home. Father needs it." "Are you going to tell him, Tim?"I didn't tell. But I might have if I'd known what was going to happen to Father later. Sam meeker was sixteen in 1775, when he ran away to fight the British. His brother, Tim, was a few years younger. This is their story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tim tells the story of his family and the community in which they live, Redding, after his brother joins the patriots in the Revolutionary War. Sam's divisive decision upsets the family dynamic and increases tension between the neighbors. All the while Tim, who admires his brother more than anyone, wrestles with him own political attitudes and, equally importantly, growing into manhood. This coming of age novel vividly depicts life in colonial and revolutionary America. Because it seems to authentically capture so many human emotions around both growing up ideas about war, this novel remains accessible to middle readers today. The Collier brothers bring readers into the heart and mind of a believable young man during one of the most significant periods in our national and world history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Genre: Historical Fiction because the story is based on the Revolutionary War and much of the story is one that is possibly very accurate, however these particular characters are not real, making the story fictional.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Tim's brother that is Sam wants to go to the war but his family doesn't want him to go so he goes without telling his family anything and Tim always goes to see him and his always in a hurry before his dad knows that he went to go see Sam. Sam father was against that Revolution and everytime Sam would go visit his family his mom had to keep him some where else because of his dad he didnt want to see him and the people that are in the revolution didn't like his father but they didn't know that Sam father was against them. So sam had to lie to the revolution about his family but then the revolution saw him talking to a girl that is against them so they said that Sam betraid them so they killed him they hang him but his mom didn't want to go ssee so Tim, Sam's little brother went to go see how they killed Sam. like the revolution didnt like his dad so he was shot by the revolutions.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the Revolution when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the family tries to stay neutral in a Tory town.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When i saw this book i assumed it would be a sappy and sad book but suprisingly was wrong! It was a gutrenching and exciting book! It kept me at the edge of my seat and enjoyed it alot. Also had some history which is always good!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This offers a realistic view of war through the eyes of a boy (Tim Meeker) whose sixteen year old brother Sam decides to join the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. The Meekers live in a section of Connecticut that's known for being loyal to the British. The family runs a tavern and relies on patronage from people on both sides of the war. Tim must make some difficult choices: should he protect his brother or be loyal to his father (who opposes the war)? This story reflects the hardships and dangers Americans faced during the Revolutionary War. There are violent scenes--including execution and beheading. The plot is very powerful and the characters are well developed. This story could lead to some intriguing book discussions among YA's!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had to read this for work. I have a team of fifth graders participating in something called Battle of the Books and this was one of the ones on the list. Sam goes off to join the Revolutionary army, despite his father’s disapproval. A good book, but quite long.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Cooper needed to read this in seventh grade, so he called to ask if we could do a family book discussion after Thanksgiving. Lee, Holly, Avery, Mallory, Karen, Laurel, David, G & G, and Sandy read the book and Cooper led in the discussion.It is not a book I would have chosen, but I was glad to encourage Cooper to read and to show that we consider him a valued member of the family.This is the story of a civil war family whose father is on one side of the battle and the oldest son is on the other. They own a tavern in Connecticut.