Bro [Hardcover]

Robert Newton Peck (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Florida: 1933

A train, rushing through the night ... a car, stalled in its path ... a boy's life, shattered. Tugwell Dockery hasn't spoken since the horrific events that unfolded one afternoon six years ago at his grandfather's ranch. Now he's back there, newly orphaned, living with his grandfather and gutsy great-aunt.

Broda Joe Dockery hasn't seen his brother since his incarceration two years ago at the Pecan County Correctional Labor Camp. Now, realizing Tug must live at the site of a tragedy he witnessed, Broda Joe knows he must be with his brother, even if it means breaking the law and risking his life.

Robert Newton Peck writes of grit and courage, and the steel-strong bonds that unite families and endure beyond life itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 7-9. Peck's latest begins with the train-and-car collision that kills 9-year-old Tug's parents--though he walks away unscathed--and ends with the boy at the grave of his 18-year-old brother, Bro. The story takes place in 1933, mainly on the Florida cattle ranch where Tug, who is mute, goes to live with his grandfather and in the prison where Bro is serving time, until his escape. The settings are swiftly but skillfully drawn, and the characters are generally convincing, though Bro seems idealized and his revenge on his cruel pursuer, a prison guard, as inevitable as his own death. Tug appears to be the protagonist, but the focus often shifts to other, older characters--first Tug's grandfather and then his brother--and having some chapters in Tug's first person and others in third person is a bit awkward. However, readers looking for action will find plenty here: the car wreck, bull castration, a prison break, a shoot-out, and the birth of a foal requiring Tug's small arm up the mare's birth canal, which is vintage Peck. For larger collections. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Robert Newton Peck is the author of more than sixty books, including Horse Thief, Cowboy ghost, and A Day No Pigs Would Die. According to Newsweek, Mr. Peck "manages to evoke a sense of vanished America -- when neighbors were neighborly, when food was home-cooked, and clothes and philosophy homespun." Raised on a farm, he is familiar with cattle, hogs, and horses. He lives with his wife, Sam, in Longwood, Florida, where he and a partner currently own eleven mustangs.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (May 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060529741
• ISBN-13: 978-0060529741
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,423,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars deep look at the Depression Era south, May 26, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bro (Hardcover)

In 1933 Clemson and Melba Dockery accompanied by their nine years old son Tugwell drives from Moultrie, Georgia to Yazoo City, Florida, to visit his father on his birthday. Clemson tries to outrace a speeding train, but fails leaving nine years old Tugwell Dockery as the only survivor. His older sibling, eighteen years old Broda "Bro" Joe is in jail for running alcohol. His paternal grandfather seems indifferent so his Great Aunt Lulu picks up the traumatized child, who no longer can speak.

However, circumstance lead to Tug going to his grandfather's house, which is near the place where his parents died. Bro worries about his younger devastated brother and does not believe his grandfather will care for Tug. Bro escapes from prison with the objective to insure that Tug gets the help he needs to overcome the tragedy.

BRO is a deep look at the Depression Era south that will leave the audience needing a bookcase worth of tissues. The cast tugs at the readers' hearts as each one struggle with what life has dealt them; Tug especially will receive much empathy. Though character driven, historical fiction readers will want to join the pack of new fans that this long time top notch author (see A DAY NO PIGS WOULD DIE) will garner.

Harriet Klausner