Customer Reviews

My Brother Sam Is Dead (A Newberry Honor Book)

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(124)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

In my 8th grade English class I had to read My Brother Sam Is Dead as a reguired historical fiction book. I read the book in class as well as out of class on my own time. My Brother Sam Is Dead takes place during the Revolutionary War in a little town called Redding. Tim, a teenager, is telling the reader his feelings of the war and how the war affected him. I think teh author choose to tell the story through Tim because he was torn between being a Loyalist like his father or a Patriot like his older brother Sam. Tim's father doesn't think that his family shoyuld be involved in the war and Sam thinks it's his duty to fight for his country. Irony, was what made the book My Brother Sam Is Dead interesting. A good example is when Tim finds out his father had died on a British Jail Ship. This was unexpected because he was a Loyalist and he died on British Jail Ship. I expected him to die on a Patriot Jail Ship. Once you read what happens, your like I didn't expect that to happen. The same thing happens to Sam at the end of the book, but in a different way. In My Brother Sam Is Dead there were three main conflicts. The conflicts were personal, political, and character. Tim was the character withthe personal conflict. He was trying to decide whether to be a Patriot or a Loyalist. Tim knew his father had his reasons for being a Loyalist and so did his brother Sam. Tim wanted to be like his father, but also wanted to be like his brother Sam. The next big conflict was the political one. England and The Colonies were fighting over who got to run The Colonies. England thought they should get to run them because they had founded The Colonies. The people living in The Colonies thought they should get to run The Colonies because they lived there and didnt' believe in England's rule. The last conflict was between Sam and his father. This kind of conflict is called a character conflict. Sam wanted to go to war and fight an the Patriot side, while his father didn't think he should fight in the war. Sam's father was also a Loyalist so he didn't believe in anyhting the Patriots did or thought was right. In the book My Brother Sam Is Dead there were many great parts that I enjoyed. One part of the book that really got me interested was when Tim and his father were ambushed on their way to Verplex Point to trade the cattle for supplies they needed for their tavern in Redding. An other part was when Tim finds out Sam took his father's only gun, Brown Bess, when Sam's father specifically told Sam not too. If I had to pick a theme for the book it would most likely be "Everything happens for a reason." To me, it was like everything that happened to Tim changed the way he lived, acted or even thought. My Brother Sam Is Dead was full of suspense all the way through the book. I could hardly put the book down since I started reading it. I also read a historical fiction book called, One Thousand White Women. It was great too! One Thousand White Women was written in a journal form and I liked that format better than the traditional story form of My Brother Sam is Dead. I hope you enjoy both of these books as much as I did.

This is my favorite among the Collier brothers' books. This has been a successful book for me to hand to many (usually boys) reluctant readers. Young readers can relate to Tim Meeker's conscience telling him to do "what's right" and his desire to be like his big brother Sam. Conflict over the Revolutionary War(which is just beginning at the start of the book) brings emotional confrontations to the Meeker household. Most readers can sympathize with Tim as he watches his family torn apart by the question of loyalty to the King or to the colonists. Tim just wants to be loyal to his family, and he wishes Sam would too. This novel is an easy read and is an enthralling read with its taps into the violence of this war. Readers are so involved by the end of the novel that they want to pick up another of the Collier brothers' historical fiction. And as the authors say, if they said there was two-feet of snow in January of 1778, then it really happened. This is realistic historical fiction throughout. One of the authors does the research & the other does the creative writing to complete this package. This is a great literary addition to any history class. If you like this one, I suggest also reading Bloody Country & The Winter Hero, both by the same authors.

This book describes the fictional adventures of the Meeker family of Redding, Connecticut, though much of the context of the story -- including setting, characters and situations -- is true. The action takes place between April 1775 and February 1779. Tim Meeker begins as an 11-year old boy; his father runs the town's tavern and general store and remains loyal to the English king, while his beloved older brother Sam has just run off to join the Rebels and fight for freedom from the British.

The narrative voice of Sam is effective and well-written. A lot of choices are made and many changes take place for anyone between the ages of eleven and fifteen, but just imagine if you were also going through those important times while the American Revolution was happening around you! Sam is confused. He doesn't understand all the issues and has seen acts of good and bad from both sides. He loves his father and his brother. He cannot decide where his loyalties lie. Sam's dilemma makes clear that the Revolution was really America's first civil war -- neighbors fought neighbors, people were right and wrong on both sides, and everyone suffered.

This is a realistic book with no struggles or acts beyond the believable abilities of the characters involved. There is no explicit violence but the narrator sees a beheading and an execution, so this book would be inappropriate for young readers; but it captures the dilemmas of growing up and the difficulties of the Revolution in a way that would make it interesting and valuable to pre-teens and teenagers.

In 1775, Tim Meeker was 12 years old and was living in a family owned tavern in Redding. Sam, his older brother decided to join the Rebel Troops, even though the rest of his family was Tory. When Life,Tim's father,was making his annual trip to Verplank's Point Sam was not able to go so father had to take Tim instead. They went to get supplies when a gang of cowboys took father on a prison ship to die and he does. This leaves Tim and his mother to take care of the tavern. Meanwhile prices are going sky high. People have little food as it is because of the war. The war is getting closer to Redding. The British are coming into Redding and killing all of the Rebels. Mother refuses to accept all that is happening right around her.

When Sam is in town he visited his family. When cattle thieves steal cattle Sam is framed for it. The General sentences him to death. He was shot about a month later. It amazes us that he was killed for something he did not even do.This can't be justice.

My Brother Sam Is Dead is a book I read for my 7th-8th English class. It was for a required grade.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. It was a historical fiction book about the Revolutionary War. The conflicts in the book made it interesting. There were a variety of conflicts in MBSID. For example, there were personal, character, and political conflicts. The point of view of the book was a young boy. I think the author chose this boy becuase he had to make a decision either against his brother or against his father. The story took place in Redding, Connecticut. In my opinion, I thought it had an unexpected ending, full of irony.

I both liked and disliked the book. I enjoyed learning some facts about the Revolutionary War. I have never really enjoyed any books about the war because I never understood any of it. AFter I found out some of the word used in MBSID, I learned a plethora about that particular war. The book was also interesting and suspenseful. There were also some unexpected events that occured in the book that made it hard to put down. I believe that the second half of the book was better than the first half because the second half was full of events.

A criticism of the book was that at times, it was confusing. The hard part about the book was you had to try and remember what the words meant or you would be lost. I didn't dislike many thing about the book; the one thing that I noticed the most was that parts of it were boring. Sometimes, I had to keep reading more and more until it got better.

A comparison of MBSID is a book called Northe to Freedom. It was also a historical fiction book. Even though I enjoyed MBSID very much, I liked North to Freedom better. This particular book wasn't about a war. North to Freedom was more interesting because it had more events happen throughout the book, unlike MBSID. I like a challenge once in a while involving literature, but North to Freedom didn't have very many vocabulary words that I didn't understand. I feel that MBSID needed more interesting topics to keep the reader entertained. I wanted to read MBSID becuase the cover looked interesting and it "caught" my eye. The cover for North to Freedom didn't look very exciting, so I figured that MBSID would be better than North to Freedom. I recommend reading both My Brother Sam Is Dead and North to Freedom. They are both excellent books.

My Brother Sam is dead by James and Christopher Collier, is an exciting thriller that will have you anxious to read more. The setting starts in the small town of Redding Ridge, Connecticut, in the early 1800's where the bloody battles of the Revolutionary War don't come. The main characters are Sam and Tim Meeker and their parents. Sam is a young man that has brown hair and brown eyes, and Tim is a teenager that has blond hair and blue eyes. Also their parents own a tavern.
Tim Meeker is caught in the middle of the Revolutionary War. Tim's brother, Sam, is fighting the British for the Rebels and Tim's dad is a Tory (loyalist), but still against war. Tim doesn't know which side to be on. Tim has to make an important decision that could change his life forever. The reader will enjoy this book because of its suspense, excitement, and adventure. To find out what happens read My Brother Sam is Dead.

This book was very sad, and was filled with dying and bloodshed. Tim Meeker lived an ordinary life until war came to his town. His family suffered great losses from the Revolutionary War, and his family is caught in the middle of the war. I disliked this book. It was too gory. If you like action books you may like it.

I had to read this book for a college class, and what a powerful book! This story revolves Tim Meeker, who's brother Sam goes to fight the Revoutionary War. This is also a story on a family and a town torn apart. Some want to fight aganist the King, and others on the town (and the Meeker family) are aganist the King. What makes this story so powerful, is that it's focus isn't on the war itself, but the families that are left behind. WHen a someone fights in a war, they put their life on the line for their country. Then a death has some honor. Well for Sam, this was not so. I won't say how and why Sam had to die, but it was void of honor. This powerful novel will also show the reader what happens to the innocent people. My Brother Sam is Dead also shows what our soilders did, who were considered the "good guys". This is a powerful read and I highly suggest this book. You won't be sorry.

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier is a five star book. This book was a page turner. The book was thrilling and exciting.
It's 1777 and the Revolutionary war is taking place. In a Tory town called Redding there is a family made of a father, a mother, and two sons Sam, and Tim. When Sam leaves his home to fight in the war as a Patriot Tim finds himsef in a daze. He can't decide which side he's on. He could be like his father and be a loyalist. He could be like Sam and be a Patriot. Also, there's his mother, who didn't pick a side. Will Tim's family reunite or will they lose dear friends.
I love how you felt mad, sad, and happy at the same time. At times I found myself talking, shouting, and even crying for the characters. I know they weren't real, but they had real feelings.
When I read this book I knew Tim and his family had some hardships and I could ever be that brave. Tim tried to help his family even if it meant death.

The book that I read was My Brother Sam is Dead. I read this book in my seventh grade English class. My 7th grade English teacher picked this book out. My Brother Sam is Dead is during the Revolutionary War.. My Brother Sam is Dead was about a boy named Sam. Sam is 16 years old and lives in a tavern. When you turn 16, during this time, you are considered a man. Sam wanted to go to fight for freedom against the British. Sam's dad, Mr. Meeker, was a Loyalist. Sam's dad did not want Sam to go off to war. Sam disobeyed him and went anyway. My Brother Sam is Dead is about a family in conflict because they support different sides of the war. The reader gets to know all members of the family and their opinions. After reading the book you still don't know what side you would have been on - I was sure I would be a Patriot, but after reading the book, I'm not so sure. I think that this book is a great book. The book has many setting changes that make it better than most. I also liked the book because it was teaching me many things about the Revolutionary War that I didn't know. When I started to read the book it was not very good. But as the story go on, and after the class started to talk about it, I liked it more. I think that it is a good historical fiction book for a class to read. This book has inspired me to read more historical fiction.