My Brother's Hero (Peachtree Junior Publication) [Hardcover]

Adrian Fogelin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Peachtree Junior Publication

Thirteen-year-old Ben is annoyed by an eleven-year-old, know-it-all girl who threaten's the fun of his family's vacation in the Florida Keys, but he has other worries, especially anxiety about his friend's reaction when she opens the necklace he gave her for Christmas.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Ben, mentioned in Crossing Jordan (Peachtree, 2000) as Cass's childhood friend, narrates this story. Here, the two are developing romantic feelings for one another, although Cass makes but a brief appearance. Ben goes with his family to the Florida Keys for Christmas to mind his uncle's marina. He meets bold and brassy Mica, 11, who lives on a boat with her alcoholic, inattentive father, a marine biologist; her mother is supposedly a famous ballerina "on The Continent." She takes over the family's holiday. She knows the Latin name for seemingly every species of ocean life, motors around the mangroves in a Zodiac, and takes Ben and his younger brother on myriad adventures, including the inevitable one where they almost get lost at sea. He continues to think of Cass, back home in Tallahassee, and the special present he left for her. Longer and slower than the earlier title, and not as compelling, this book has trouble finding a focus as it is partly about child neglect, sibling rivalry, and oceanography, and is also a coming-of-age story.
Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Thirteen-year-old Ben Floyd and his seven-year-old brother, Cody, can't wait to spend Christmas in the Florida Keys as their parents watch over a family-run marina. Ben knows he'll have to keep an eye on Cody, who can't swim, but he's not prepared when a marine biologist and his 11-year-old daughter, Mica, dock and settle in for the holidays: "My big vacation began to fold up small." Initially, Ben envies Mica's freedom (correspondence school, island hopping, and helping her father collect specimens), and he resents how easily his parents embrace her. Gradually, however, he realizes that Mica, with her distant, hard-drinking father, yearns for a loving family like his own. As in Fogelin's previous novels, Crossing Jordan (2000) and Anna Casey's Place in the World (2001), this story has plenty of action, but it's the emotional drama, revealed in funny, realistic dialogue and spot-on descriptions, that distinguish the novel. Readers just leaping into adolescence will easily connect with Ben, who is both sharply observant of and bewildered by the adult world and his own place in it. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561452742
• ISBN-13: 978-1561452743
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,389,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adrian Fogelin is the daughter of fiction writer, Maria Bontempi Fogelin, and grew up in a house littered with manuscripts. A slow early reader Fogelin took in stories as her mother read aloud, and in the lively exchange of family tales, giving her writing the freshness of the spoken word.

She is the author of seven novels for middle-grade and young adult readers, including the hugely popular "Crossing Jordan," and has won numerous awards including two Florida Book Award gold medals.

Although she might not pass the "Are you really a grownup?" test, Fogelin definitely gets kids, from the way they talk to the things they yearn for. She is a frequent visitor to schools and libraries all over the counry where she shares her love of writing and story.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book by Adrian Fogelin!, April 30, 2005

By 

A. K. Adams "AKA" (Tallahassee, Florida-where the book is set!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Brother's Hero (Peachtree Junior Publication) (Hardcover)

This book is the 3rd in a series ("Crossing Jordan", "Anna Casey's Place in the World", and "My Brother's Hero") about some kids from a North Florida neighborhood. They get a chance to spend time in the Florida Keys. The characters are terrific and very realistic! The story has things any 4th grade through early high school has experienced: The excitement and risks of adventure, the first dawnings of girl-boy relationships as well as the fun and anxiety of growing up, but don't tell the kids that! To them, it will be a great adventure story set in the colorful Florida Keys full of exotic ocean life! It has a great climax that will keep them riveted! I would recommend all the books in the series:: "Crossing Jordan", "Anna Casey's Place in the World", and "My Brother's Hero".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Florida adventure that will stay with you for a long time, February 20, 2005

By 

Mary Z. Cox (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Brother's Hero (Peachtree Junior Publication) (Hardcover)

Adrian Fogelin has the enviable ability to spin an adventure tale in a strong character driven tale. She builds unique and fascinating child and teen characters and lets conflict build naturally with the characters and their circumstances bumping into each other. This is not the easiest way to build a plot in a young adult story--but it creates a bond between readers and characters that is seldom attained by most of today's young adult writers. "My Brother's Hero" not only has sea adventure and unique characters--it also has detailed nautical description of the Florida Keys. Adrian also captures the love/hate relationship between siblings with believability and humor.
This novel is enjoyed by both boys and girls in our middle school media center.
This is a good read. An adult reading it aloud with a child would
find much to enjoy too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praise for Adrian Fogelin's Books and a reaction to a previous review, April 29, 2007

By 

Book Lady (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Brother's Hero (Paperback)

Both my husband and myself are educators and have had the pleasure of reading many of Adrian Fogelin's books. I felt compelled to write this review both in praise of Mrs. Fogelin's excellent stories, and in reaction the the posting below that complains of the offensive language used in My Brother's Hero.

First, let's make clear what we're talking about: the terms this individual is referring to are the f-word, and two b-words (that's "fart," "butt" and "boob" - yes, I wrote them out without the asterisks...gasp!). Of course, every parent is entitled to decide what is appropriate for their child to read, however, I would be deeply saddened to think that any one would be deprived of the opportunity to experience Mrs. Fogelin's wonderful stories because of (let's say it clearly) some extremely mild language.

Our children are growing up in a world in which anorexic starlets who flit in and out of rehab and forget their underwear are held up as role models; in which a University student can murder two people, compile and mail a deranged manifesto (which is later aired on national television), and then go on to murder 29 others and himself; in a country embroiled in war and fearful of an unknowable, ever-present terrorist threat; and yes, they are keenly aware of, and affected by, all of this.

Adrian Fogelin's stories, which are wonderfully written, are in direct contrast to all of the 'over the top' nonsense that has become our reality. Mrs. Fogelin's books are great because they show kids that it's OK to be who they are, even if what they are is chubby, or poor, or nerdy. They are tales of normal kids, leading normal lives, having friendships, confronting their problems and, here's the kicker, making the right choices, the hard, not the glamorous or instantly-gratifying choices. And yes, the characters do occasionally say things, like 'butt' or 'fart,' but isn't that what kids actually do?

So I guess in a long-winded way I'm saying that Adrian Fogelin's books are a great choice for any parent looking for something meaningful for their kids to read. The characters and situations are often funny and touching, sometimes sad or embarrassing, but always thoughtfully portrayed and in my opinion, completely appropriate for any reader of any age.