Customer Reviews

My Brother's Keeper

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After reading My Brothers Keeper, I find it hard to believe this is a debut novel. ReShonda Tate Billingsley is a name that literary readers will come to know and love. This novel is by far one of the best debut novels I've read to date and has been placed thus far as one of my best reads of 2001.

ReShonda takes us inside the lives of the James' clan, at one time the picture perfect family with a loving father, doting mother and three carefree children. That is until the patriarch of the family loses his job and with that his identity as a man. Their father's only sense of self-worth is in the nearest bottle of alcohol, a dime bag of ... and the bruises he leaves on the woman he promised to love 'till death do us part'. One night during his tirade Gerald (father) goes too far and forces his children to come to the aid of their mother. Their son Eric and youngest daughter Jada comes to their mother's rescue while Aja (pronounced Asia) stands by and does nothing. The course of events that happen that night will change their lives forever.

Meet Aja who thirteen years later has taken on the role of Eric and Jada's keeper. Aja seems to have it all; great looks, a job she loves and a best friend that personifies the true meaning of sisterfriend. However, Aja uses her siblings as a crutch to hold onto the past, avoiding all future happiness with handsome sportscaster, Charles Clayton. Charles is the epitome of the perfect man, willing to stand by Aja as she deals with her ghost from the past. Their romantic attempts are continuously interrupted by Eric, who's anger has become parallel to that of their father. Eric is an NBA hopeful who's so concerned with not being like his father that he becomes him anyway. Aja and Eric complement one another's anger as they continue to wallow subconsciously in the past, harming all those who love them emotionally. Jada is the only one who seems oblivious to the incident that occurred so many years ago, as it has left her mentally handicapped.

Mrs. Billingsley does a wonderful job of teaching us the pitfalls of harboring hatred and anger. She immediately pulls you in from the very first page and holds you captive until the end. I found myself laughing out loud, wanting to shake the characters but she threw me for a complete loop as I got near the ending of the story and cried as if I had lost my best friend. My Brothers Keeper is a wonderful read, full of every emotion known to man. If I learned one thing from this book is that a child should be protected, but that's not always the case. We may not be responsible for the things that occur to us as a child, but we have to find a way to overcome it or it will destroy you in one way or another.

Reviewed by Tanya

Am I my brother's keeper? For Aja James the answer to this question is yes.
After surviving an ugly past that left scars to her entire family, Aja James
still struggles to keep herself and her siblings together.

When she was a child, Aja watched as her father murdered her mother in a
drunken rage. This act destroyed the family as her father went to prison and
Aja and her brother and sister were sent to live with different family
members. Aja emerged from this tragedy seemingly unscathed except for her
extreme protectiveness of her brother and sister, her hate for her father, and
her emotional scars that form a wall around her heart and block her chances for
a lasting relationship. Her brother, Eric, emerged angry, filled with rage and
violent tendencies. Her younger sister, Jada, faded into a world of silence
that locked her into the past.

My Brother's Keeper is largely about how these siblings deal with their wounds
and try to figure out how to deal with their father as he approaches his
release date from prison. Aja, Eric and Jada struggle to rebuild the stability
that died with their mother long ago. Their desire for that stability both
brings them closer together and drives them farther apart.

My Brother's Keeper is a compelling and bittersweet read.

Reviewed by Diane Marbury (HonestD)

The story of the James family takes us into their world of despair, domestic violence, anger and hatred. As the book opens you are exposed to a tragic act of violence that will haunt the children into adulthood.

Aja, the oldest takes on the responsibility of being her brother and sister's keeper at the expense of her own needs. Aja was so concerned about Eric's need for help that she didn't realize that she too had a need for help. The one theme that struck this reader was Aja placing blame on her brother's behavior on the father. While that may have been the case to a certain degree, Eric needed to let it go to heal. Little sister Jada is the one that helped all to realize that to forgive is to be free. And Roxanne, aka Roxie, was funny as all get out and provided some much needed humor and insight for Aja.

The one lesson learned and overall message was to forgive and overcome hatred or it can destroy you and your relationships. You will learn something about forgiveness with this one.

This is an incredibly written story about a family who suffers an extremely horrific tragedy that affects the lives of each and every member. It's a story about survival and maintaining one's sanity and developing the strength to move forward. It's about dealing with life long affecting issues up front and center and learning forgiveness in order to put the past behind you. The characters are so individual and lively that they engulf you from the first page.

Creatively written, MY BROTHER'S KEEPER is a real true page turner that is bound to leave readers in "AWE" of the authors ability to sweep you in from the very first sentence!

A definate "MUST READ" that deserves more than 5 stars.

I just finished reading My Brother's Keeper by Reshonda Tate Billingsley and I must say I am impressed. For a first time author, Reshonda did an excellent job. The characters were so real and many of the issues really hit home. These were people that you see everyday or may even be friends with. I love how Reshonda explored the thoughts and feelings of each character. The climax was one that I never expected to happen. The book held my attention the entire way through. I read the book in one day!

ReShonda Tate Billingsley breaks in the literary scene with her first novel, My Brother's Keeper. The book focuses on the lives of Aja, Eric, and Jada James.
Tragedy separates them from their parents at a young age and the effects of that tragedy mold their lives. Aja being the oldest of the three appoints herself as their `keeper,' always putting their needs ahead of her own.

Aja has created a good llife for herself as the Assistant Director of a social service agency for at-risk teens. Eric is a talented college basketball player with the prospect of making it in the NBA. Jada, well Jada is the same little girl she was the day of the tragedy.

Aja's best friend Roxie introduces her to the charming and handsome sportscaster r Charles Clayton. Will Aja allow the baggage from her life and lives of her siblings to interfere with having a relationship with Charles? How will Aja's behavior affect Charles? Will Eric escape the guilt of that tragic day, and be the man his girlfriend Elise needs him to be? What will become of Jada?

Billingsley has weaved a heartfelt tale about the bonds of love between siblings. The story was a definite page-turner filled with humor, drama, lies, loss, tears, forgiveness, friendship and love. I highly recommend this read and anxiously await the next book by this talented author.

Readincolor Reviewers
Vanessa A. Johnson

Apparently Aja thought so.

The first few pages alone will just suck you right on it. You are left trying to pick your jaw up as you almost get a paper cut trying to turn the pages fast enough!

This was a story, as others have said before me, of the tragedy of domestic abuse, how it can not only destroy the life of the one being abused, but the children too. It was a story of just how hard it is to break the cycle of abuse, no matter how much you tell yourself that you are not going to be like the abuser. Aja felt it was her duty, because she did nothing the night of the ultimate degree of abuse to her mother, that now she had to give up her life to make it up to her brother and sister. Wrongly, she felt that it was her punishment to sacrafice her own happiness in order to make sure they could be happy. Her sister was really beyond her help, and in his own way, so was her brother.

When she meets the incredibly handsome Charles, she can't believe that some one as handsome, successful and loving could want her and she risks sabatoging herself. The character of Aja could have worked your nerves, but the way Ms. Billingsley wrote her, she didn't. You could understand her motives and reasons for some of the things she did.

For a first time novelist, I think Ms. Billingsley did an outstanding job of drawing you into her story and becoming involved with her characters. All the threads were beautifully woven together at the end and you are left fulfill and satisfied.

I am sure we will be hearing alot more from this talented author!

I am an avid reader and when I saw this book, the cover caught my eye. But it's what was inside that kept me up all night. I started this book and couldn't put it down. It's an easy read and I found myself going through an array of emotions for the characters. As an advocate of women's rights, I even found myself sympathizing with the abusive male character. I can't remember the last time I got into a book like this one. This goes to the top of my recommendation list. I look forward to reading more from this author!

I was told that this was a good book and I tried to find it at the library, but they didn't have a copy of it. So I found it at a low price and was glad I did. I didn't think this was a well-written novel at all. I thought it was written elementary and the dialogue was stale and flat and the characters were nerve-wracking. It was not an exciting read at all. The prologue was interesting, but the novel itself was boring. The stories weren't original, just typical stuff.

Aja's voice and Elise's voice were so similar. There were too many issues going on. I never could really get a vivid picture of Jada. Charles' character was too unbelievable. People in his stature do not put up with what Aja's put him through. She was definitely out of his class. The author meant to write Aja's character as a strong woman, but in fact she came across as a whiney, weak, confused woman. All the mess going on between Aja, Charles, Candace, Eric, Elise, Troy reminded me of a soap opera. I did like Charles' mother. She was straight and to the point. Aja got on my nerve. She had to keep reminding the reader that "Charles was too good to be true and that she didn't deserve him." How many times did she have to tell us that? We got it the first time. Actually, she didn't deserve him. And another thing. Whatever happened to using condoms? If authors are going to write books about sexual promiscuity, they should include condoms. Plenty of single people in the book were having sex, but no one used condoms.

At one point, Aja had a character change. She had taken on the characteristics of her ghetto friend, Roxie. Aja's soror sister, Pat, was having a book release party and Aja was about to clock on her beau's ex-girlfriend. At this point, I thought, "yeah, finally some real interesting drama." But that only lasted a page or two.

Everything was so sad and gloomy about this story. There were enough tears from the characters in this book (Aja alone), to fill a king-sized bathtub. As emotional as I am, I didn't feel a need to shed tears, not even when her brother had met his destiny.

So why all the hype over this book? It's less than average. Hype up someone like Pearl Cleage who defines "well-written" as an author. My brother's keeper was just a very average joe blow read. I don't understand why the reviews seem to think that this is a great novel?????? This is not a pageturning novel. It took me more than a week to finally finish.

Aja James watched helplessly as her ideal family life turned into a nightmare. Gone is the loving father and devoted family man. In his place is an abusive alcoholic. Beating after beating, her mother stayed. She stayed until Mr. James, in a drunken rage, took her life.

Fast forward twelve years...

Aja may have not been able to help her mother, but she's determined to help her two siblings as she protectively cares for and mothers them. Aja puts everyones' needs and wants above her own. Determined to see Aja happy and doing something for herself for once, her best friend sets her up on a date. As she starts a budding romance with a local news personality, will she again put her siblings' needs before hers?

Younger brother Eric hates his father. He vows never to be like him. But with his uncontrollable temper, he may be more like his father than he knows. As he finds comfort in alcohol, will the cycle of abuse repeat itself?

The baby girl Jada has slipped into a world of silence as a way of dealing with the horror of witnessing her mother's death. Is there anyone or anything that can bring her back?

My Brother's Keeper is a story that deals with the realities and affects of alcoholism, abuse, loss, and the notion of forgiveness. Powerful read.

Reviewed by
Savvy Sista Sophia