My Brother, My Enemy [Hardcover]

Madge Harrah (Author)

Book Description

One hundred years before the American Revolution, young Robert Bradford joins a group of Virginia plantation owners who wish to protect their land against Indian attacks and also sever ties with England."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8. This exciting piece of historical fiction begins in a colonial Virginia jail cell, where Robert Bradford, 14, awaits death by hanging. He spends the night before his execution writing his story. He first tells of the massacre of his parents and siblings by a band of Susquehannock Indians. Circumstantial evidence indicates that his beloved friend Naokan took part, and Robert vows to kill him. To achieve this goal, Robert allies himself with Nathaniel Bacon, a rebel who hates Indians and the British crown, and finds himself entangled in the conflict between Bacon and Governor William Berkeley. With the teen's help, Bacon's men attack the Susquehannocks and capture Naokan and his sister. Too late, Robert learns that they had nothing to do with his family's deaths. He must now work secretly to free his friends. The political climate of 17th-century Virginia is explained clearly; little-known details about Bacon's Rebellion are well integrated into the story line. Harrah does not gloss over Bacon or Berkeley's defects; nor does she portray the Indians and the colonists in a good guy/bad guy light. Like Robert, readers will have difficulty deciding where their loyalties lie. Unfortunately, all the history sometimes threatens to overwhelm the plot, particularly in the early chapters. Characterizations suffer a little; Naokan and his sister remain two-dimensional. But these are small matters. There is plenty of action and the historical information is unquestionably well researched. Robert himself will win the hearts of readers, who will breathe a sigh of relief when he does not hang. This appealing story succeeds in bringing pre-Revolution America to life.?Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. Fourteen-year-old Robert Bradford must make his own way in the world after a Susquehannock war party massacres his family and burns their cabin, barn, and tobacco shed. Meeting up with Nathaniel Bacon and his followers, Robert finds himself unexpectedly thrown into the political quandary facing residents of Virginia in 1676. Harrah weaves the people, places, and events of Bacon's Rebellion, known as "the dress rehearsal of the American Revolution," into the fabric of the novel, but the main pattern is Robert's story, told in the first person against a background of historical fact. Appended are an author's note, a glossary, and a bibliography. Strong in its sense of period, this historical novel provides a refreshingly different setting, a likable hero, and an adventurous story. And with the first line, "Fourteen years old and sentenced to hang," it's a natural for booktalks. Carolyn Phelan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689809689
• ISBN-13: 978-0689809682
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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