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The Case Against My Brother
 
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The Case Against My Brother (Hardcover)

~ Libby Sternberg (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Price: $19.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A riveting story of faith and betrayal against a background of bigotry. Touching and inspiring. --Mystery novelist Carolyn Hart, widely hailed as America's heir to Agatha Christie, is the winner of two Agatha Awards, two Anthony Awards, and two Macavity Awards, and is a co-founder and past president of Sisters in Crime

A very well-written book with wonderful characters and suspenseful plot, The Case Against My Brother is a powerful reflection on the times and the plight of poor immigrants. --Diane Ravitch, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.; former Assistant Secretary of Education; author of numerous books

As a Catholic who grew up in an older city neighborhood made up of mainly eastern Europeans, I found this great book to be touching and highly informative. It painted a clear picture of the harsh conditions endured by immigrants of eastern European descent and captured the sensitivity of the people involved. I was unaware that that sort of bigotry took place in that part of the country. --Mary Sunday, Librarian, The Catholic High School of baltimore


Product Description

A 1922 anti-Catholic campaign provides the backdrop for a new teen mystery by Libby Sternberg to be published by Bancroft Press in November 2007. The book, "The Case Against My Brother, is the story of a Polish Catholic teen, Carl Matuski, and his quest to clear his brother Adam of a burglary charge in 1922 Portland, Oregon.
In the book, Carl is convinced that Adam is being targeted unfairly because Oregon is awash in anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant sentiment triggered by the campaign for the "Oregon School Question," a referendum that would have made it illegal for parents to send their children to parochial schools. Those who broke the law faced fines or imprisonment or both. The referendum resulted in a famous Supreme Court case that eventually led to the overturning of the bigoted law. Bancroft Press will time the release of the book to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the Oregon School Question's passage on November 7, 1922.
"The history of the Oregon School Question fascinated me when I became involved in education reform," said author Libby Sternberg.
Although she now lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Sternberg worked for six years as the head of a school choice advocacy organization in Vermont. "In fact, many people are unaware of the thread of anti-Catholicism that runs through the history of the founding of the American public school system. The Oregon School Question is probably the most striking example of that unsavory past."
Sternberg is the author of two contemporary teen mysteries, "Uncovering Sadie's Secrets" and "Finding the Forger," which are both set in a Catholic high school. "Sadie" was an Edgar finalist for Best YA Mystery, a featured title in the Brodart Gems program, and one of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Young Adult Top 40 Fiction Picks.
Kirkus has described "Sadie" as "an extra entertainment for mystery fans," while Booklist described it as "a good alternative to Nancy Drew." Mystery Morgue called "Forger," "simply a delight to read." Both books were published by Bancroft in hardcover and released in paperback by Dorchester publishing. A third book in this series will be published by Bancroft in 2008.
Bancroft Press, the publisher of "The Case Against My Brother" and Sternberg's first two mysteries, is a Baltimore-based general interest trade book publisher operating under the slogan of "books that enlighten." Since 1992, Bancroft has published more than 40 titles. They've ranged from thrillers, Hollywood novels, young adult fiction, and mysteries, on the fiction side, to non-fiction books that run the gamut from humor, health, and cultural criticism, to history, business, self-help, and personal investment. It has received special recognition from Publishers Weekly, which calls Bancroft "small but enterprising," and from Brodart (which made Bancroft the first Gem publisher it profiled). It is consistently ranked among the nation's top 100 independent presses (it is one of the very few that concentrates on fiction), and is called "up and coming" by syndicated columnist Liz Smith. Five of Bancroft's books have been sold to mass market paperback, seven to book clubs, five to the movies and television, four to foreign publishers, four to audio book publishers, and two to serial sales. In just the Young Adult area, it has published one Alex Award winner, one Edgar finalist, and one book garnering a Booklist starred review.
The Case against My Brother has already earned the accolades of Carolyn Hart, widely hailed as America's heir to Agatha Christie. Hart, who s the winner of two Agatha Awards, two Anthony Awards, and two Macavity Awards, and is also a co-founder and past president of Sisters in Crime.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 205 pages
  • Publisher: Bancroft Press (November 7, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1890862517
  • ISBN-13: 978-1890862510
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #918,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Average Customer Review
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 8, 2007
THE CASE AGAINST MY BROTHER is a very well-written mystery with wonderful characters and a suspenseful plot featuring a backdrop of intolerance and bigotry in a little known dark corner of American history.

Fifteen-year-old Carl Matuski and his older brother, Adam, live in Portland, Oregon with an uncle since their mother passed away from lung disease. The boys are Polish Catholics and Portland is in the midst of the anti-immigrant campaign for the 1922 Oregon School Law, which sought to make Catholic schools in the state illegal. Now Adam has been accused of stealing jewelry from the wealthy family of his girlfriend, and Carl knows that his brother is innocent. He insists that Adam hide out until he can clear him of the charges.

The neighborhood police officer is very anti-Catholic and harbors prejudice against Polish immigrants, as well. He seems to be on the street nearly every time Carl ventures out, and corners him to ask questions concerning the whereabouts of Adam. Carl is frustrated by Adam's failure to hide out, and the fact that he always seems to want more money. Carl attends school and is working two part-time jobs to earn money to help Adam and to try to help out at home, too. The boys' uncle is a poor man who tries his best to do right by these nephews that he has inherited, but times are hard, and the current political situation makes life even more difficult. Somehow, Adam has changed, and Carl isn't sure what to do about that. He begins working extra hard to solve the mystery of the jewel robbery.

Carl makes friends with a newspaper reporter, and chases down clues about the robbery for the reporter to write about. He just wants to clear his brother's name so that they can both go back to Baltimore, but when Carl ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses a murder, the action and the suspense shift into high gear, and the suspense builds to an exciting, unexpected conclusion.

Libby Sternberg is a master at characterization and plotting and this story will keep you reading straight through to the end. I would love to see more stories about Carl Matuski...what an exciting new character!

Reviewed by: Grandma Bev
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3.0 out of 5 stars A Good, Informative Story, January 31, 2009
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Carl and Adam Matuski were brothers. Adam was the oldest but Carl was the more responsible one. When Adam was accused of a crime, Carl did everything he could think of - even putting his life in danger at one point - to prove his brother's innocence.
Not only was this a good story, but it was informative: The Matuski brothers were Polish Catholics living in Portland, Oregon during a time when members of the Ku Klux Klan and other groups wanted to close down parochial and non-public schools. These people believed that Catholic children needed to be "Americanized" by attending public schools. This campaign for the "Oregon School Question" was news to me. And, honestly, I never knew that African-Americans weren't the only race of people who had a history of being terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan.
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5.0 out of 5 stars superb young adult historical mystery , January 10, 2008
In 1922 recently orphaned Polish Catholics teen brothers Carl and Adam Matuski move from Baltimore to live with their impoverished uncle in Portland, Oregon. Still grieving the death of their mother, the boys worry about the anti-immigrant campaign to push the Oregon School Law that would outlaw Catholic schools.

The affluent parents of Adam's girlfriend accuse him of stealing jewelry from them. Carl believes his older brother is innocent and recommends he hides rather than go to jail while Carl, whose plate is full with school and two jobs, investigates. The neighborhood police officer Miller thinks Catholics but especially Polish Catholics are thieves. He tries to trip up Carl as to the whereabouts of Adam, whose behavior worries his younger brother. Carl's inquiries lead to his witnessing a murder with the killer wanting the teen dead too.

This is a superb young adult historical mystery that brings to life an interesting era in which local prejudice using de jure discrimination attacks a particular religion especially those worshippers from a specific nationality. Miller has ethically profiled Catholic Polish-Americans deep in his brain so he also represents a de facto form of discrimination. However, the insightful exciting story line is owned by the fifteen year old hero who tries to prove his older brother's innocence, but as Carl crashes up against bias, he also begins to wonder if Adam stole the jewels. Libby Sternberg writes a terrific tale that hopefully will lead to sequels.

Harriet Klausner
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