War Brothers (graphic novel)

by Sharon E. McCay and Daniel Lafrance

illustrated by Daniel Lafrance

2008/2013

Ages: 9+ (I feel upper elementary could understand it)

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Multicultural

Summary: This powerful story is based on interviews the authors did with people that actually lived through being captured and forced to become child soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.  Told from the perspective of a young man they call Jacob, this story is heartrending. The graphic novel format was used in a way that enhanced the storyline and brings about the desired reaction. To know the suffering of these children makes the reader want to become part of the solution.

My reaction: What a way to use such an amazing tool as children's literature to bring to light the sufferings of others!  I cannot say enough how powerful this book was.  It is the epitome of what a book written in the multicultural genre is to do, share the lives of natives of other cultures to open the eyes of the reader to things with which they are unfamiliar.  This story made me very sad but it is eye-opening to me. We need to look through the eyes of others and through their life experiences and be sure not to judge.