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The Half Brother
A passionate, provocative story of complex family bonds and the search for identity set within the ivy-covered walls of a New England boarding school
When Charlie Garrett arrives as a young teacher at the shabby-yet-genteel Abbott School, he finds a world steeped in privilege and tradition. Fresh out of college and barely older than the students he teaches, Charlie longs to leave his complicated southern childhood behind and find his place in the rarefied world of Abbottsford. Before long he is drawn to May Bankhead, the daughter of the legendary school chaplain, but when he discovers he cannot be with her, he forces himself to break her heart, and she leaves Abbott—he believes forever. He hunkers down in his house in the foothills of Massachusetts, thinking his sacrifice has contained the damage and controlled their fates.
Nearly a decade later, his peace is shattered when his golden-boy half brother, Nick, comes to Abbott to teach, and May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teachers alike are drawn by Nick’s magnetism, and even May falls under his spell. When Charlie pushes his brother and his first love together, with what he believes are the best of intentions, a love triangle ensues that is haunted by desire, regret, and a long-buried mystery.
With wisdom and emotional generosity, LeCraw takes us through a year that transforms both the teachers and students of Abbott forever. Page-turning, lyrical, and ambitious, The Half Brother is a powerful examination of family, loyalty, and love.
When Charlie Garrett arrives as a young teacher at the shabby-yet-genteel Abbott School, he finds a world steeped in privilege and tradition. Fresh out of college and barely older than the students he teaches, Charlie longs to leave his complicated southern childhood behind and find his place in the rarefied world of Abbottsford. Before long he is drawn to May Bankhead, the daughter of the legendary school chaplain, but when he discovers he cannot be with her, he forces himself to break her heart, and she leaves Abbott—he believes forever. He hunkers down in his house in the foothills of Massachusetts, thinking his sacrifice has contained the damage and controlled their fates.
Nearly a decade later, his peace is shattered when his golden-boy half brother, Nick, comes to Abbott to teach, and May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teachers alike are drawn by Nick’s magnetism, and even May falls under his spell. When Charlie pushes his brother and his first love together, with what he believes are the best of intentions, a love triangle ensues that is haunted by desire, regret, and a long-buried mystery.
With wisdom and emotional generosity, LeCraw takes us through a year that transforms both the teachers and students of Abbott forever. Page-turning, lyrical, and ambitious, The Half Brother is a powerful examination of family, loyalty, and love.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 17, 2015
58 people are currently reading
3238 people want to read
About the author
Holly LeCraw
2 books37 followersHolly LeCraw was born and raised in Atlanta, granddaughter of a former mayor and daughter of the founder of Oxford Book Store, where she worked throughout high school. She graduated from Duke University and later received a master's in English from Tufts University. She now lives outside of Boston with her husband and three children.
Her debut novel, The Swimming Pool, was a Top Debut of 2010 (Kirkus) and a Best Book of Summer (The Daily Beast and Good Morning America). Other work has appeared in Post Road and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is at work on her next novel, The Half Brother, which will also be published by Doubleday.
Her debut novel, The Swimming Pool, was a Top Debut of 2010 (Kirkus) and a Best Book of Summer (The Daily Beast and Good Morning America). Other work has appeared in Post Road and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is at work on her next novel, The Half Brother, which will also be published by Doubleday.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
December 7, 2018
I struggled.
Not too badly but I struggled with this book because the premise was good but totally predictable in the end.
2 brothers with the same mother. One born in the wealth of his fathers society one not.
The 2 brothers get on very well, but the one “introduced “ to the family privileged wealth though and fought to prove himself.
There’s more to the story than this but it’s basicallt encamping that.
An OK read.
Thank you to Doubleday books for my copy
Not too badly but I struggled with this book because the premise was good but totally predictable in the end.
2 brothers with the same mother. One born in the wealth of his fathers society one not.
The 2 brothers get on very well, but the one “introduced “ to the family privileged wealth though and fought to prove himself.
There’s more to the story than this but it’s basicallt encamping that.
An OK read.
Thank you to Doubleday books for my copy
October 1, 2019
I don't know why, but I’m a sucker for books set in boarding schools. I really wanted to love this book - it had a great setting, a pretty compelling plot, and an addictive narrative, but somewhere along the way, the story fell short, and while I liked it, I can't say that I loved it.
In this book, protagonist, Charlie Garrett is just out of Harvard when he is hired as an English teacher at a private boarding school in Massachusetts. Charlie grew up in Georgia with his mother, wealthy stepfather, and much younger half brother Nicky. As a teacher, Charlie begins an innocent friendship with May, the daughter of the school's chaplain. After May graduates, the two of them eventually realize that what they feel for each other is something more than friendship. As we all know, the course of true love never did run smooth, so, of course, Charlie learns something "shocking" regarding his relationship with May, he chooses not to discuss it with May, but simply breaks up with her instead. Fast forward a decade or so, and both May, and Charlie's half brother, Nicky (who is also handsome, smart and outgoing, yatta yatta), are also teaching at the school ... you can pretty much see where this is going a mile away.
Sadly, I had such high hopes for this book. I was expecting the drama to come alive more than it did, but, as the story went on, things meandered somewhat aimlessly. It's really a slow moving story about love, lies, and past betrayals. Unfortunately, the prep school setting was just not enough for me, as the story and characters felt flat. The action did start to pick up more toward the end, but the big reveal moments came across as sort of nonchalant and just didn't have that "wow factor" that they should have.
I do like LeCraw's writing style and want to read her first book, The Swimming Pool, as I have heard good things about it. Overall, The Half Brother is not awful, and it has some good moments that make it worth reading. 3 stars.
In this book, protagonist, Charlie Garrett is just out of Harvard when he is hired as an English teacher at a private boarding school in Massachusetts. Charlie grew up in Georgia with his mother, wealthy stepfather, and much younger half brother Nicky. As a teacher, Charlie begins an innocent friendship with May, the daughter of the school's chaplain. After May graduates, the two of them eventually realize that what they feel for each other is something more than friendship. As we all know, the course of true love never did run smooth, so, of course, Charlie learns something "shocking" regarding his relationship with May, he chooses not to discuss it with May, but simply breaks up with her instead. Fast forward a decade or so, and both May, and Charlie's half brother, Nicky (who is also handsome, smart and outgoing, yatta yatta), are also teaching at the school ... you can pretty much see where this is going a mile away.
Sadly, I had such high hopes for this book. I was expecting the drama to come alive more than it did, but, as the story went on, things meandered somewhat aimlessly. It's really a slow moving story about love, lies, and past betrayals. Unfortunately, the prep school setting was just not enough for me, as the story and characters felt flat. The action did start to pick up more toward the end, but the big reveal moments came across as sort of nonchalant and just didn't have that "wow factor" that they should have.
I do like LeCraw's writing style and want to read her first book, The Swimming Pool, as I have heard good things about it. Overall, The Half Brother is not awful, and it has some good moments that make it worth reading. 3 stars.
February 23, 2015
"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero".
----Marc Brown, an American author and illustrator of children's books
Holly LeCraw, an American author, created a heart-touching tale, The Half Brother, about two brothers who had different fathers and how their complex relationship and some dark family secrets fills them up with loss and regret.
Synopsis:
When Charlie Garrett arrives as a young teacher at the shabby-yet-genteel Abbott School, he finds a world steeped in privilege and tradition. Fresh out of college and barely older than the students he teaches, Charlie longs to leave his complicated southern childhood behind and find his place in the rarefied world of Abbottsford. Before long he is drawn to May Bankhead, the daughter of the legendary school chaplain, but when he discovers he cannot be with her, he forces himself to break her heart, and she leaves Abbott—he believes forever. He hunkers down in his house in the foothills of Massachusetts, thinking his sacrifice has contained the damage and controlled their fates.
Nearly a decade later, his peace is shattered when his golden-boy half brother, Nick, comes to Abbott to teach, and May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teachers alike are drawn by Nick’s magnetism, and even May falls under his spell. When Charlie pushes his brother and his first love together, with what he believes are the best of intentions, a love triangle ensues that is haunted by desire, regret, and a long-buried mystery.
Charlie Garrett, a young and freshly-out-of-college-graduate escapes his complicated Southern family life in Atlanta to Abbott School, in north–central Massachusetts near Vermont as an English teacher. And on his second year in Abbott School, he falls hard for May Bankhead.
May Bankhead, youngest of the three Bankhead siblings, whose father is the chaplain of the Abbott School, and is also a student of the same school where Charlie teaches. She responds to Charlie's feelings after her trip and she falls head over heels in love with Charlie, but their love didn't last long after her father's tragic death. Moreover, when returns back as a teacher in the Abbott School, she meets Charlie's half-brother, Nick.
Nick Satterthwaite, Charlie's half-brother, the son who was born correctly with a father and a mother, the charming golden boy who easily attracts anybody's attention, is a boy with secrets and one of the most important piece of puzzle in Charlie's already complicated life. His life begins when he comes to stay with Charlie 10 years after the chaplain's death of Abbott School where he joins as a teacher and his relationship with May Bankhead takes a new turn.
But the secret which destroys May and Charlie's sweet relationship wasn't enough in his life, when Nick's secrets come out, it destroys almost everything Charlie ever had in his content life.
Holly LeCraw whose debut novel, The Swimming Pool, was the Top Debut of 2010 (Kirkus) and a Best Book of Summer (The Daily Beast and Good Morning America), but unlike her previous book, The Half Brother couldn't make us fall for it. Yes the book has a great setting, an engrossing storyline, addictive narrative, compelling plot, but somewhere the story feel short, well maybe, I was expecting, I would see this story from all the primary characters POV instead of one.
The prose is articulate but the pace is slow, it's more like the book takes a longer time to fall for it's hidden charm in the author's writing. The author have brilliantly unfolded the story, throwing us off the edge with some darkest and ugliest family secrets at the right moments to keep us hooked to the story. Moreover, her storyline is interlaced with deep human emotions that will make you feel the compassion and warmth in the author's style of writing.
The characters, we only know them from Charlie's POV and I so much wished them to have their own voice so that I could have judges them better. I don't know if there is a man like Charlie in this world, and in one sentence, I would describe him as "once a martyr, will always be a martyr". I mean he always puts other people's feeling before his own. His love for May is the one thing that keeps us rooting for this self-less and lonely soul. I could feel his pain in each and every word. His childhood is not a happy one, growing up without a father made it difficult for his to have a stand in his step-family. So from Charlie's eyes, we see the whole story and according to him, May had always been an immature and wild soul and will always be one, and nothing makes an impact to her carefree activities. Nick is the mysterious one, way too charming and alluring, and always acts like he is the youngest and pampered one. Charlie's mother Anita and May's mother, Florence, were living a life of lie without thinking about the consequences and I didn't feel any respect for their characters.
Yes, the characters are not like any everyday character yet they are quite strong enough to keep you engrossed into the story, well, to be honest their secrets and flaws are what will keep you engaged into the story. This is a great family story which will devastate your mind with the pain and the depth of the secrets, which can easily loosen those strong bonds of relationship. Moreover, the author's descriptions are intricately long and the setting of Vermont and the southern city of Atlanta were vividly portrayed.
Verdict: Read the book if you enjoy a complex story about family secrets.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author Holly LeCraw and her publicist from Penguin Random House, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her novel.
----Marc Brown, an American author and illustrator of children's books
Holly LeCraw, an American author, created a heart-touching tale, The Half Brother, about two brothers who had different fathers and how their complex relationship and some dark family secrets fills them up with loss and regret.
Synopsis:
When Charlie Garrett arrives as a young teacher at the shabby-yet-genteel Abbott School, he finds a world steeped in privilege and tradition. Fresh out of college and barely older than the students he teaches, Charlie longs to leave his complicated southern childhood behind and find his place in the rarefied world of Abbottsford. Before long he is drawn to May Bankhead, the daughter of the legendary school chaplain, but when he discovers he cannot be with her, he forces himself to break her heart, and she leaves Abbott—he believes forever. He hunkers down in his house in the foothills of Massachusetts, thinking his sacrifice has contained the damage and controlled their fates.
Nearly a decade later, his peace is shattered when his golden-boy half brother, Nick, comes to Abbott to teach, and May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teachers alike are drawn by Nick’s magnetism, and even May falls under his spell. When Charlie pushes his brother and his first love together, with what he believes are the best of intentions, a love triangle ensues that is haunted by desire, regret, and a long-buried mystery.
Charlie Garrett, a young and freshly-out-of-college-graduate escapes his complicated Southern family life in Atlanta to Abbott School, in north–central Massachusetts near Vermont as an English teacher. And on his second year in Abbott School, he falls hard for May Bankhead.
May Bankhead, youngest of the three Bankhead siblings, whose father is the chaplain of the Abbott School, and is also a student of the same school where Charlie teaches. She responds to Charlie's feelings after her trip and she falls head over heels in love with Charlie, but their love didn't last long after her father's tragic death. Moreover, when returns back as a teacher in the Abbott School, she meets Charlie's half-brother, Nick.
Nick Satterthwaite, Charlie's half-brother, the son who was born correctly with a father and a mother, the charming golden boy who easily attracts anybody's attention, is a boy with secrets and one of the most important piece of puzzle in Charlie's already complicated life. His life begins when he comes to stay with Charlie 10 years after the chaplain's death of Abbott School where he joins as a teacher and his relationship with May Bankhead takes a new turn.
But the secret which destroys May and Charlie's sweet relationship wasn't enough in his life, when Nick's secrets come out, it destroys almost everything Charlie ever had in his content life.
Holly LeCraw whose debut novel, The Swimming Pool, was the Top Debut of 2010 (Kirkus) and a Best Book of Summer (The Daily Beast and Good Morning America), but unlike her previous book, The Half Brother couldn't make us fall for it. Yes the book has a great setting, an engrossing storyline, addictive narrative, compelling plot, but somewhere the story feel short, well maybe, I was expecting, I would see this story from all the primary characters POV instead of one.
The prose is articulate but the pace is slow, it's more like the book takes a longer time to fall for it's hidden charm in the author's writing. The author have brilliantly unfolded the story, throwing us off the edge with some darkest and ugliest family secrets at the right moments to keep us hooked to the story. Moreover, her storyline is interlaced with deep human emotions that will make you feel the compassion and warmth in the author's style of writing.
The characters, we only know them from Charlie's POV and I so much wished them to have their own voice so that I could have judges them better. I don't know if there is a man like Charlie in this world, and in one sentence, I would describe him as "once a martyr, will always be a martyr". I mean he always puts other people's feeling before his own. His love for May is the one thing that keeps us rooting for this self-less and lonely soul. I could feel his pain in each and every word. His childhood is not a happy one, growing up without a father made it difficult for his to have a stand in his step-family. So from Charlie's eyes, we see the whole story and according to him, May had always been an immature and wild soul and will always be one, and nothing makes an impact to her carefree activities. Nick is the mysterious one, way too charming and alluring, and always acts like he is the youngest and pampered one. Charlie's mother Anita and May's mother, Florence, were living a life of lie without thinking about the consequences and I didn't feel any respect for their characters.
Yes, the characters are not like any everyday character yet they are quite strong enough to keep you engrossed into the story, well, to be honest their secrets and flaws are what will keep you engaged into the story. This is a great family story which will devastate your mind with the pain and the depth of the secrets, which can easily loosen those strong bonds of relationship. Moreover, the author's descriptions are intricately long and the setting of Vermont and the southern city of Atlanta were vividly portrayed.
Verdict: Read the book if you enjoy a complex story about family secrets.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author Holly LeCraw and her publicist from Penguin Random House, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her novel.
June 9, 2015
The book starts off strongly. LeCraw is a good writer and has a talent for creating a sense of place that's delightful. Charlie, a young teacher at a prep school in Massachusetts, has waited patiently for May, a student at the school, to grow up so he can tell her how he feels about her. LeCraw crafts the details of their relationship with warmth and tenderness as they begin to fall in love once she returns from college.
But then on page 79 she pulls the plug on the two of them by having Charlie's mother tell him that his real father (not the guy she'd claimed was his father who died in Vietnam) is actually MAY's father, a minister at the prep school and a man Charlie deeply admires. Apparently they had a brief fling years before. And so LeCraw tips into the deep end of Southern Gothic. Incest, for god's sake. Ugh.
Of course, Charlie has to break off the relationship without telling May why. But then LeCraw takes us down an even odder road. When Charlie's adored half brother Nick (hence the title of the book) comes to teach at his school, he more or less encourages a relationship between Nick and May. (If he can't have her, might as well hand her off to his brother, right?) May, of course, has returned to also teach at the school for reasons that are as clear as mud. Nick is described as a golden boy, handsome, appealing to all who meet him, who returns somewhat damaged from Afghanistan. (How damaged is the question and the answer is revealed much later. But trust me: the guy's a ticking time bomb.) And yet LeCraw fails to convey Nick's charm. I simply didn't get him or why his brother Charlie is so completely in his thrall. He's a one-dimensional character until the end, when we find out he's slept with students and is a closeted alcoholic. And then he's just a creep who needed rehab and a stint in prison.
The final twist in this labyrinth is when May's mother tells her that May's REAL father is actually an employee of the prep school ... so of course Charlie and May can get back together. Nick is packed off to the Middle East again (with no regard for his troublesome alcohol abuse or his clear emotional issues). At this point my jaw had hit the floor with astonishment.
There are a myriad of other story threads that LeCraw adds to this hot mess, one involving an African-American student who does his very best to live up to all kinds of stereotypes and then dies in a tragic ice skating accident. I can't make this stuff up. LeCraw simply does not know how to convey any complexity or humanity in her characters without relying on monkey wrenches the size of your head to move the plot forward.
LeCraw is a good writer. I hope she takes the time to learn how to write about real people instead of relying on improbable plot developments. Her book was both laughable and insulting. I'm still mad about the hours I spent hoping it would go in a productive direction, until I gave up and read the last chapter to get the ridiculous summary of events.
Please, I beg of you, there are so many other excellent books to read. Leave this one be.
But then on page 79 she pulls the plug on the two of them by having Charlie's mother tell him that his real father (not the guy she'd claimed was his father who died in Vietnam) is actually MAY's father, a minister at the prep school and a man Charlie deeply admires. Apparently they had a brief fling years before. And so LeCraw tips into the deep end of Southern Gothic. Incest, for god's sake. Ugh.
Of course, Charlie has to break off the relationship without telling May why. But then LeCraw takes us down an even odder road. When Charlie's adored half brother Nick (hence the title of the book) comes to teach at his school, he more or less encourages a relationship between Nick and May. (If he can't have her, might as well hand her off to his brother, right?) May, of course, has returned to also teach at the school for reasons that are as clear as mud. Nick is described as a golden boy, handsome, appealing to all who meet him, who returns somewhat damaged from Afghanistan. (How damaged is the question and the answer is revealed much later. But trust me: the guy's a ticking time bomb.) And yet LeCraw fails to convey Nick's charm. I simply didn't get him or why his brother Charlie is so completely in his thrall. He's a one-dimensional character until the end, when we find out he's slept with students and is a closeted alcoholic. And then he's just a creep who needed rehab and a stint in prison.
The final twist in this labyrinth is when May's mother tells her that May's REAL father is actually an employee of the prep school ... so of course Charlie and May can get back together. Nick is packed off to the Middle East again (with no regard for his troublesome alcohol abuse or his clear emotional issues). At this point my jaw had hit the floor with astonishment.
There are a myriad of other story threads that LeCraw adds to this hot mess, one involving an African-American student who does his very best to live up to all kinds of stereotypes and then dies in a tragic ice skating accident. I can't make this stuff up. LeCraw simply does not know how to convey any complexity or humanity in her characters without relying on monkey wrenches the size of your head to move the plot forward.
LeCraw is a good writer. I hope she takes the time to learn how to write about real people instead of relying on improbable plot developments. Her book was both laughable and insulting. I'm still mad about the hours I spent hoping it would go in a productive direction, until I gave up and read the last chapter to get the ridiculous summary of events.
Please, I beg of you, there are so many other excellent books to read. Leave this one be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2015
Just finished this and I loved it!
Think 'A Separate Peace,' or 'Death Be Not Proud,' because this book has that sort of flavor. It's a tale of a young man with secrets, and though we all have secrets, it's this which make great books.
Charlie Garrett returns to his high school alma mater, an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts, to teach English. In later years his half-brother Nick joins him, but it's the relationships these two have with their students; other faculty; and the girl they both love, (at different times,) which is the core of the novel. The book is lyrically written, with many passages filled with fragments, and for those who don't like sentence fragments, well...
They carry the reader on. They're like poetry sprinkled through the prose. I loved it. Just the simple reading of Holly LeCraw's words, I loved it. There's no great, dramatic climax here, but there are smaller ones, and they carry the intensity of any - is-the-monster-finally-dead - type genre novels. (Which I also really enjoy, by the way. I am at heart a genre reader. Give me horror. Give me a girtty mystery.) So this novel was a bit out of what I normally read, the kind of thing I might otherwise find 'boring.'
But I didn't. The interactions of Charlie Garrett with his brother Nick; the girl they both love, May; her father, Preston; the boys' mother, Anita, and some of the students has a powerful emotional resonance that I shall not long forget. It's sad in parts; it's gracious and restrained in others. But it's not boring and it's one of the best books I've read this year.
I won this book - and so glad I did - through a Goodreads giveaway.
But I shall NOT be giving this book away, not to anyone. :D
Think 'A Separate Peace,' or 'Death Be Not Proud,' because this book has that sort of flavor. It's a tale of a young man with secrets, and though we all have secrets, it's this which make great books.
Charlie Garrett returns to his high school alma mater, an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts, to teach English. In later years his half-brother Nick joins him, but it's the relationships these two have with their students; other faculty; and the girl they both love, (at different times,) which is the core of the novel. The book is lyrically written, with many passages filled with fragments, and for those who don't like sentence fragments, well...
They carry the reader on. They're like poetry sprinkled through the prose. I loved it. Just the simple reading of Holly LeCraw's words, I loved it. There's no great, dramatic climax here, but there are smaller ones, and they carry the intensity of any - is-the-monster-finally-dead - type genre novels. (Which I also really enjoy, by the way. I am at heart a genre reader. Give me horror. Give me a girtty mystery.) So this novel was a bit out of what I normally read, the kind of thing I might otherwise find 'boring.'
But I didn't. The interactions of Charlie Garrett with his brother Nick; the girl they both love, May; her father, Preston; the boys' mother, Anita, and some of the students has a powerful emotional resonance that I shall not long forget. It's sad in parts; it's gracious and restrained in others. But it's not boring and it's one of the best books I've read this year.
I won this book - and so glad I did - through a Goodreads giveaway.
But I shall NOT be giving this book away, not to anyone. :D
March 12, 2015
I read this whole book on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Never done that before!
Like many others, I love a good prep school novel. Something about it feels so... naughty. It took me a moment to settle into what kind of book this would be, but once I did, I was glued. LeCraw has an engaging, intelligent, but easy-to-read voice that I would definitely return to in another book. Of particular interest to me was the complexity of many of her characters (mostly the supporting ones). The book spans a long period of time, and we follow these characters in bits and pieces (as in real life). Each supporting character has a full, multi-layered arc, which is a rare in a book that is primarily in first person. Not one of these supporting characters was a stereotype, and not one stayed the same from beginning to end.
I did have a few issues, though. There were occasional moments where I felt about three steps in a thought process were skipped. In other words, I have no idea how Charlie came to a conclusion, and it takes a few pages until I understand what that conclusion even is. While this works sometimes, in this book it felt like something was missing.
I also find female characters like May to be problematic-- her perfect quirkiness, her brokenness (which is healed by a troubled but smitten man), her exceptional and otherworldly beauty. May sounded like someone I would probably hate because she just has NO IDEA how beautiful she is/how privileged she is/how quirky she is, etc. etc.
I don't know to whom I would recommend this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
Like many others, I love a good prep school novel. Something about it feels so... naughty. It took me a moment to settle into what kind of book this would be, but once I did, I was glued. LeCraw has an engaging, intelligent, but easy-to-read voice that I would definitely return to in another book. Of particular interest to me was the complexity of many of her characters (mostly the supporting ones). The book spans a long period of time, and we follow these characters in bits and pieces (as in real life). Each supporting character has a full, multi-layered arc, which is a rare in a book that is primarily in first person. Not one of these supporting characters was a stereotype, and not one stayed the same from beginning to end.
I did have a few issues, though. There were occasional moments where I felt about three steps in a thought process were skipped. In other words, I have no idea how Charlie came to a conclusion, and it takes a few pages until I understand what that conclusion even is. While this works sometimes, in this book it felt like something was missing.
I also find female characters like May to be problematic-- her perfect quirkiness, her brokenness (which is healed by a troubled but smitten man), her exceptional and otherworldly beauty. May sounded like someone I would probably hate because she just has NO IDEA how beautiful she is/how privileged she is/how quirky she is, etc. etc.
I don't know to whom I would recommend this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
March 24, 2015
This is a book that you read slowly and carefully to enjoy the well-crafted writing and imagery. It's so nice to have a story told to you rather than thrown at you. The descriptions and references make it so easy to identify with the characters even if you don't like them. Rather than pulling the parents and teachers off their pedestals in a wartime plunder, the author allows them to gently descend maintaining their dignity in spite of their flaws.
February 21, 2015
The Half Brother
By
Holly LeCraw
What it's all about...
Charlie Garrett is a young teacher at Abbott School. He falls in love with May Bankhead...a student...but doesn't really act on it until May is in college. May's father is the chaplain at Abbott School and also has a connection to Charlie. Charlie has a half brother...Nick...who also gets involved in Charlie's school life. That's sort of a short report on these characters but their personalities unfold so slowly that each page was a gentle surprise. This book had quite a few complicated relationships.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This book...hmmm...started out as not exactly exciting...not exactly thrilling...but...the story of Charlie and Nicky and their mother Anita...was a fascinating one. Charlie ...is introspective...the Southern boy who doesn't really know that much about his past...especially his father...seems to not quite fit in comfortably. Nick...is that golden boy brother that everyone loves...handsome, untroubled, popular. Abbott school is Charlie's escape...his refuge. And then Nicky comes and brings his own demons.
What I loved best...
I loved all of the dark uneasy parts in this book. I loved trying to figure out Charlie. I loved the old private school atmosphere. I loved the Southern parts of this book. I loved the actual words of this book...the phrasing, the thoughts, the beautiful way that things...ordinary things were described. I loved Charlie's friendship with Win. I loved the way Charlie was with the children of his friends...I loved the way Charlie was with Nick. I loved the way Charlie was when he taught. This book was all about relationships...Charlie and May...May and Nicky...Anita and Charlie and May and Nicky.
What potential readers might want to know...
Readers who love troubled characters who don't always make the right choices...readers who love a slowly told sort of simmering story...well...that is the kind of reader who will enjoy this beautifully written book. I loved every single word.
By
Holly LeCraw
What it's all about...
Charlie Garrett is a young teacher at Abbott School. He falls in love with May Bankhead...a student...but doesn't really act on it until May is in college. May's father is the chaplain at Abbott School and also has a connection to Charlie. Charlie has a half brother...Nick...who also gets involved in Charlie's school life. That's sort of a short report on these characters but their personalities unfold so slowly that each page was a gentle surprise. This book had quite a few complicated relationships.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This book...hmmm...started out as not exactly exciting...not exactly thrilling...but...the story of Charlie and Nicky and their mother Anita...was a fascinating one. Charlie ...is introspective...the Southern boy who doesn't really know that much about his past...especially his father...seems to not quite fit in comfortably. Nick...is that golden boy brother that everyone loves...handsome, untroubled, popular. Abbott school is Charlie's escape...his refuge. And then Nicky comes and brings his own demons.
What I loved best...
I loved all of the dark uneasy parts in this book. I loved trying to figure out Charlie. I loved the old private school atmosphere. I loved the Southern parts of this book. I loved the actual words of this book...the phrasing, the thoughts, the beautiful way that things...ordinary things were described. I loved Charlie's friendship with Win. I loved the way Charlie was with the children of his friends...I loved the way Charlie was with Nick. I loved the way Charlie was when he taught. This book was all about relationships...Charlie and May...May and Nicky...Anita and Charlie and May and Nicky.
What potential readers might want to know...
Readers who love troubled characters who don't always make the right choices...readers who love a slowly told sort of simmering story...well...that is the kind of reader who will enjoy this beautifully written book. I loved every single word.
February 17, 2015
A special thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
THE HALF BROTHER by Holly LeCraw, a complex tale an exploration of family bonds, loyalty, love, and dark family secrets--from southern Atlanta to prestigious New England.
After Harvard, Charlie Garrett, longs to leave his complicated southern childhood in Atlanta, behind and find his place in the world. When he arrives as a young teacher at the Abbott School in north –central Massachusetts near the Vermont border, he finds an entirely new world of privilege and tradition. He managed to get the interview, without the help of his stepfamily connections, the Satterthwaites--After all Nicky is their real son, the one who had been born correctly.
Charlie soon meets Preston Bankhead, the school’s chaplain, and his daughter May, a student. Teaching English was his first job out of college, and he had met May Bankhead his second year there. He was still teaching freshmen, but she was not in his section. The following year he taught sophomores and she was there. He is drawn to May Bankhead, now age twenty and falls in love.
He grew up with a single mom, in South Georgia, and later moved them to a nice guesthouse they rented in Buckhead owned by the McClatcheys, a mansion in an upscale neighborhood. Hugh Satterthwaite, Mrs. McClatchey’s brother, went to their church and often dropped by. Later they married and became his stepfather.
Years later when he met Preston and Florence Bankhead of New Orleans and Savannah, he knew immediately they were of the same ilk as the McClaltcheys and the Satterthwaites. Soon thereafter their life changed. Then Nicky came along. Hugh died later.
However, when May’s father is diagnosed with cancer, and Charlie returns home, he receives some shocking news and is forced to break up with May, not wanting her to know the truth about her father, and she leaves the school.
A decade later his world is turned upside down, when his golden boy half -brother, Nick comes to Abbott to teach, and to further complicate matters, May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teacher are drawn by Nick and even May falls under his spell. A love triangle.
Then Charlie and Nicky’s widowed mother arrives at the school for Christmas. She winds up in the hospital, setting the stage for a series of events and more shocking truths come out from May’s mom.
Living in Atlanta for many years, enjoyed the landmarks and familiar places, since I lived previously in Buckhead and familiar with the Oxford Book Store, the author’s family business which closed in the late nineties.
A contemporary novel of love, secrets, lies, betrayal. Even though THE HALF BROTHER, had a good set up, I was not invested in any of the characters. There are no likable characters and readers were not introduced to them, on any personal level.
May seemed immature, Nick self- absorbed, Charlie, a martyr, and the parents mostly living a lie. As many of reviewers mention, no human dynamics to allow you to get to know the characters in the book, and overall fell flat. When reading The Swimming Pool, the previous novel, had a similar overall feeling, a great premise; however, no likable characters to draw you in.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
THE HALF BROTHER by Holly LeCraw, a complex tale an exploration of family bonds, loyalty, love, and dark family secrets--from southern Atlanta to prestigious New England.
After Harvard, Charlie Garrett, longs to leave his complicated southern childhood in Atlanta, behind and find his place in the world. When he arrives as a young teacher at the Abbott School in north –central Massachusetts near the Vermont border, he finds an entirely new world of privilege and tradition. He managed to get the interview, without the help of his stepfamily connections, the Satterthwaites--After all Nicky is their real son, the one who had been born correctly.
Charlie soon meets Preston Bankhead, the school’s chaplain, and his daughter May, a student. Teaching English was his first job out of college, and he had met May Bankhead his second year there. He was still teaching freshmen, but she was not in his section. The following year he taught sophomores and she was there. He is drawn to May Bankhead, now age twenty and falls in love.
He grew up with a single mom, in South Georgia, and later moved them to a nice guesthouse they rented in Buckhead owned by the McClatcheys, a mansion in an upscale neighborhood. Hugh Satterthwaite, Mrs. McClatchey’s brother, went to their church and often dropped by. Later they married and became his stepfather.
Years later when he met Preston and Florence Bankhead of New Orleans and Savannah, he knew immediately they were of the same ilk as the McClaltcheys and the Satterthwaites. Soon thereafter their life changed. Then Nicky came along. Hugh died later.
However, when May’s father is diagnosed with cancer, and Charlie returns home, he receives some shocking news and is forced to break up with May, not wanting her to know the truth about her father, and she leaves the school.
A decade later his world is turned upside down, when his golden boy half -brother, Nick comes to Abbott to teach, and to further complicate matters, May returns as a teacher as well. Students and teacher are drawn by Nick and even May falls under his spell. A love triangle.
Then Charlie and Nicky’s widowed mother arrives at the school for Christmas. She winds up in the hospital, setting the stage for a series of events and more shocking truths come out from May’s mom.
Living in Atlanta for many years, enjoyed the landmarks and familiar places, since I lived previously in Buckhead and familiar with the Oxford Book Store, the author’s family business which closed in the late nineties.
A contemporary novel of love, secrets, lies, betrayal. Even though THE HALF BROTHER, had a good set up, I was not invested in any of the characters. There are no likable characters and readers were not introduced to them, on any personal level.
May seemed immature, Nick self- absorbed, Charlie, a martyr, and the parents mostly living a lie. As many of reviewers mention, no human dynamics to allow you to get to know the characters in the book, and overall fell flat. When reading The Swimming Pool, the previous novel, had a similar overall feeling, a great premise; however, no likable characters to draw you in.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
November 21, 2014
I continue to read prep school novels, apparently in the hope that they will break out and do something different than the normal prep school novel. The normal prep school novel, if you aren't well versed, is set against a picturesque background, with well-bred and well-off students, where there is intellect and thought, and inevitably tragedy of some sort occurs.
This wasn't a book to break that formula. It had moments of real beauty, chapters of brilliance, but overall it didn't come together to do something really wonderful. I blame the age-old flaw of having a main character who is flat and a secondary character who everyone insists is so interesting and wonderful (though usually you don't ever get to see them being interesting and wonderful, you are just supposed to take it on faith).
So if you love the prep school book, this is a great choice. It's more about the teachers than the students, which is a nice change. It feels genuine. But it didn't take me anywhere I hoped it would.
This wasn't a book to break that formula. It had moments of real beauty, chapters of brilliance, but overall it didn't come together to do something really wonderful. I blame the age-old flaw of having a main character who is flat and a secondary character who everyone insists is so interesting and wonderful (though usually you don't ever get to see them being interesting and wonderful, you are just supposed to take it on faith).
So if you love the prep school book, this is a great choice. It's more about the teachers than the students, which is a nice change. It feels genuine. But it didn't take me anywhere I hoped it would.
April 8, 2015
This review originally appeared in this blog post:
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2...
I loved/hated the stream of consciousness writing and masculine tone but was intrigued throughout the novel with the detailed dynamics of the narrator's family, friends, and students. The academic setting made me wish I would have read this in the autumn but I really can't stop thinking about the prose. I will probably be dissecting this one in my mind for quite a while.
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2...
I loved/hated the stream of consciousness writing and masculine tone but was intrigued throughout the novel with the detailed dynamics of the narrator's family, friends, and students. The academic setting made me wish I would have read this in the autumn but I really can't stop thinking about the prose. I will probably be dissecting this one in my mind for quite a while.
January 30, 2015
"I'm a total sucker for novels set at private boarding schools in Holly LeCraw's The Half Brother appeals to adult readers who loved the ivy lined setting but crave the complexities of adult relationships. LeCraw's book is a literary coup and examines the complexities of love and loss with the perfect scenic backdrop." - Lauren, Digital Marketing
December 3, 2014
A beautifully written novel that drew me in from the first pAges.prep school setting a love that has to end.Ten years later when history starts to repeat itself we are drawn into the emotional world of siblings past love & ,a haunting love triangle.in this perfect campus setting.
August 26, 2015
Boring
October 10, 2015
Ick. Dumb plot. Vapid characters.
February 28, 2015
Physical and spiritual love – a psychological novel (Massachusetts, 1990s to post 9/11; Atlanta, earlier in backstories): Put on your thinking cap! You’ll be lulled by the elegiac prose and the Currier & Ives imagery, but like our sensitive narrator who grew up in Atlanta suspecting “something easily missed, a golden egg hidden in the deepest underbrush,” you will too in this emotionally suspenseful, nuanced novel. Yes, there are secrets and ah-ha moments, thoughtfully plotted, revealed slowly. Even the title is thought-provoking. It could have been plural since there’s two half-brothers. But like everything that matters in Holly LeCraw’s cerebral novel, she makes us think. What better vehicle than through the psyche of Charlie Garrett, who deems his best asset is he’s a “thinker.” He “had to get closer and closer to things, all the time, see their astonishing thingness as thoroughly as I could.”
The first hint you’ll get comes early on in the novel as a poetry lesson and early in Charlie’s 17 years of teaching English at the Abbott School, a “cloister-let:” a small, picturesque New England boarding school perched atop “softer mountains than the Berkshires,” in Abbottsford, 90 miles from Boston in north-central Massachusetts. The school/town may be fictitious, but this is the area of the country with the most private boarding schools; this one “genteelly clinging to the second-tier.” Charlie feels like a fraud because he got into Harvard and Abbott through the “old order” of wealth and connections. But at 22, fresh in his first job, illuminating a complex 17th century “metaphysical” poem divining physical and spiritual love, he soon validates his intellectual capabilities.
The arousing poem, “The Good-Morrow,” penned by John Donne, considered the “Father of “Metaphysical Poetry,” offers provocative, enlightened guidance for a senior class at the threshold of possibilities; and a superb choice for a soulful novel with tangled themes of physical versus spiritual love. It’s met with faculty approval since on this campus “old-fashionedness was not discouraged.” Charlie may be a novice struggling with his own identity, but his senses are spot-on:
The pull of home is ever-present. It arrives with Charlie’s first impressions of the serene campus: “green rolling fields and white buildings, a chapel of gray stone – foreign and familiar, like scenes from a picture book.” This “little farm of learning” was meant for him. In boyhood, he discovered the magic of learning in his stepfather Hugh’s “leathery, book-lined study.” (Books were “like a time machine, taking me back and sideways to other minds and times and cities and planets.”) He also values the students – “all of them, even those nature hadn’t favored … they were changelings, they were becoming.” Most dominant is Charlie’s home, “a thoroughly New England mishmash that, even so, struck me as a little southern.” At 29, he’s awfully young to own a large farmhouse abutting splendid mountains, a “destination.” For ten years of this story, it emits such a strong presence, taking on “a life” of its own.
But Atlanta’s “ghosts were thick,” so they come North with him, where they hover, haunt, and shake-up Charlie’s three most important, emotionally-laden relationships, structured in sections titled May, Nicky, Anita. The dynamics of all three twist and turn, shift in and out of Charlie’s life over the years. Throughout, you’ll be amazed at the noble lengths he goes through to protect and honor these three. When one of Charlie’s students asks if love is selfish, his moral compass shows us just how selfless love can be:
MAY: or “May-May,” an affectionate nickname that once mortified Charlie when a slip of his tongue in class, when May was his student during his second year teaching. By then, it confirmed our sense that all along Charlie harbored passionate feelings for the young daughter of the school’s chaplain, Preston Bankhead, “an institution.” (Charlie aches to get closer to Preston’s “purported magic.” But even when he falls into being his chess partner he can’t; he “exuded intimacy only from far away, in the pulpit.”) Charlie first spots May, a slender beauty, when she’s surrounded by her picture-perfect family (three blond brothers and blonde mother from Savannah; Preston from New Orleans.) May grew up at Abbott. Charlie adores everything about her: hands, hair, and eyes, “hemispheres of ocean and sky, and I was sailing over them using only the old knowledge of the stars” (Poetic words that echo Donne’s). Among Charlie’s many admirable traits is endurance, so he patiently waits for May to mature. When she does – that embarrassing incident in class – tenderly reveals his rapture.
NICKY: the other, younger half-brother. The “favored son.” Glamorous, a golden-boy whose “red-gold curls draw the sun” and everyone to him like a magnet. A math genius who appreciates the elegance of math but not its purpose, he sought relief work in Haiti and then Afghanistan, which couldn’t possibly have worked out for someone “who expected magic to pop out of a box or a song.” So, Nicky follows his brother’s path to Abbott, where he “wants to scatter his light as he walks.” Charlie always puts him first, but that light casts foreboding, dark shadows. Nicky’s terrible sloppiness befits his fecklessness.
ANITA: whom Charlie never calls Mother. Did he when it was just the twosome, before Nicky came along and Charlie became the outsider? In Atlanta, whenever the threesome were together, Charlie “let them love each other, let them carry all the energy.” Anita is well-suited as a nurse: practical, unruffled, and extremely discrete, except she’s that way with Charlie (“telling me anything would have been breaking our rules of engagement”) and Nicky, who doesn’t, or isn’t wired, to notice. She too ends up at Abbottsford needing Charlie.
Other central characters bring diversity onto the campus, friendships and extended families for Charlie, plus emotional sub-plots:
THE MIDDLETONS: Charlie’s Jewish landlord, Anita; her African American husband, Booker, the school’s groundskeeper; and one of their children, Zack, who becomes a popular football star in Charlie’s class with loftier aspirations.
THE LOWELLS: Divya, Charlie’s colleague, from India; and husband Win whose dedication/obsession for caring for a labyrinth of boxwoods planted by their home’s original owners, a nostalgic nod to the Mississippi plantation home they left behind, takes on mythical significance about those who came before us and after.
Given all Charlie’s musings about someone’s physical versus spiritual presence/absence/essence, it’s ironic that this “thinker” doesn’t perceive his greatest asset is how profoundly he embodies what he teaches about John Donne’s poem – “that soul thing” – which is why this novel shines.
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
The first hint you’ll get comes early on in the novel as a poetry lesson and early in Charlie’s 17 years of teaching English at the Abbott School, a “cloister-let:” a small, picturesque New England boarding school perched atop “softer mountains than the Berkshires,” in Abbottsford, 90 miles from Boston in north-central Massachusetts. The school/town may be fictitious, but this is the area of the country with the most private boarding schools; this one “genteelly clinging to the second-tier.” Charlie feels like a fraud because he got into Harvard and Abbott through the “old order” of wealth and connections. But at 22, fresh in his first job, illuminating a complex 17th century “metaphysical” poem divining physical and spiritual love, he soon validates his intellectual capabilities.
The arousing poem, “The Good-Morrow,” penned by John Donne, considered the “Father of “Metaphysical Poetry,” offers provocative, enlightened guidance for a senior class at the threshold of possibilities; and a superb choice for a soulful novel with tangled themes of physical versus spiritual love. It’s met with faculty approval since on this campus “old-fashionedness was not discouraged.” Charlie may be a novice struggling with his own identity, but his senses are spot-on:
“Look at every word. Every word is there for a reason, probably ten reasons. Get closer and closer. Be patient.” … Trust yourself. These poems aren’t something to get. They are something to apprehend. Apprehend: to take hold of. To pay attention. Pay attention and the meaning will open up.”One surprise I can impart without giving anything away is about the prose. I expected the coolness of New England, not the warmth of Southern manners. Actually, the prose is more a mix of North and South, ideal as Charlie, and other characters, have deep Southern roots. Charlie’s sensitivity to his surroundings resonates in prose that combines the reserve of New Englanders with the elegance of Southerners. (Although, sometimes characters’ emotions let loose, unable to control all they’ve bottled up.) The author is from Atlanta, now living outside Boston, which must account, in part, for the authentic feel of the prose.
The pull of home is ever-present. It arrives with Charlie’s first impressions of the serene campus: “green rolling fields and white buildings, a chapel of gray stone – foreign and familiar, like scenes from a picture book.” This “little farm of learning” was meant for him. In boyhood, he discovered the magic of learning in his stepfather Hugh’s “leathery, book-lined study.” (Books were “like a time machine, taking me back and sideways to other minds and times and cities and planets.”) He also values the students – “all of them, even those nature hadn’t favored … they were changelings, they were becoming.” Most dominant is Charlie’s home, “a thoroughly New England mishmash that, even so, struck me as a little southern.” At 29, he’s awfully young to own a large farmhouse abutting splendid mountains, a “destination.” For ten years of this story, it emits such a strong presence, taking on “a life” of its own.
But Atlanta’s “ghosts were thick,” so they come North with him, where they hover, haunt, and shake-up Charlie’s three most important, emotionally-laden relationships, structured in sections titled May, Nicky, Anita. The dynamics of all three twist and turn, shift in and out of Charlie’s life over the years. Throughout, you’ll be amazed at the noble lengths he goes through to protect and honor these three. When one of Charlie’s students asks if love is selfish, his moral compass shows us just how selfless love can be:
MAY: or “May-May,” an affectionate nickname that once mortified Charlie when a slip of his tongue in class, when May was his student during his second year teaching. By then, it confirmed our sense that all along Charlie harbored passionate feelings for the young daughter of the school’s chaplain, Preston Bankhead, “an institution.” (Charlie aches to get closer to Preston’s “purported magic.” But even when he falls into being his chess partner he can’t; he “exuded intimacy only from far away, in the pulpit.”) Charlie first spots May, a slender beauty, when she’s surrounded by her picture-perfect family (three blond brothers and blonde mother from Savannah; Preston from New Orleans.) May grew up at Abbott. Charlie adores everything about her: hands, hair, and eyes, “hemispheres of ocean and sky, and I was sailing over them using only the old knowledge of the stars” (Poetic words that echo Donne’s). Among Charlie’s many admirable traits is endurance, so he patiently waits for May to mature. When she does – that embarrassing incident in class – tenderly reveals his rapture.
NICKY: the other, younger half-brother. The “favored son.” Glamorous, a golden-boy whose “red-gold curls draw the sun” and everyone to him like a magnet. A math genius who appreciates the elegance of math but not its purpose, he sought relief work in Haiti and then Afghanistan, which couldn’t possibly have worked out for someone “who expected magic to pop out of a box or a song.” So, Nicky follows his brother’s path to Abbott, where he “wants to scatter his light as he walks.” Charlie always puts him first, but that light casts foreboding, dark shadows. Nicky’s terrible sloppiness befits his fecklessness.
ANITA: whom Charlie never calls Mother. Did he when it was just the twosome, before Nicky came along and Charlie became the outsider? In Atlanta, whenever the threesome were together, Charlie “let them love each other, let them carry all the energy.” Anita is well-suited as a nurse: practical, unruffled, and extremely discrete, except she’s that way with Charlie (“telling me anything would have been breaking our rules of engagement”) and Nicky, who doesn’t, or isn’t wired, to notice. She too ends up at Abbottsford needing Charlie.
Other central characters bring diversity onto the campus, friendships and extended families for Charlie, plus emotional sub-plots:
THE MIDDLETONS: Charlie’s Jewish landlord, Anita; her African American husband, Booker, the school’s groundskeeper; and one of their children, Zack, who becomes a popular football star in Charlie’s class with loftier aspirations.
THE LOWELLS: Divya, Charlie’s colleague, from India; and husband Win whose dedication/obsession for caring for a labyrinth of boxwoods planted by their home’s original owners, a nostalgic nod to the Mississippi plantation home they left behind, takes on mythical significance about those who came before us and after.
Given all Charlie’s musings about someone’s physical versus spiritual presence/absence/essence, it’s ironic that this “thinker” doesn’t perceive his greatest asset is how profoundly he embodies what he teaches about John Donne’s poem – “that soul thing” – which is why this novel shines.
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
December 28, 2025
Interesting writing style - it really lets us into the thinking and personality of Charlie- the narrator and protagonist. Also a good story. I had a feeling about the "twist" (and I was right) but it was even twistier than expected. Very well done.
Read
February 23, 2015This review originally appeared on Everyday eBook
The Teacher's Life: The Half Brother by Holly LeCraw
By Jennifer Ridgway
Prep school novels are their own category of books, and they always seem to enthrall people, exposing to them a side of life that many don't experience. Usually, though, the books center on the students (think Prep, The Tragedy Paper); Holly LeCraw turns this story on its head in her new novel, The Half Brother.
Charlie Garrett has just graduated from Harvard when he begins teaching at Abbott, a boarding school in Massachusetts. He is extremely green, but he begins forming bonds with some of his fellow teachers at the school. He also begins a friendship of sorts with the school's chaplain, Prescott Bankhead; the two play chess together. Garrett also becomes drawn to Bankhead's daughter May, a student at Abbott (and also nine years his junior). Don't worry - this doesn't turn into an illicit teacher/student affair; Charlie is able to keep his feelings in check. The two continue their friendship after May goes away to college, corresponding via letters. When May returns to care for an ailing Prescott, however, the passionate affair begins. After learning a shocking secret, Charlie is forced to abruptly end his romance with May.
Charlie's mother, a nurse, fathered Charlie with a man who died in the Vietnam War. His mother ends up marrying a man from a well-to-do family; they have a son, Nick, whom Charlie adores. Charlie's relationship with his stepfather shapes him in many ways; his stepfather embraced Charlie as his own, but Charlie never seems comfortable with the life that money and privilege brought to him.
His life is turned on its side when both Nick and May come to Abbott to teach a decade after he breaks off his relationship with May. Charlie has secured Nick a job after Nick suffers a tragic accident in Afghanistan. As always, Nick attracts everyone around him with his charm and easygoing personality, including May. Charlie not only gives his blessing to their relationship, but helps push them together. Although done with the best of intentions, the reader can probably guess that no good can come of this arrangement.
With some of the major scenes set against a snowy backdrop, The Half Brother is the perfect novel to curl up and read under a blanket during these winter days. LeCraw has written an understated, engrossing novel about families, secrets, and love, bringing the Southern gothic novel to the Northeast.
The Teacher's Life: The Half Brother by Holly LeCraw
By Jennifer Ridgway
Prep school novels are their own category of books, and they always seem to enthrall people, exposing to them a side of life that many don't experience. Usually, though, the books center on the students (think Prep, The Tragedy Paper); Holly LeCraw turns this story on its head in her new novel, The Half Brother.
Charlie Garrett has just graduated from Harvard when he begins teaching at Abbott, a boarding school in Massachusetts. He is extremely green, but he begins forming bonds with some of his fellow teachers at the school. He also begins a friendship of sorts with the school's chaplain, Prescott Bankhead; the two play chess together. Garrett also becomes drawn to Bankhead's daughter May, a student at Abbott (and also nine years his junior). Don't worry - this doesn't turn into an illicit teacher/student affair; Charlie is able to keep his feelings in check. The two continue their friendship after May goes away to college, corresponding via letters. When May returns to care for an ailing Prescott, however, the passionate affair begins. After learning a shocking secret, Charlie is forced to abruptly end his romance with May.
Charlie's mother, a nurse, fathered Charlie with a man who died in the Vietnam War. His mother ends up marrying a man from a well-to-do family; they have a son, Nick, whom Charlie adores. Charlie's relationship with his stepfather shapes him in many ways; his stepfather embraced Charlie as his own, but Charlie never seems comfortable with the life that money and privilege brought to him.
His life is turned on its side when both Nick and May come to Abbott to teach a decade after he breaks off his relationship with May. Charlie has secured Nick a job after Nick suffers a tragic accident in Afghanistan. As always, Nick attracts everyone around him with his charm and easygoing personality, including May. Charlie not only gives his blessing to their relationship, but helps push them together. Although done with the best of intentions, the reader can probably guess that no good can come of this arrangement.
With some of the major scenes set against a snowy backdrop, The Half Brother is the perfect novel to curl up and read under a blanket during these winter days. LeCraw has written an understated, engrossing novel about families, secrets, and love, bringing the Southern gothic novel to the Northeast.
September 5, 2015
Prior to reading this book, I had a definite idea in my mind that I like books set in academia. When I did read it, I realized that there are really only two books that I remember reading that are set in non fantastic schools - Donna Tartt's The Secret History and Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics. I liked both, but there's an undeniable similarity between the broad outlines of the two. Similarly, this book. The Half Brother is different in that its the teachers we focus on instead of kids, but there is not much different in the accounts. There's love, there's unattainability of said love, there's tragedy . And there's charismatic teachers.
That's where the book loses me, and it may not be the book's fault. I don't get charisma, as is written in books. This book says every single person was charmed by Nicky's smile, personality, what have you and gave him everything he ever wanted and then some, and I remain unconvinced. I need visuals, I need to see Robert Redford in his prime before I can understand that magnetism. Because, even with RR in his prime, I'm sure some people were unswayed. In Nicky's case, that guy was brittle to begin with. I'm sure the chinks would have been noticed a lot earlier than they did. And since the book hinges on this guy and his universal appeal, I can't help but feel left out of the hype.
I was also very weirded out by May, and her see-sawing affections for first one brother, then the other. . This is kind of making me vomit, so I'm reducing a star. Don't get me wrong, LeCraw is a good enough writer. I wish there weren't so many twists, and ones that occurred with such predictability. This had the makings of a good character study, but not a single one becomes anything more than vague and not particularly believable.
That's where the book loses me, and it may not be the book's fault. I don't get charisma, as is written in books. This book says every single person was charmed by Nicky's smile, personality, what have you and gave him everything he ever wanted and then some, and I remain unconvinced. I need visuals, I need to see Robert Redford in his prime before I can understand that magnetism. Because, even with RR in his prime, I'm sure some people were unswayed. In Nicky's case, that guy was brittle to begin with. I'm sure the chinks would have been noticed a lot earlier than they did. And since the book hinges on this guy and his universal appeal, I can't help but feel left out of the hype.
I was also very weirded out by May, and her see-sawing affections for first one brother, then the other. . This is kind of making me vomit, so I'm reducing a star. Don't get me wrong, LeCraw is a good enough writer. I wish there weren't so many twists, and ones that occurred with such predictability. This had the makings of a good character study, but not a single one becomes anything more than vague and not particularly believable.
November 26, 2014
What I liked about this novel and carried me through is the feelings Charlie Garret struggles with having been embraced by his step-father into a wealthy life full of old money and open doors only for the privileged. He thinks he has struck out on his own, but someone with well intentions may have pushed him on the path the teach at Abbot for an important reason. The relationship with his stepfather isn't the core of the novel, but it certainly seemed to shape Charlie in many different ways. Never feeling quite 'one of them', although his brother loves him dearly, we find he was always feeling more like a guest that needed to prove himself. He, the son of a dead common man, growing up with wealth that never seems to belong to him. His half brother didn't get the luxury of many years with his father, and relies on Charlie's memories. Nick is infectiously charming, and often we see Charlie feeling Nick is more deserving of the title Golden Child, being his father's son. There is a deep bond between the brothers, and when Nick comes to Abbot to teach and May falls for him, Charlie tries so hard to not care.
May, we first meet not just as a student but the daughter of Preston Bankhead, the school's chaplain whom he admires and yet sees in a similar light as his stepfather, coming from 'finer' stock so to speak. May is too young, and he wrestles with the attraction the two share, wanting so badly to be a better man. Eventually, he pushes her out of his life, only for her to return to Abbot a confidant woman. Nick's presence is the catalyst for things to come as Charlie painfully watches May falling for Nick. Bigger still, the hidden truths that come out will change everything he thought he knew about May's father Preston, and alters the love he feels for May. Sometimes love really is out of reach.
I enjoyed the story and while it is slow moving and similar to others like it, I did enjoy the ending, even if it left me frustrated for Charlie. This is a love story that cracks and crumbles, because even with truth, what does one do with all that passion for another?
May, we first meet not just as a student but the daughter of Preston Bankhead, the school's chaplain whom he admires and yet sees in a similar light as his stepfather, coming from 'finer' stock so to speak. May is too young, and he wrestles with the attraction the two share, wanting so badly to be a better man. Eventually, he pushes her out of his life, only for her to return to Abbot a confidant woman. Nick's presence is the catalyst for things to come as Charlie painfully watches May falling for Nick. Bigger still, the hidden truths that come out will change everything he thought he knew about May's father Preston, and alters the love he feels for May. Sometimes love really is out of reach.
I enjoyed the story and while it is slow moving and similar to others like it, I did enjoy the ending, even if it left me frustrated for Charlie. This is a love story that cracks and crumbles, because even with truth, what does one do with all that passion for another?
February 21, 2015
When I think about fiction, boarding school settings, and particularly schools in New England, have always been high on my list for perfect settings. The Half Brother, by Holly LeCraw does have that perfect setting.
In this story the protagonist, Charlie Garrett is just out of Harvard when he is hired as an English teacher at the Abbott School in Massachusetts. Growing up in Georgia, Charlie lived with his mother, Anita, wealthy step-father, Hugh and younger half-brother Nicky, 12 years his junior. Now just out of college, Charlie's first job at the prestigious Abbott school, feels a bit intimidating at first, given the fact that that he is not that much older than many of his students.
As Charlie gets a bit more comfortable there, he begins an innocent friendship with May Bankhead, a student there, and the daughter of the school's chaplain. When May graduates the two continue to keep in touch, but it isn't until sometime later that they are reunited when May returns to the area to care for her dying father. It's then that the two of them realized that there is something more there besides friendship.
When Charlie learns something shocking, he chooses not to discuss it with May, but breaks up with her instead. Fast forward a decade or so and May, as well as Charlie's, half-brother Nicky, handsome, smart and outgoing, are also teaching at the Abbott school.
You can probably guess where this story is headed. Sadly, I had such high hopes for this novel, but it just didn't work for me. It's a slow moving story about love, lies and past betrayals. Unfortunately, the prep school setting was just not enough for me. The story and characters just felt flat.
In this story the protagonist, Charlie Garrett is just out of Harvard when he is hired as an English teacher at the Abbott School in Massachusetts. Growing up in Georgia, Charlie lived with his mother, Anita, wealthy step-father, Hugh and younger half-brother Nicky, 12 years his junior. Now just out of college, Charlie's first job at the prestigious Abbott school, feels a bit intimidating at first, given the fact that that he is not that much older than many of his students.
As Charlie gets a bit more comfortable there, he begins an innocent friendship with May Bankhead, a student there, and the daughter of the school's chaplain. When May graduates the two continue to keep in touch, but it isn't until sometime later that they are reunited when May returns to the area to care for her dying father. It's then that the two of them realized that there is something more there besides friendship.
When Charlie learns something shocking, he chooses not to discuss it with May, but breaks up with her instead. Fast forward a decade or so and May, as well as Charlie's, half-brother Nicky, handsome, smart and outgoing, are also teaching at the Abbott school.
You can probably guess where this story is headed. Sadly, I had such high hopes for this novel, but it just didn't work for me. It's a slow moving story about love, lies and past betrayals. Unfortunately, the prep school setting was just not enough for me. The story and characters just felt flat.
August 19, 2016
Charlie is a twenty two year old college professor who is leery about starting a new job. Being raised in upper class, he always was privileged among his peers. Going to Harvard was a worthy accomplishment, but he does not gloat in his success. Teaching is the least thing of his concern when he meets May, a very attractive girl who lures him to kiss her. The consequences surrounding their relationship has terrible effects, yet they cannot stay away from each other. Charlie makes a drastic decision and walks away from the relationship, but then returns to find her attached to someone else.
This was a hard novel to rate, mainly cause I really love the writing style, the story and how it was reminiscent to a lot of films I watched. Charlie reminded me Benjamin from the Graduate, as well as Jim from American pie, all of them were similar in their personality. I know how much that Charlie wanted to establish a relationship without fearing the results. Yet this novel never really came together, it was very inconsistent and characters jumped out of nowhere. I have said this numerous of times; IF YOU ARE GOING TO ADD ALL THESE CHARACTERS, PLEASE DEVELOP THEM!!! Otherwise, they are simply there taking up space, in contrast to actually contributing.
I read Lecraw, previous novel, The Swimming Pool, this one was better but I gave it the same rating, three stars. I usually do not give authors another chance after the second attempt, ESPECIALLY with three stars, ( I am a picky rater), but I still think that Lecraw has potential to write a four or five star book.
This was a hard novel to rate, mainly cause I really love the writing style, the story and how it was reminiscent to a lot of films I watched. Charlie reminded me Benjamin from the Graduate, as well as Jim from American pie, all of them were similar in their personality. I know how much that Charlie wanted to establish a relationship without fearing the results. Yet this novel never really came together, it was very inconsistent and characters jumped out of nowhere. I have said this numerous of times; IF YOU ARE GOING TO ADD ALL THESE CHARACTERS, PLEASE DEVELOP THEM!!! Otherwise, they are simply there taking up space, in contrast to actually contributing.
I read Lecraw, previous novel, The Swimming Pool, this one was better but I gave it the same rating, three stars. I usually do not give authors another chance after the second attempt, ESPECIALLY with three stars, ( I am a picky rater), but I still think that Lecraw has potential to write a four or five star book.
August 2, 2015
As a teacher one of my secret desires is to teach in a New England prep school - to feel the crisp fall New England air as I kick magenta and orange leaves on the way to the school’s homecoming football game and have all my students fan over me because I am their brilliant and adored history teacher. Because of this I tend to gravitate towards books with prep school setting. With The Half Brother LeCraw has captured life in a small prep school with its richness and quirkiness, so the setting did not disappoint, but the plot left me bewildered and frustrated.
The book started off well and around page 80 we get a plot twist that could have ended the book and had me wondering where LeCraw will take us, but unfortunately the rest of the book was not compelling and just seemed to drag on to its unrealistic end. The book centers around two half brothers Charlie and Nicky. Charlie is the older, caretaker brother and Nicky is the "golden" child which everyone adores. They both will end up teaching at the prep school, love the same girl, disappoint everyone (including this reader), and live happily ever after. Uggh
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars, but finally settled on 3 stars because well it is set in a New England prep school and I do love them.
The book started off well and around page 80 we get a plot twist that could have ended the book and had me wondering where LeCraw will take us, but unfortunately the rest of the book was not compelling and just seemed to drag on to its unrealistic end. The book centers around two half brothers Charlie and Nicky. Charlie is the older, caretaker brother and Nicky is the "golden" child which everyone adores. They both will end up teaching at the prep school, love the same girl, disappoint everyone (including this reader), and live happily ever after. Uggh
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars, but finally settled on 3 stars because well it is set in a New England prep school and I do love them.
July 21, 2015
After graduating Harvard, Charlie Garrett makes his way to a small private school in New England that is as quaint as a storybook. He is offered a teaching position in the English department and even though he still resembles a student himself, decides it's as good a place as any to start adult life. His love of literature and rapport with the students is a huge success and Charlie becomes a beloved part of the Abbott family. But Charlie's real family is complicated. His search for a father figure pushes him towards intense friendships and simultaneously his very first love, May. Years later when his mother, Anita, reveals an ugly truth Charlie's life is turned upside down and even though he is hidden away in this small private world, the arrival of his step brother Nick confuses things further. This novel about family, love, hope and truth - is beautifully written. The words so carefully chosen. I absolutely will be looking forward to reading more from this talented author, Holly LeCraw. readingandeating.com
March 18, 2015
I’m a sucker for books set in boarding schools and I wanted to love this one. Though I liked it fine, I was expecting the drama to come alive more than it did. The early plot gave me high hopes for the rest of the book, but, as the story went on, things meandered somewhat aimlessly. The action started to pick up again towards the end, but the big plot moments came across as really nonchalant. They’re big enough that they should have generated more emotion/disbelief/”wow-ness” than they did. I think part of the issue is that a lot of information is included in the marketing blurb…too much information (this is a recent pet peeve of mine). I wish I’d been able to go in a bit more blind, which might have allowed the plot twists to pack the punch I was expecting.
For more reviews, visit my blog: www.sarahsbookshelves.com.
For more reviews, visit my blog: www.sarahsbookshelves.com.
March 12, 2015
Family secrets can change the course of a life. This story is set in a boarding school in Massachusetts. Charlie is already teaching at Abbott School when his half brother, Nick, also joins the staff as a teacher. Nick is a charismatic charmer and is immediately enveloped in adulation from the students and staff at Abbott. Charlie and Nick are both in love with the same woman although Charlie finds out a family secret that convinces him he must not pursue his love. The book takes place over the span of a year and many changes occur in the school for both teachers and students. This beautifully written book is a real page turner! I highly recommend it!
March 15, 2015
A masterfully told tale filled with secrets and shame and deception. The journey that LeCraw takes you on is viewed through the eyes of the self loathing Charlie Garrett, a southern gentleman and a high school English teacher. It quickly becomes apparent that Charlie lives a life which is as equally heartbreaking as it is joyous. The Half Brother begs the question - what are we each willing to give up for true love? The novel unfolds in unexpected twists and turns before reaching its very satisfying conclusion. A lovely and exquisitely crafted read. Very highly recommended.
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April 1, 20154 stars. I loved reading this moody novel, and I think it would make an excellent book club selection. There's plenty to think about and discuss, what with the Southerner-in-the-north theme and the literary classics Charlie is teaching at his boarding school and the potential ick factors with the family drama, but I wonder if Holly LeCraw is even on anyone's radar as being an author to watch. I'll certainly put this one on my staff picks shelves in the library and am happy to recommend to anyone wanting a satisfying read. -Sarah
December 26, 2014
A 2.5 star read: Meh, take it or leave it. This will be published in February 2015 and I'm hoping it's not a repeat of things to come in 2015 reading as it was in 2014. I felt it was underdeveloped in many parts and where time would zip through in a matter of a few sentences and then drone on in other parts. A major secret is revealed in one sentence and then moves on as though this little bomb wasn't even dropped. I would say skip it.
May 1, 2018
I thought about giving this book 2 stars, but decided it was really less than OK. I wasn't drawn to the characters at all. I didn't really care what happened to them, and what did happen was so predictable. The book was like soap opera plots which all revolve around people hiding the truth from each other. I wouldn't recommend this book. It was pretty much a waste of time.
note: I received this book from the publisher as an advanced readers copy
note: I received this book from the publisher as an advanced readers copy
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