War Brothers

by Sharon E. McKay

Sharon McKay sets her new novel in Uganda, where Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has, since 1987, abducted up to 30,000 children from their villages and homes for use as soldiers and slaves. It is in these nightmarish times that the fates of 5 boys and a girl are entwined. Captured from their school by the LRA, the boys wait for rescue only to discover that if they are to survive they must rely on themselves. But friendship, courage, and resilience might not be enough to save them. Based in part upon interviews with child soldiers in Northern Uganda, War Brothers is a stunning depiction of the human cost of wars fought by children.

Genres: Young Adult, War, Graphic Novels, Africa, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

241 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Sharon E. McKay was born in 1954 in Montreal, Quebec, and earned a B.A. from York University in 1978. She lives in Prince Edward Island.


Series:
* Our Canadian Girl: Penelope
* Charlie Wilcox

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2009): War Brothers - Winner

Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award: Fiction
◊ 2002 – Charlie Wilcox – Winner

Reviews

[stella 🍓 孔凡星 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob, a 15 year old boy from Gulu, Uganda, is abducted from his school with his peers and forced to become a child soldier in The Lord’s Resistance Army. Beaten, starved, and witness to violent acts, Jacob does not give up hope of rescue. But would he be able to return to his old life after all he has experienced? I read this book with my son for his grade 8 English class. I had heard of Kony and the LRA before, but I didn’t realize the extent of his rule, and the terror he has caused thousands in Africa. I am grateful for the organizations that help to rescue these children and work to reintegrate them back into society.

[Dani 🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review and more to come!

3/5 stars.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel set in Uganda about child soldiers..ugh heartwrenching I know but this one has not only a novel but an accompanying Graphic novel that our library has so I had to try this one for my scholars..I like to read a little of everything and out my comfort zone as I know the perfect book for each of my readers is out there…somewhere.
So this story follows three boys-Jacob, Paul and Tony and Oteka as they are taken from their homes and given guns to fight in the LRA (the Lord’s Resistance Army) with their violent leader Kony..the army is terrorizing Uganda but these are school boys with no worries on that—Jacob is from a good household with servant and a cook, Paul is shy and a good friend while Tony is from a poor neighborhood and attending the George Jones Seminary for Boys on a scholarship and it is while there one day that the boys are snatched from their dorms, meet up with Oteka a boy from another village and forced to march and struggle to survive and feed themselves with the rest of the army. A killing team of young boys no older than twenty hungry and homesick controlled by Kony who is in negotiation with the kids’ parents to exchange their sons for more guns..As this ragtag scrappy group of hardened young men continue on they are tested on their loyalty and ruthless and Tony becomes one of them, ready to fight and kill—he turns away from his friends..The others are homesick and weary and unsure of what will happen if they too do not become fighters; when Oteka reveals the gun negotiations to Jacob and the others and that there will be no guns so the school boys are useless and will be killed…I won’t go into details on what they do as I want to leave the suspense there for all to read it too LOL..No spoilers but I will say alot happens: unlikely alliances and deaths but the book is not totally dark and full of despair and it was I’d say worth the read..Recommended for eh seventh grade and older..

[Macey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a very good book. It has a lot of detail and really captures the essence of the characters like how they feel emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It's really good.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

Jacob loves school – especially math. His father is well-to-do and, so although there are many others in his homeland of Uganda who do not have his opportunities, Jacob is very proud of being a student at the George Jones Seminary for Boys. There are serious dangers lurking around him, but Jacob feels far removed from them, even though he knows the LRA, or Lord’s Resistance Army, steals Ugandan children from their homes and villages, from buses and schools. They are forced to fight as soldiers and work as slaves in the name of their leader, Joseph Kony, head of a brutal rebel movement. As Jacob and his two best friends – Tony and Paul – begin their new term at boarding school, their headmaster entrusts them with the mentoring of a much younger mathematics protégé, Norman. The boys outwardly promise to take care of him, when inwardly, guiltily, they know he will be left on the sidelines until he makes his own friends. Then the LRA breaks into Jacob’s dorm, abducting 38 boys – including Jacob, Tony, Paul and Norman. Suddenly, the boys are thrown together in a desperate alliance for survival, in a world where everything is upside down. Any loyalties are forbidden. Told from Jacob’s point of view, this novel reveals the horrifying story of the ensuing three months of terror – of starvation, exhaustion, isolation, and the threat of torture or a violent death at every turn. Almost any “infraction” (speaking to or trying to help others, attempting to rest during hours of forced daily marching, or eating without having first “joined the fold” by committing murder during the frequent village raids) is punishable by decapitation, whipping or death. Even the boys’ precious Catholic faith is perverted by their captors, and God is twisted into a power who encourages war, murder and heartlessness. Memories of a safe, ordered life fade, and in Jacob’s unreal reality, only prayer, stolen moments with his friends, and the patterned predictability of numbers and mental math keep him sane. Under these circumstances, Jacob and his friends must look out for each other – and little Norman – entirely in secret. The four become a family, bound together by their nightmarish common experience. It quickly becomes apparent that if they are to survive, they must rely on each other and use their own cunning, intelligence and courage to escape. Complete with a glossary of terms and phrases used in Jacob’s dialect, and an author’s note describing how readers can and should get involved with organizations that help real children like Jacob, Sharon McKay’s War Brothers is a chillingly accurate, meticulously researched, and ultimately hopeful fictional account of the very real plight of child soldiers in Uganda. It is a challenging, fiercely intense book that brings mature readers face to face with evil, victimization, grief, and the dark side of human nature, but also with intrigue, adventure, suspense, loyalty, friendship, and the true meaning of family. Anyone who reads this book must be willing to part with every vestige of political apathy in their bones!

Reviewed by Christina Minaki in Canadian Children's Book News
Fall 2008 VOL.31 NO.4

[Yoo Kyung Sung · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that illustrate child soldiers in Uganda area. The author Sharon McKay researched a lot on this matter and her writing reflect her extra consideration in Uganda cultures in tradition, language, diversity , and social issues. The characters in the story have wide range of background that this book should be recognized with the effort of preventing simplified and exoticized Africa representation. Good read indeed!

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy name Jacob is promoted to a school and on the 2nd night is kidnapped by the LRA, the lords resitance army and Jacob wants to survive with his friends paul, oteka and tony and hannah who were all also kidnapped by the LRA and are trained to be child soldiers.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No you cannot do this. This is madness. you will die.” This quote is one of many that makes War Brothers an excellent, powerful book. War Brothers does a great job at using the dark context of child soldiers to cause the reader to feel sympathetic for the characters and their stories. The udder madness that is told through the eyes of a few teenagers creates a dark, yet thrilling plot. The complexity of the plot may appear simple and easy to understand but if you take time to appreciate the thoughts and actions of each character it opens up a whole new world of thinking. The “udder madness” I reference is seen all throughout the book, from getting captured at night by the LRA to raiding villages, the main characters must go through many things nobody should ever go through. Overall, all of the story’s elements create a very good book that I enjoyed.
Some reasons as to why I think people should read War Brothers are the following. To start off, War Brothers deals with real world issues, War Brothers even goes as far as to use a real world organization, the LRA. The use of real world issues and real world people (such as the leader of the LRA) creates a book that captures the audience. Not only does War Brothers entertain, it also educates. Furthermore, because War Brothers deals with real topics, at times I caught myself holding my breath and wondering how the children would survive.
Secondly, War Brothers does a great job of moving quickly but remaining simple. What I mean by that is War Brothers isn’t in anyway shape or form confusing and I never found myself questioning what I had just read. War Brothers is only ~300 pages yet it does a great job at telling a complex amazing journey. War Brothers does a great job at delivering all needed information in an easy way to understand. Also, it gives great opportunities to stop and think deeply to truly digest what you had just read and the meaning (or meanings) behind it.
Lastly, there is one reason to why I wouldn’t recommend War Brothers. War Brothers deals with sensitive topics and during War Brothers there are times of shock. The contents (at times) isn’t suitable to all audiences, therefore you may want to avoid allowing young children to read War Brothers. Furthermore, prepare yourself for some shocking moments that may appear as if they cannot be real.
Lastly, I believe most readers would like War Brothers. War Brothers is a realistic fiction genera, but, I believe everybody would benefit from reading War Brothers. I recommend War Brothers to a reader who would like to learn about child soldiers and a real world issue. Also, I recommend War Brothers to somebody who enjoys dark, deep plots with great word and delivery choice.

[Wonjong Sung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although most people might not enjoy happy endings, I was in favor for it in this book. It showed that in bad situations you can always find the light. Even though this book is fiction, you can tell how real people were actually affected by the LRA. I feel content for the fact that this book got people aware that these things happen in real life.

In this book there are very interesting themes such as; survival, prejudice and hope. Those themes made up who the characters are now. The themes either made the characters stronger or more helpless. This whole book really opened your eyes to a new perspective. Not only did we get to learn more about the lives of child soldiers but the book kept me interested the whole time, even though it's a more serious topic. Since it is a book about real events, I enjoyed that they gave us information about their lives before, during and the aftermath. It showed all the stages and reactions caused by fear and losing hope, but their journies all turned out different from beginning to end. I find that it is a very important aspect for the characters to not all have the same endings, so they can show how differently each of them coped with such a traumatic event and how their lives came to be.

I recommend this book for people that are capable and mature enough to read this with respect, knowing that this us a serious sensitive topic. People who like reading books based on real life events most likely will enjoy this too. Overall this is a great book and I feel that even people who don't read these types of genres will still enjoy it as much.

Madeline S.

[Kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

War Brothers

By: Sharon E. McKay

Have you ever wondered what it is like to live in Africa? Or what the children there have to go through? The book “War Brothers” makes you feel like you are right in Africa with them. Sharon E. McKay has done a excellent job of making you feel what those poor children have to go through. Sharon did an incredible job at making it come to life as if you were a child in Africa.

The book is about children who were attending private school. But then they were captured by the LRA. They met a girl. Her name was Hannah, she had no ears because she didn't follow the rules of the LRA, so the LRA cut her ears off. Almost all the characters were teenagers or soon to be teenagers with the exception of one. The children had to survive as child soldiers and do the unforgivable. They had to do things that they never imagined to be possible for them. The characters in the book had to go through so much. Could you imagine the pain the boys had to go through. They had to fight through all the physical and mental pain. But still they stayed strong, even in the near death situation. The children were all so strong, and innocent.

The book was very good for teaching people what some of the unlucky children in Africa go through everyday of their lives. And their day to day struggles. How they manage to stay alive. How there are children who fear every moment of their lives and others who don't have the same fears because they are more fortunate. And that even the fortunate should fear something, is what Sharon taught me. Sharon E. McKay was able to teach all about how they live like that.

My favourite part was when the boys and Hannah were fighting to survive. I just loved how intense it got. And how it was such a near death situation and they still stayed strong. It was one of those parts were you just can't stop reading, and it was such a nail biter. And if I was to be in their situation I don't know if I would have been able to survive.

I would recommend this book to people who like young adult books. I recommend to those people because some parts in the book could become serious. And has a lot to do with child soldiers. The book is not a more modern book. The book's genre is fiction and is more on the historical side. It's not really old but was in the late nineties.

[Brandon Bourgeois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people might not enjoy the book because they might not fully understand what is going on but I reall enjoyed the book because the characters are put into a situation where the rate of survival is extremely low but it shows that no matter how difficult a situation is you can still overcome it. The book is fiction but based on what really happened with the LRA and how people were affected by the LRA. I feel good about the book knowing that when people read this, they can know what happened and get a general idea of what the LRA has actually done.

In this book I see a few themes but the main one should are survival and hope. If the characters in the book didn’t have any hope and belief they can escape they might have never even tried. But they all believed in each other so that’s why I believe hope is an important theme of the book. The book keeps you on edge and wanting more, it makes you want to see what happens and gives you a look into the lives of these child soldiers. It gives you a good look into their lives before being taken and shows how this event affected their lives. It also was very interesting to learn about what happens to them afterwards and how each of their stories end in a different way, each one going on to cope with this experience differently.

I recommend this book to people who can handle the mature themes in this book and to people who enjoy a survival book based on real events. Overall this book is fantastic at making you feel like you’re in the book and is a good pick to anyone who enjoys these kinds of topics.

[Ryan Sadler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a hard read, not for the sensitive type, it is a very dark book with many moments that make you really sympathise for the characters and hope they escape. All of the kids have unique personalities that work really well together and the antagonist (Lizard) clashes with them perfectly, if you like dark stories with semi-happy endings this is definitely the book for you, I was pretty pleased with the ending but I found it to be wrapped up a little too quick. The message from Jacob after the main story is a nice touch, it tells you more of the character's lives after the story finishes, this can be both good and bad because it doesnt give you room to create your own inference on what would happen to the characters, but it does wrap the story up nicely. Overall I would give this book a solid 8/10.

[Rinel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like War Brothers because it talks about the theme courage, Another interesting part about War Brothers is that it uses traditional words from Uganda in the text Which i really enjoyed. I also like War Brothers because it tells a really good story about friendship and being able to overcome difficult situations. It starts slow but later on becomes an amazing read.

One reason you might not read this book is because it consists of a lot of flipping to the back of the book to check what traditional words mean in English. Another reason you might not read this book is if you dislike non fiction books.

I recommend War Brothers to people that enjoy books that talk about courage, loyalty and child soldiers. I also recommend it to people that are in their teens because it was awarded a Award in 2009 for the best juvenile book. Another reason you could read this book is if you enjoy books that have traditional text littered inside of them.

Some background info about the author is that she was born in Montreal, Quebec. She now lives in P.E.I., but travels monthly to Ontario to do school visits. Some other information is that In 2009 Sharon was named as a Canadian War Artist.

Over all I rate this book a 5 out of 5.

[Michael Kitazaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful yet disturbing story of the child soldiers of Uganda. The book gave me a fresh new view on Africa and how different their culture was. Really makes you take everyday things for granted, I think every teen should give this book a read.

[Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashton tingley here! I think this book tells a strong story about child soldiers and what they go though like constant beatings, slavery, etc. etc.

I wouldn't recommend this to the faint of heart because of those depictions of what pain they go though. But if you can stand that then by all means read it!

Overall I like this story because it was a nice blend of light and dark sure it was pretty dark but the characters still kept going and saw a good ending and that's nice to see. 4/5 😀

[Isaac · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could vote 0 stars I would. This book is the most worst book ive ever read in my life. It has nothing to do with child soldiers and ONLY TALKS ABOUT RELIGION! The book doesnt say it talks about religion but 80% of the pages has religion talking about christianity.

[K Gover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too violent for grade 6. Great camaraderie among characters. Not sure ending is super realistic though.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the theme in this book the child soilders they taught us whats a child soilder was and how we could help and also what it would look like if you were in that situation. It would be really scary if i was in that situation now i know more about it if i ever got adducted i know what to do and what to watch out for. I would hate to be a child soilder because their was so many guns and killing. I would never last a second in war exspecially if i was at the age i was. It is sad how kids around the world are child soilders. I am happy that i knew all of the characters that i liked were alive and didn't die. But Lizard got devoured by a lion which was grousem listening to the words they used to discribe what happend.

The setting was pretty amazing the way they said it got me hooked and i couldn't put down the book. The best place descirbed had to be the camp that they were at. The camp was well discribed and i liked how they always had a tent or a fire up or going. the book was well related to child soilders. This book was quite amazing but i did not like how some parts were real slow and nothing was going on.In a book i want to see something with exitement from the begining to the end. I know you start off slow at the begining and at the end there is always a tone of action going on and you don't want to put down the book. I liked how Oteka led them to safety and the car helped them get back to the village that they were at before they got adducted. I got a bit scared when Lizard wes geten eaten by the old lion and died from the blood loss and his fless was ripped from the rest of the body.But why would a old lion want to kill a innecont human i did not get that at all.

My favorite human or person in the book had to be jacob he was courageous he always wanted to be somewhere and explore. He was a amazing character he was brave and helped lead the rest of them back to the village for safety.He had a great sence of mathematics he was great at it and if wasn't adducted i bet he could have a got a degree for when he was older. life would suck if i was in this situation i would be scared and wouldn't know what to do. but jacob showed that he knew what to do . Also if since he did this this to help his freinds and just to see his family. im glad that he wouldn't leave anyone behind he thought of his friends before him self. It's great that someone in a book would do that because lots of people wouldn't and would just think of them selves before everyone else in the world.

The book was amazing if i could read this book again i totally would. I loved the action and the characters in the book. When hannah came up in the book i truely felt sorry for her when she was getting beaten. i recomend this book to everyone that i would know even know the book was quite some time to read it.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the book, "War Brothers," I loved every second of it. The theme of this book is a theme of bravery, courage, and staying true to yourself.
Jacob (main character, 12) is a slave in the Lord's Resistance Army's camp. He doesn't really kill at all. I think that he doesn't kill because he is a generally good boy. Then again, he does also do what he has to do to live. Jacob is treated like dirt by his "masters," and doesn't do anything against them because if he does, then he'll get beaten to death. Or something else horrible along those lines.

Jacob seems like a rich, spoiled boy at the beginning, his thoughts rarely venturing farther than football and his next meal. He was a very carefree, generally happy person, until he was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army. Then it becomes a matter of life and death for Jacob. He learns to keep his mouth shut and to not contradict those higher than him. He becomes quiet, hardened, and conflicted with his instincts. He makes friends in his group and is obviously a very loyal person when he helps a young ten year old boy with no hope escape.

The plot of the story revolves around Jacob and his life at the camp. The beginning of his story, the innocent and carefree parts, is merely the intro to a dangerous nightmare in which it is every man for himself. At first, he is against killing and hurting others, but then excepts it as fate. But I could tell that he still had a soft side when it came down to having to kill a mother and her children. Fortunately, he didn't have to commit the murder. The story takes place in Uganda, where thankfully, the LRA doesn't live anymore. The main message of the story is mostly about child soldiers. i found that it was a lot of little things that made this book a wonderful read.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel story about a group of kids kidnapped to serve in the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) in Uganda. The story follows Jacob and his three friends and how they are kidnapped from their school and forced to serve as rebel soldiers. The children are forced to murder, steal, and survive in the wild. Through most of the story, Jacob and his friends are more just servants because the LRA is using them as negotiating tools to get more weapons from the government. When that falls through, Jacob finds out that he is no long useful to the LRA and will be killed. He must find a way to escape with his friends and make it home alive.

Pros:
- I like how the artwork depicts violent acts without showing what's happening. There isn't a lot of blood. Faces of bad people are drawn a little more smudged. There are just shadows depicting violent acts. I think because of this, younger kids could still read it without being subjected to gore.
- When the story is good, they pages are white. When the story is bad, the pages are black. Looking at the story with the book closed, you know that there is a "happy" ending for at least some of the characters.

Cons:
- There isn't enough back story. There is a "handwritten" note in the front and then a paragraph after the story but I think readers would really benefit from more info. This story is just based on true accounts but it would have been interesting to have a page or two of information.
- It's short. Not that I want to read about this horrible account more than I have to but it just seemed to end so quickly. This story is very similar to Never Fall Down that I read last year and I felt more attached to those characters.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading war brothers and I would say that it is a really good book so far.I am up to the part where they are escaping the camp with the soldiers.The book has a really nice plot it is really descriptive while explaining the forest they are in."It was a dark cold night away from the camp"... I enjoyed reading the part where Jacob made a plan for Hannah to turn up the radio so he could grab Norman from the tent.If I could be in this book for myself I would find it terrifying to try to escape and to be constantly threatened to be killed.

I was very suprised that Hannah was beaten for turning up the radio.I knew that she was going to be beaten but it happened so soon, it startled me when I read it. To think that a girl could be beaten fir such a little thing.Something so unimportant ,and being beaten for it. I could not imagine if that was happening everywhere.Oteka was helping them all through the way and almost got them caught while leaving.The overall theme of this book is Child Rights and how important they are.My opinion of this book so far is that it is a good and realistic novel.The plot could have been a little more descriptive and how they were living, what they were thinking of the whole thing.

[Gunther · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book there is a group of friends that go through a lot of difficult problems there was Jacob who's mother had died but he still has his father. He is also rich but anyway that's only one of them but later on in the book Jacob and his 1 or 2 friends i don't really remember. But anyway they go away on a bus to go to school but once they got there late that night. A whole bunch of rebel soldiers broke into the school and took a bunch of students including Jacob and his friends away to a rebel camp. Then every day they are trained but never took to fight. But they always wanted to fight cause the only way they are aloud to eat is if they fight. But one night they had to escape from the camp on the way they picked up the girl. But in the end the all made it safely away out of the rebel camp!


I really liked this book because it was very interesting to see how they escaped and the different standees they used to escape. It was a very good book it was kind of sad that most of the kids died because they refused to fight. Also it showed us how the child soldiers were treated by the rebels. And i would recomend this book to everybody.

[Nathanial · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is this boy named jacob and he is just a normal boy that is rilly good ate math but pacifically he's good at times tables like 12 times 456 is something but he would now he also wants to be a preast when he grows up. one day when he was in school it was taken by the rebels. when he got to the camp he was told some rules like if you want a long sleeved shirt you get your hands cut of and if you want a t shirt you get your hands cut off and if you talk to a married or just normal woman she gets killed and you get your ears cut off unless you battle in the war you will earn more then one wife sometimes. if you want food you will have to battle in the war. before the school got token on the first day of school jacob got tackled by a baby zebra.he likes to us his times tables skills for fun he would ask his friends some and they wouldn't know what then awnser is and jacob would think that the awnser was easy. this book is a book about violence and a relly smart kid that got stollen from his school and was forced to be a child solder.im not going to say how it ended and if he exaped or if he stayed and fight.

[Alexus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book has a good theme (loyalty, bravery, acceptance, staying true to yourself) and purpose - and represents a very touchy subject - I did not particularly enjoy the author's style. I understand that this is meant to be appropriate for children, however, it would have been better if it was more descriptive, and perhaps if it were written in the first person to get more character insights. Some of the parts didn't make sense to me, and it didn't seem that it was thoughtfully developed. Events just seemed to happen conveniently one after the other, and there was no further expansion explaining crucial elements - no critical thinking involved, with moderately choppy transitions. A lot was left to ponder (not in a cliffhanger way, but it seemed that the author just forgot to touch up on the subject).

Nevertheless, it was an entertaining read. I had no encounters with any slow parts, therefore I managed to read through even though it was a bit predictable - no adrenaline! People who read this will become more aware of the problems that our world faces, and hopefully take action to make a difference:) Perhaps a movie would create a bigger impact.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In war brothers 2 boys set off to school in uganda. Tony and main character Jacob. Tony Paul Oteka Norman some of Jacobs classmates are stolen and made child soldiers. They set to eascape and meet a friend hannah. Every one in the book goes threw some tough times like Norman neerly starves and Tony has to battle another boy with a log luckly the other boy was neerly dead and Tony survives.The setting in the book is in Gulu, Uganda its mostly in a tropical Jungle area. I like the setting because you never know what going to happen like run in to a flesh thersty lion or run into a rebel army camp or a giant croccodile. I like The characters because i think they are real not cheesy. I mostly like Paul because he is brave and he will help his friends no matter what. The theme is to tell the reader what child solders really are and how cruel and the punishment is it can be a loss of a hand arm ear or even worse. The theme really makes the reader think twice about whats happing in other places in the world.

[Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

War Brothers by Sharon E. McKay is is about 4 friends Jacob,Tony , Paul and Norman and a poor boy Jacob met at a church named Oteka. They get abducted by the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) and are forced to become child soldiers. They meet commander Opiro and his right hand boy Lizard. Norman was carrying the oil drums, Paul and Jacob and carry guns Oteka's a cook and tony is a soldier. They get to meet Kony and have to attack caravans villages etc.Will they escape well you'll have to read it to find out.


i like the charecter Oteka because he has a interesting past sad but interesting. it was interesting how all the charecters reacted to kony because tony liked him Paul, Norman,Jacob. i disliked how barren the landscape was until a few chapters from the end. the themes are kind of depressing but interesting and it opens eyes. I disliked the charecter Kony because he is real and hes another terrible person.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the setting it took place in uganda i dont the the time period but i like how it was in a not a big country like russia instead it was in a small country like uganda.


i liked the characters in the book they were really interesting i really liked Jacob because he didn't act scared when he really was and he was a good leader and i liked oteka i liked how he was very strong he wasn't scared he was very smart and very strong.


the plot was really boring at the beginning it was really slow the was really no action they really didn't do anything but near the middle there was some more action where they went to school then the LRA came at captured all the kids at the school and made them into child solders and i liked the end when they all got back to there families and i like how it probably how its like how it is in real life.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are 2 main characters, Oteka and Jacob. When Jacob (along with minor characters Paul, Tony and Norman) are kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Jacob finds out a boy he met in in church (and gave 1000 shillings) has also been kidnapped by the LRA. The title gives you a hint what Jacob and Norman become, as well.

This book had an in-depth perspective of life for a child solder. Because the LRA wants them to be traded for weapons, the boys aren't put in the line of fire just yet, but they briefly find out just how awful it really is. Danger is around every corner, both in, and out of the camp.

The book has a very realistic perspective of a child solder and when escape is finished for the returnees, life is very different. They will never think about what is lurking in the bush the same way again.

[Golden Secondary School · Rating 3 out of 5]

McKay, S. E. & Lafrance, D. (illustrations). (2013). War brothers: The graphic novel. Toronto: Annick Press. ISBN 1554514885.

This graphic novel is set in Uganda and tells the harrowing tale of a group of boys forced to become child soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army. The story begins and ends with letters from the adolescent protagonist, Jacob, who manages to survive his short stint in the army with loyalty, bravery and the chance appearance of a lion.

The educational value of this book outweighs the fact that I found the characters a bit flat. I would have liked it if a list of reliable sources to access more information about child soldiers in Uganda were included.

Recommend for all high school grades with a warning/discussion about the violent images and storyline.