Autobiography of My Dead Brother

by Walter Dean Myers

Jesse uses his sketchbook and comic strips to make sense of his home in Harlem and the loss of a close friendship.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, African American, Teen, Audiobook, Coming Of Age

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Carrie Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, another fabulous book! Set in Harlem, it centers around a group of teen boys that have to make important life choices. The protagonist, Jesse, narrates using first-person pov. Rise is Jesse's "blood brother" who begins to take interest in the gang lifestyle that he and Jesse always said they would avoid. Along the way, Jesse begins creating an autobiography of Rise through sketches. Sketches are thrown throughout the book, along with some comics, that compliment the plot and the characters of the story.
I want to use this book in my classroom, as soon as I can get a class set! It provides an engaging way to explore characterization, specifically characters' motives. For example, what made Rise choose the gang route and not Jesse? Also, why is it hard to let friends go even when they turn into someone else? These are important questions for middle school students to critically think about in their lives. I love it and I think my students would as well.

[christopher]

Book review

Christopher Jordan 12/3/08

The book that I have finished is a novel called Autobiography of my dead Brother. This story is by award winning Walter Dean Myers. This story is fiction and the main theme of this story is even your own best friend can change on you by the surroundings as drugs, gun, gangs and the only thing you would have to fall back on is your family.
Autobiography of my Dead Brother is based on a fifthteen year old black male name Jesse. This story takes place in Harlem, New York. Jesse has a best friend named “Rise” they’re more like blood brothers because they have known each other since they were three years of age. Jesse lives with his mother and father, Jesse and his father don’t bond that well but get along with each other. Jesse and Rise have to worry about all of the trouble in the streets with all the shootings, gangs, guns, and drug dealing. Jesse Begins to realize that their club the counts is starting to transform into a gang he tries to seek a way out of it. Rise is beginning to change up on Jesse getting involved with gangs, drugs and criminal activities.
I think this novel is extremely good and the reason why I say that is because it’s to become really sad and I like that about books. I think the way this book can relate to bigger issues going on now in the present there are more and more teenagers getting with gangs, drugs and criminal activity which cause more deaths on the east coast.
I would recommend this novel to anybody especially teens, both boys and girls. I think this story would be best independent.
I really enjoyed this book and world love to read to read it again an also Walter Dean Myers other books I give this book 5/5.

[Kamrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up because it's an award winning book, and because I love Walter Dean Myers. This reminds my of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in that it has some graphics, but I wouldn't call it a graphic novel. It is a story about Jesse and Rise. Two blood brothers who are learning how to deal with the fact they're growing up and growing apart. They live in Harlem and are members of a "club" not a gang. When a series of drive-bys start happening around the neighborhood, it separates the two brothers who take different paths. I thought this was a very well written book. I also thought the story was believable and some of my students would totally be able to relate. I could see letting my students read this. Although there is some violence, there is hardly any cussing and no sexual content. This might be a great book to hand to my reluctant boy readers. I mean...it has pictures!

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is rather depressing. It is written in first person and is about a teenage African-American boy, named Jesse, growing up in Harlem. He is a pretty good kid and is part of a club called The Counts. His best friends name is Rise, and the book documents how Rise changes and brings a lot of turmoil to the neighborhood the boys live in. Jesse is an artist and he begins drawing pictures of Rise to try to figure out what is going on with him. Rise likes the pictures and asks Jesse to write his biography. Eventually, Rise informs Jesse that he is thinking about getting into drug dealing and working with a gang. Jesse still doesn't understand what is going on, and he knows he doesn't want to be involved in what Rise is getting into. But, Jesse doesn't stand up to Rise and try to stop him either. Eventually, The Counts are called a gang in the newspaper, which causes Jesse's family to really worry about him. Rise continues to get weirder and weirder to Jesse, but he keeps writing the biography and painting his pictures. At the end of the story, Rise is caught by the police because he is suspected of shooting some guys from a gang called the Diablos. Jesse and some other guys are even brought in with him, but it is evident that they were part of an alibi. After Rise is released from jail, he calles Jesse to tell him that he is moving to Florida. Some of The Counts gather to tell Rise goodbye, but when Rise comes over he is shot in the street and killed. The last chapter of the book covers Rise's funeral and Jesse's final thoughts on the entire summer.

This book has been challenged or banned in many areas, so it would be difficult to use it in the classroom. It deals with a lot of touchy topics including gangs and drugs. It is a realistic story though and could possibly be used to warn teenagers of the dangers of getting involved in this kind of crime. The only way I would recommend this book to a student would be to run it by the parents first to make sure they would be alright with their child reading it.

[Shruthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Autobiography of My Dead Brother” by Walter Dean Myers is a descriptive and colorful narrative that explores the the topics of gang life, shootings, and persevering through friendships. The novel is about a boy named Jesse who goes through the hardship of his friend Rise distancing himself and potentially falling to the dark side, but as well as trying to be safe in the dark world they live in. Myers takes two different stories and puts them together, as the book is basically Jesse writing Rise’s autobiography (through the various drawings in the novel), but with the writing portion being about Jesse’s feelings and his story. We see Jesse’s struggle, as he doesn’t know what do about his blood brother’s estrangement and potential violent activities that Rise may be doing. Jesse has to undergo many different hardships all under the idea of survival, as he has to make sure to say alive with the various shootings and gang violence that goes on, but also to fight the conflict of trying to prevent his blood brother from falling into a life of crime. Myers uniquely takes the main concept of the book (being the fact that Jesse is writing Rise’s autobiography) and incorporates it into Jesse’s narrative.

My favorite part of the book would have to be when Jesse drew Rise, but as he drew him he changed every aspect of the picture -- adding flames and bright colors to resemble that Jesse didn’t see him the way he once did (Myers 132). It made me realize that we never perceive someone the same, and even as we think about them our opinions change constantly whether we notice or not. I would most definitely recommend this book to those who want to learn more about real life crises, that aren’t about “first world” problems. This amazing novel explores through real life issues along the lines of racial isolation, leaving you to wonder what and how big of an impact you will make on someone.

[Steven Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is powerful, both in its text and its illustrations. The subject matter is very real (and very violent, if that sort of thing bothers you) but what I like most about it is the honesty. The book is written as more of a journal than an autobiography and Jesse deals with some serious stuff in the book. However, the book is not filled with extreme emotion, but instead Jesse's somewhat complacent attitude about death and violence (although he obviously disagrees with it) is what is so powerful. His emotions and real opinions seem expressed more in his cartoons than his words.

I think I could definitely teach this in a class. I think students would definitely read it because it's short, it has illustrations and it deals with subject matters that they can relate to, even if they don't live in a dangerous neighborhood. What I think would be really cool, though, is to teach this in a school where the students do deal with this kind of stuff. While so many young men (and women) want to act tough about stuff like this, Myers' book provides us with a character that is just very honest about his feelings, whether he expresses them in words or pictures. It's a really interesting book and I'd love to discuss it with students.

[Shae N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this was thee best book that i have read so far becuase i can really really really relate to it. in the book these kids are in a gang, that part doesnt relate to me but i know people who are in a gang. one of the kids are trying their hardest to keep out of the gang banging thing and he is also trying to keep his best friend/ brother out of it too. one of the main character decides that he will wirte an autobiography about Rise, his brother. the one reason why i really relate to this book is because two of my friends have pasted away. LaNajah Dupree was going to be a freshman cheerleader for Reed High, but she was at a party and some guy who was a gang banger that wasnt allowed in the party decided that he was gunna start shooting. The bullet hit her in her upper body & she died in the doorway it was the sadest day of 2010.... this book showed me even more how you should always keep your loved ones close and let them know that your love them every chance that you get because you never know when your gonna lose them or if they will ever lose you.

[Jay Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiography of my Dead brother is a great book. It relates to kids who are brought up in a negative environment and shows how that type of environment can influence a kid to make bad decisions. Rise was that kid in this book. He hung around the wrong people, and they had a negative influence on him. His bestfriend Jesse was the main character, and the kid that truthfully didn't want to have to deal with gangs and all that trouble, but because his "blood brother" was there, so was he.
Rise got too carried away and it was at the cost of his life. This saddened Jesse but brought him to realize that aspect of negativity was out of his life. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels pressured or like they have to do something because their friends are. This is because it shows a relatable character and shows that going along with others isn't always the best thing and can ruin your life.
Themes in this book include peer pressure, gangs, and looking at the bigger picture.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been semi-avoiding any Walter Dean Myers books the past few years because they hit way to close to home, if by home I mean school. Working with the kids that I do and living the sadness, anger, and frustrations of Black youth on a daily basis, I don't generally jump at the chance to read about it for fun. However, this title was one I'd chosen for my classroom library because I thought it sounded interesting and I found it to be an intelligent and insightful portrayal of life in the inner-city. It didn't stereotype characters or play the minstrel, rather Myers' writing paints a sensitive and informed story of two "brothers" trying to define themselves in the midst of socially conflicting values systems. Great read for any adult looking for insight into today's more urban Black youth and great read for any kid wrestling with identity and growing up.

[Imani ♥ ☮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best picture books I've ever read. The pictures in this book really helped to even better depict this story. The story starts off in Harlem at a funeral of a local boy. The main character throughout the story talks about his best friend, Rise, a lot and his "gang" I guess u can call it. Rise starts to drug deal and in the end an enemy of his shoots him dead just as he makes the decision to leave dangerous Harlem. The story ends in the main character's drawing of him and his other friend walking from the funeral. I think that if you are not really a "reader" or "bookworm" that this book is the book for u because it has really great pictures. A great from Myers:)

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly relatable characters, real dialog, and the tension between two blood-brother friends who are making decisions about how involved they want to be in the gang lifestyle of their neighborhood make this a stand-out in urban fiction. I listened to the audio version, and narrator J. D. Jackson does an outstanding job of bringing Jesse and his friends and family to life. Walter Dean Myers had such a feel for urban teens, and it shines through in this story.

[Ethan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Autobiography of my dead brother! At first this book was hard to keep up with but once I got a clear understanding of the novel it was so so good! It’s really sad to think about how Rose would die that way. Gangs are so rough and just a really scary thing to think about. I feel so bad for C.J. and his family. I’m glad that at the end of the book he was saying how it’s not horrible that he’s dead because now he won’t get involved in gang violence. Overall I’d rate this book 4 solid stars.

[Shanae · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read in my entire life.

[SeanV CLC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, had a lot of slang language I didn't understand... Reasonably violent, has lots of gang wars, violence, discrimination. It is also reasonably sad.

[Alexis Doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is set in a place where there are gangs and violence. Jesse Givens is the narrator and throughout the story he notices his good friend Rise Davis beginning to change. Without anyone knowing, Rise’s life is changing. He is making bad decisions and putting himself and others in harm’s way. Jesse and his friends, a group also known as the Counts, get used as pawns in Rise’s turf war. In the end Rise ends up paying the price for the things he has done. It is relieving but it is sad for Jesse to see his closest friend turn into a criminal.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!
Let’s talk about the plot. Immediately within the first few chapters you begin to see the problem arising in the story. Lifelong friends, Jesse and Rise, begin to grow apart as they grow up. The two are making different choices and Jesse realizes it. The rising action begins when Rise eventually makes choices that make him unrecognizable to Jesse and he begins to drag his friends down in his problems with a rival gang called the Diablos. The climax of the plot is when Rise and the Counts go to meet with the Diablos, and they don’t show. Little did we know Rise set up a time and place for the members of the Diablos to be murdered and used the Counts as an alibi. Jesse learns about this arranged hit by Rise and he is bummed. At the end of the book Rise decides he needs to get out of town because of the target on his back and when he goes to see Jesse he gets shot and dies in Jesse’s arms. The plot was interesting because it took me a few pages to realize the book was about the story of Rise and not Bobby Greene the boy in the casket at the beginning of the story. Usually in books I can predict what is going to happen but, in this story, I predicted wrong and these are the types of books I like.
The author does a good job in describing the characters he gives a brief description of their background and it is not long a drawn out. Like Jesse’s friend C.J., Jesse briefly explains that he is a church boy who likes to play jazz, he gives a lot of insight in a short description. This book and its characters make me want to read more because it gives me a background about Jesse and his best friend Rise’s relationship, and when that relationship is jeopardized I want to find out what happens to them in the end. The author really succeeds in making me care for the characters. Sadly, in this book we find that the protagonist and the antagonist are best friends and we care for both of them. The character development was very well thought out by the author everything fits each character. Name, clothing, language, emotion, everything fits each character. Especially Rise, Rise uses slang from the streets, wears baggy clothes, and isn’t afraid of death. Overall, I love the characters in this book.
Most books are easier to write if they are in third person point of view. It’s easier to write life this because you can give insight about all the characters no problem. In first person view it is harder to do that because as the reader you are in the narrator’s head. When you are in the narrator’s head you cannot tell ff the description of other characters is factual or opinionated. The author does a good job of giving examples of the characters personalities rather than just having the narrator tell what he thinks about the characters. Viewpoint if a very important aspect of a book. Jesse is telling this story and he is the right person to tell this story because he makes us care for the bad guy in the story. We wouldn’t care about Rise or his and Jesse’s friendship if Jesse wasn’t telling the story.
The three best aspects of this book were the plot, character development, and viewpoint.
The dramatic ending of the book was amazing, and I loved it because it made me emotional. Just imagine your best friend the one who you called your brother getting shot in front of you and dying in your arms. Even though the ending was a little predictable it was very effective on my heart. I give this book a 4-star rating because I wouldn’t say it is the best book, I ever read but it is very high up there on my list.

[Antineice · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TEARS ARE REAL MAN 😢 BRAVO BOOK A+

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated, but still very good.

[dyke wazowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a giveaway for the end of this story, but it still gave me chills once the time came about.

Jesse is a teenager living in a rough part of Harlem, bombarded with gang violence. The beginning starts with him, his best friend (and “blood” brother) Rise, and another friend, CJ, attending the funeral of a 14 year old murdered in a drive-by shooting. We see how unsettled Jesse and CJ are - but Rise’s perspective is antipodal. Rise, about two years older than Jesse and CJ, takes strides toward “gangbanging”.

It is this striking shift that we follow in this story. Jesse, having grown up with Rise, is baffled at the changes he witnesses in his friend. Walter Dean Myers explores the theme of losing a friend to change by having Jesse, a fantastic comic artist, make sense of it through drawing pictures of Rise. This adds a great element to the novel - Jesse’s sketches (done by Christopher Myers) are often shown alongside the passages.

This showcases how dramatic the change was: Jesse had sketched pictures of Rise many times before, but when Rise got involved with gangs and drugs, he could no longer capture him through drawing. Regardless, Rise is flattered by these drawings and suggests that Jesse write and draw his autobiography for him. As time goes on, and as lead turns to figure, these sketches become darker and more pompous. Jesse ponders why none of these look like Rise.

Jesse, once Rise gets him into trouble, decides to say goodbye to their friendship and to the autobiography project. He recognizes that those very sketches looked wrong because he was drawing what he thought Rise was; who he wanted Rise to be. As he is saying goodbye to Rise, they are struck by a shooting from an enemy. Rise is no longer tough as he hits the ground and bleeds out. Jesse sees the young, frail, scared boy that had been putting up a front.

We end the book the way we began - at the funeral of a young boy who lost his life to gang violence. But this time, they are mourning Rise. Jesse decides he will continue the autobiography and keep Rise alive.

This book was not tough, but did have tragic subject matter. It was enthralling seeing this story unfold through the eyes of a disappointed and confused friend. It was relatable in that sense - feeling like you don’t know the person you were close to.

This one is heavy but worthwhile read.

[Christie (The Ludic Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this wasn't a book I particularly enjoyed, I absolutely see its merits. Autobiography of My Dead Brother is the story of 15-year-old Jesse who grows up in a violent New York neighbourhood. He's smart, talented and although he's got all the typical teenage issues - he's not going to make decisions which adversely impact his life.

His best friend is Rise. Rise is seventeen and he and Jesse have been friends since they were little.


"His mother likes to tell me that when Rise first saw me, he was scared of me. She said they had a puppy and a turtle and he liked to play with them both, but when he saw me he started crying.

...

I didn't remember any of that, but me and Rise grew up to be really close. He was more than my best friend - he was really like a brother."

Myers' novel opens, Jesse and his friend C.J. are at the funeral of their friend, Bobby, who has been killed in a drive-by shooting. While Jesse and Bobby are horrified by the event because, after all, Bobby wasn't doing anything, just sitting on his stoop, Rise thinks Bobby "went out like a man." It's an early indication that Jesse and Rise might be heading in two different directions.

Rise wants Jesse, an artist, to draw his autobiography and so the reader starts to see Rise through Jesse's very focused lens. We see his "funny way of walking, with one shoulder higher than the other"; we see Rise's home life (he lives with his mom and aging maternal grandparents); we see Jesse start to feel the troubling disconnect between him and Rise.

Myers also captures the adults in this book very well. None of these kids come from uncaring families. While some come from single parent households, all the parents work and care and even the police are painted as fair and reasonable human beings. But there still manages to be trouble for Jesse and his friends.

The book is interesting; the drawings are great (done by Christopher Myers, the author's brother) and Myers certainly writes authentically about the experience of - in this case - African American kids who just happen to live in a neighbourhood where crappy things happen. Ultimately though, this is a story about the friendship between two kids which unravels over time.

I know a lot of boys would really enjoy it.

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so finished this book last night to get prepared for a booktalk/booktrailer that I think will intrigue my 7th grade classes..Chose this book because though it is older it has many of the themes and issues our young adults are curious about such as extended family, gangs, drugs, police brutality and abuse and of course the tragedy of a murdered young person. This book follows two boys Jesse and Rise as they grow up together since toddlers, become blood brothers and a part of a community club called the Counts. As the boys grow up and they see the people around them change they are forced to make decisions on their life and it is here they grow apart. Rise being the older “brother” seemed discouraged and restless with just surviving and living life and it is after the funeral of one of their friends he begins to hear the draw of the street life and Jesse has to helplessly watch him succumb to the lure of fast money and street credibility. Appointed by Rise to write his biography on account of his comic drawing skills and connection to Rise from the beginning Jesse begins to wonder if he even knows Rise anymore and if he has changed to someone completely different as he dabbles in retaliation, drug hustling and is eventually caught in his life and suffers the consequences of life in the streets. Peppered with Jesse’s drawings and thoughts, this book tells about the internal and external struggles of young black boys who see easy money and friends as an option over the struggle and fight of life without much. Jesse and Rise are characters I think my young men can see themselves in and while this was not my favorite Walter Dean Myers I feel it is an important one that I plan on promoting this year, hopefully thwart some bad intentions and reinforce the sentiment of living and finding a way out of no way so there are no more young black men like Rise who feel the only way is a life of crime and hopefully make readers think about how someone could get caught in a gang, how two boys raised similarly and together could turn out so drastically different and if in Jesse's shoes would you stay friends with Rise why or why not..hope to get readers hooked and thinking about their lives as either a Jesse or a Rise.

[Smaileh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesse is a young African-American teen growing up in the 'hood. Rise is an older boy who has been Jesse's friend since forever; they even did the blood brothers thing when they were little. Well, Jesse was too scared to actually cut his finger but when he fell and scraped his knee, Rise cut his finger and they mingled blood then. They are as close, if not closer, than actual brothers. But lately, Jesse has been noticing a change in Rise.

Jesse and his friends have a social club, the Counts, which has a 40-year heritage. But when Mason joined the Counts, he seemed bent on taking it over and turning it into a gang. When Mason went to jail for robbing a bodega, Rise began following in his path, trying to become the group's leader and trying to take it in a direction that worried Jesse. The bodega that Mason robbed is firebombed. Did Rise have anything to do with it? Did Rise drop a dime on a Diablo in retaliation for a drive-by? Just what is going on with Rise?

Jesse is a good kid, struggling to grow up in an atmosphere that keeps him worried and nervous all the time. He takes refuge in his art, just as his friend C.J. takes refuge in his music. Rise had been a good kid, too. Only a few years before, he had talked about how drugs and crime were doing no good for their neighborhood, so why was he now talking about taking that path?

Walter Dean Myers has written another powerful novel (but, really, were you expecting him to do otherwise? This is Walter Dean Myers we're talking about.) Christopher Myers contributes the portraits and comics that Jesse draws in the novel. These pen and ink drawings not only illustrate parts of the story, but expand on them, such as the panels showing a drive-by shooting. Like Jesse, I felt nervous and anxious through much of this book. From the title, you know that things will not end well for Rise, but the stress was affecting everyone. Jesse's dad, in particular, is feeling the strain and lashes out in a way that is shocking but also, sadly, understandable. I have hopes for Jesse and his life after the end of this book. I would like to think that he will grow to be a good man himself.

[TheLegend27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Autobiography of My Dead Brother", written by Walter Dean Myers, provides a tremendous perspective of the African American people that live in what is best known as "the hood". The book begins at a funeral held at the local church. The main character, Jesse, lost his brother in a drive-by shooting. Jesse, from this point forward, has a change of view. Like his best friend, Rise. Unlike Rise, Jesse's view changes over a long period of time. First being that he is amazingly enthusiastic about art, and he is good at it too. This changes over time as he begins to see Rise as a different person. Rise was not the blood brother that he once knew. Rise was changing, and it seemed like it was for the worst. Jesse's life was beginning to revolve around Rise, because they were both apart of the same club; "The Counts", and Rise was starting to take over the club to start dealing drugs. Because of this, Jesse's home life is affected, and his parents begin to worry that Jesse might end up in prison. Eventually, Rise's dealings get to the point that he ended up hiring a hit on someone, and that caused the entire club to get involved and taken into custody by the local police. Rise was investigated, as well as the other "Counts", and the "Counts" were all released from custody. This dismal event caused Rise to change perspectives, and to leave town. Just as Rise was about to leave, a rival club member walks up to the club and ends Rise's life.

The entire concept of the book was excellent, because of the fact that it shows what really happens in these gang areas around the world. The writing was phenomenal, as it uses the main slang that you would hear in those areas. The story itself is great because it tricks the mind and makes the reader think that the story is about Jesse's brother. In a way, it did, because Rise and Jesse made a blood-pact when they were young, and they were brothers ever since. The main story was also genuinely poignant, as it shows how people usually end up dying in these parts of the world. This book was truly a good read, and it should be recommended to all students in grade 10+.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lit. class review:

This title was nominated for the National Book Award in 2005, but has otherwise gone unnoticed by the rewards committees. II was interested in reading one of Myers’ less known books. It is illustrated by his son, Christopher Myers, who won the Caldecott Award for another of their collaborations. The illustrations are a mixture of gritty and cartoon-like comic book sketches. I wonder if the images will be used to advance the story or simply to expand upon it.

p. 72 – Jesse is a black teenager living in Harlem. The book starts with the funeral of a boy named Bobby Green who was killed in a drive-by. Jesse and his friends are pretty straight – he’s an artist, C.J. is a musician, his blood brother Rise has the brains. But he and Rise have been drifting apart as Rise seems to be going in a new direction. The book is filled with Jesse’s sketches.

p. 152 – I thought this was going to be about a kid working through the death of one of his friends. Rather, it’s a kid watching one of his closest friends become a stranger to him – walking down a path they both swore they’d never choose.

Myers’ writing style is hard to follow at times, but he slips in little nuggets of truth here and there that cause the narrative to slow down a bit and invite the reader to ponder some of what these characters are up against. Even though this book deals with a heavy subject, it is pretty mild. I’d recommend it to kids as young as 13 or 14, depending on life experience. It would probably appeal to boys more than girls. My one concern is that for a kid who is already thinking gangs are the answer Rise’s hopelessness might reinforce what he is feeling.

From one of Jesse's comic strips. Created after his dad hit him one night.

Spodi: Wise, how come when poor people don't have answers to their questions, they always turn to violence? ...If they don't see a future for themselves, they want to beat up the boy child. Why they got to be beating on things?

Wise: 'Cause they ain't got no airplanes to drop the bombs, Spodi. And that's the word.

[Romelo Mangum]

The book that I’m reviewing is Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers and was published in 1998. The main character, Jesse, is a teen aged male that lives in the slums of Harlem, New York City. He Narrates his everyday life and how he escapes his struggles by drawing and painting. He’s in a youth group called the Counts and the leader “Rise” wants Jesse to draw pictures for his autobiography. Jesse agrees to do it, but soon finds out that Rise is now a drug dealer and not the person he grew up with. Jesse doesn’t know how to deal with it and he waits too long. After a while, everything is turned upside-down and blood is shed.
I don’t like the writer’s style in this novel. If you want a book that is narrated like how a teenager talks, then this style is good for you. I don’t like this style because it makes the book too easy. Sometimes the narration is jumpy and seems to switch topics out of nowhere. Walter Dean Myers did a great job of making the characters in this book believable and realistic. We all know a character like Rise; Someone who thinks they have life all figured out, they think they’re the head honcho, but when something goes down, they’re nowhere to be found or they’re scared and hiding in the corner hoping that everything would go back to the way they were. A weakness in this book is the plot movement. It moves really slow until the climax and the just drops off at the end of the book. Another thing I don’t like about the plot movement is that the plot jumps from one idea to another, without a transition.
I enjoyed reading this book because I like books about life in the ghetto and how to deal with it because I can relate to it. It’s interesting reading about how different people deal with problems. I also like the violence and gang activity in this book because I’ve gotten used to seeing it on the street and in the news and the music that I listen to depicts gang life. I recommend this book to people who like reading about violence, drugs, and how to cope with them.

[Aadit M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers - Review by Aadit Mukherjee

This book tells a story of the hardships of growing up in a violent community, and how different people adjust and adapt to it. This story is about Jesse, an African-American teenager growing up in Harlem, and his best friend Rise, who also fits into the same demographic. As these two kids, along with others, grow up in the streets of Harlem in a drug and violence-filled landscape, Jesse and Rise begin to take different paths in life as a result of their environment. Jesse keeps strong keeping a positive attitude, but notices that Rise begins to fall victim to the environment he is being raised in.

My favorite part of this podcast is how it speaks volumes on how an environment can shape a child. Some children are able to resist their environment and have a positive development in life, but others unfortunately succumb to the pressure to join in. For all children regardless, these types of environments are eventually what are putting these kids like Jesse and Rise at a disadvantage in life, and this book shows how other people try to overcome the stresses of their environment, their friends, families, and their enemies. These children's survival is much harder to deal with compared to others, and their survival as children eventually affect their survival as an adult, depending on the situation they put themselves in as a child.

I would recommend this book to those who are a fan of realistic fiction, as this book is an accurate description of how tough life can be for the kids who have to grow up in this environment. This would be a good book for anybody who likes reading books about teenage development, which is brought to its extremes within this book. Overall, this is a great book, and I would recommend it to most people.

[k-os]

"I was a little nervous, but I was ready to say good-bye to Rise and to tell him that he was the one who had to finish the book, not me. He had to get his own images together and his own style and decide who he wanted to be. It didn't matter if he couldn't draw well, because only he knew what the person he wanted to be would look like. I knew who I wanted him to be and so did a lot of people, but that wasn't good enough" (198).

Walter Dean Myers is a miracle; MY DEAD BROTHER ruled. I wish I could put this in the hands of every middle school boy, especially those at highest risk of falling in with a gang. It felt so real it hurt. In the same way that Reynolds' LONG WAY DOWN hits hard, this book describes with stunning precision the pain of watching others around you start turning into different people—people who make bad, dangerous decisions—as you struggle to define yourself. Jesse with his sketchbook, like C.J. with his piano, beautifully questions that life with the kind of generosity of spirit that comes from being so close to it.

[Brett Myer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast read: started and finished it on a 3 hour plane ride. I usually don't read that fast, but I guess I should have outgrown YA fiction by now too. Good story. Not as dark as the title suggests. Oddly, very similar to Bodega Dreams, just from the black perspective in Harlem versus the latino one in Spanish Harlem. Maybe geared toward a little younger audience too.

The story is about a kid around 15 who has a friend who's his blood brother, but he doesn't end up knowing him as well as he thought. Lot of drive-by shooting victims, and a seemingly realistic view into the life of a lot of Harlem and Bronx families trying to make it in tough times.

It was technically a graphic novel, but not like the comic book ones. It had some nice artwork though.

[7703Emil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiography of My Dead Brother was a great book that I would definitely read again. Walter Dean Myers, the author, is one of my favorite authors and this book made me love him even more. This book is about young teens struggling to find their way out of the streets in Harlem. When the narrator's "blood brother" starts heading in the opposite direction everyone worries for him. He starts to be the leader of a street gang when everything gets out of control. Drive-bys, deaths, prison, Walter Dean Myers gives every detail. The ending is really sad but it makes it a great book to think about real life. Some comics are also included by he narrator's drawings and they include meaningful metaphors. I'm looking forward to another book like this!

[Kayla Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Harlem New York this is the story of Jesse and his blood brother Rise. The boys along with some of the other friends have a club to keep them from the gangs. But sometimes people change and for whatever reason people you knew very well are no longer the friend you thought.

I loved this book. I love New York. I knew the setting very well. When he mentions the streets and places I know them. I have been there too. The illustrations are great. They make you think and give the book an edge. I understand how it earned the award. It felt like I was reading the words from these teens but also I was allowed into their dreams where they can do anything.

There is talk of drug use and dealing. It is in the slums and talks about jail, guns, drive bys, and death.

[Megan Kortlandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teacher and a reader, I adore Walter Dean Myers if nothing else than for his ability to reach kids who claim not to be readers. Of all the books that I've read of his so far, though, this is my favorite. His son did the illustrations that accompany the story, and both are very well done.

If I didn't love it when I read it myself, I truly fell for it when I saw one of my class clowns who takes A LOT of motivation to get him to participate take it off my desk, sneak it back to his seat, and continue to read it for the entire day (including while he walked in the hallway and during his lunch period)!