Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion

What are your thoughts of the Merrick brothers? Do you like them? Sympathize with them? Do they seem realistic to you?

You can discuss each brother individually or discuss their interactions with each other.

I liked the brothers - hated the cover on the book. If that cover is supposed to portray the brothers, then I'm convinced the artist didn't even read the book - just the liner notes. There are four young men on the cover but I don't see a family resemblance and wouldn't be able to clearly identify any of them with a character in the book.

The relationship between the brothers seemed fairly realistic. Even the antagonism between Michael and the twins is understandable. He's their brother - therefore an equal - but he has to act as the parent - therefore the superior.

It also seemed to me that the brother's personalities matched their elements. The same seemed to be true about the other elementals we met - Tyler and Seth.

I loved the interactions with the brothers. The family situation reminded me of The Outsiders, right down to the family dynamics.
I agree about the cover. I read somewhere (perhaps the authors website/blog) that the 4 boys are only 3 of the four brothers and the fourth boy is Tyler (he's also on the front of Fearless and Spirit). The cover supposedly only shows one of the twins.

I also felt the relationships between the brothers felt very realistic. Grace said it very nicely.

The brother's personalities matching their elements was another thought I had. Gabriel being a fire elemental is perfect for his hot-headed attitude.

I like them a lot. The extra novella at the end of my copy (about Emily Morgan)gave a good look at their family life. They seem really cool. I also loved how all throughout the book they acted like brothers, and not even superhero ones, just regular ones.

Ally wrote: "I like them a lot. The extra novella at the end of my copy (about Emily Morgan)gave a good look at their family life. They seem really cool. I also loved how all throughout the book they acted like brothers, and not even superhero ones, just regular ones..."

I read the novella at the end of my copy too. I liked to see how their interactions were different while their parents were still alive. I think the author did a good job at describing family interactions.