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37th out of 113 books
—
50 voters
My Brother's Keeper
From the acclaimed author of "Cut" comes this new novel that explores the anguish of living with divided loyalties and the cost of keeping family secrets, as a young teen struggles to keep his family together when his father abandons them.
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
September 15th 2006
by Disney-Hyperion
(first published June 9th 2005)
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man, disappointing after Cut. not bad, but the innovative style of her debut book was put aside in exchange for a kind of boring narrative about three boys, drugs, and alcohol.
and if i had to read one more line about looking at the stargell baseball card, i was going to throw something. maybe the book. it was such a short book and it took me forever to read because frankly, i was bored. really, really bored.
which is so sad. because i really loved her first book, and i don't want to write her...more
and if i had to read one more line about looking at the stargell baseball card, i was going to throw something. maybe the book. it was such a short book and it took me forever to read because frankly, i was bored. really, really bored.
which is so sad. because i really loved her first book, and i don't want to write her...more
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Mar 28, 2013
Jkisiolek
added it
I have just finished reading the book My Brother’s Keeper by Patricia McCormick. I truly disliked this book more than any other I have read in recent memory. While the plot has the potential to be thrilling or emotionally intense, this book did not deliver on either fronts. For the most part, the book was about as cliché as it gets and featured a protagonist that I both hated and could not relate with in the least.
The story follows the struggles of fourteen year old, Toby Malone. Toby is the mid...more
The story follows the struggles of fourteen year old, Toby Malone. Toby is the mid...more
Toby has a passion and a big problem. His passion is baseball. He works part time for Mr. D. so he can earn money to buy baseball cards, especially players for his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates. He even makes his high school baseball team as a backup catcher. Not too bad for a freshman brainiac who is a year younger than his classmates. The cute girl on the softball team even smiles at him. Now if he could just get through Nurse Wesley's classes on human sexuality without dying of embarrassment, sc...more
Toby lives with his mother and his two brothers, one is older and his name is Jake and the baby brother is Eli. Their father left them and moved to California and they have not heard from him since. The mother does her very best to support her family but with her job and stress she looses track of her children who are left on their own a lot of the time. Jake gets into drugs and is not the person he use to be at all. Jake, Toby and their father use to love baseball especially the Pirates. Toby n...more
This is another book about family, it involved the idea of abandonment, drug addiction and family relationship. Toby Malone is the protagonist of this book, her father's adandonment caused the family into chaos. The mother was depressed; and his older brother Jake chose to take drugs to anesthetize himself from the pain. As one of the member in the family, Toby was the "middle person" between his mother and brother. He had to make sure mother is okay and also had to keep Jake's secrets from his...more
May 30, 2011
Tiffani
added it
My Brother's Keeper is one of my favorite books. This is really a great book. This book kind of leaves you confused, just a little bit. Toby looks up to his brother and he does not want Jake to throw his life away by hanging out with the wrong crowd. Toby cleans up after Jake, so mom won't notice. Jake does not want help. Toby continues to help Jake anyway. I guess Toby continues to help Jake because Jake is still his brother and rolemodel. Toby eventually uses integrity and tells his mom everyt...more
An absorbing book for teenage boys. I thought it had a fresh perspective and seemed as though a 13 year-old had thought the thoughts and said the things Toby said. His older brother is taking drugs and his younger brother is hiding under a blankie sucking his thumb. Toby tries to mediate and take care of everyone, but no one seems to be taking care of him. His soon-to-be-divorced mom is out on the town, his older brother disappears at night and he is left in charge at home. Meanwhile he is waiti...more
I think what bothers me overall about this book is the poor sentence structure masquerading as teenage consciousness. Sure the repetive words demonstrate Toby's obsessive thoughts about his family, particularly his brother Jake who eats acid in the form of little blue pills. Do you think teens are going to pick up on that kind of subtly? I doubt it, instead, I predict that teens who read enough of this kind of writing will start to think that it's acceptable to use the word 'which' umpteen times...more
It seems teens that wrote reviews about this book thought it was boring. I loved this book. The main character is an enabler trying to hold things together even though his mother gets depressed, his little brother is insecure and is big brother is getting into drugs. Toby has a funny take on things and I enjoyed his viewpoint. He doesn't have too many friends but one of them is an old guy that runs a Candy and Collectables store and hands out Yoda-like wisdom. Toby is just a kid trying to figure...more
Thirteen-year-old Toby Malone watches in despair as his older brother, once a star athlete, travels down a path of ruin, becoming increasingly involved with drugs. Not wanting to upset his recently divorced mother, who is already overwhelmed with problems, Toby remains silent about Jake's addiction, and in effect becomes his brother's "keeper," making excuses for Jake when he disappears into the night and comes home stoned. When Jake's friends make a mess in the house, Toby cleans it up, and wh...more
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Copyright: 2005
I chose to read "My Brother's Keeper" after reading author Patricia McCormick's novel "Sold". If the rating system had a 3 and a half star, then I would have given this book a 3 1/2.
Toby lives in a small apartment with his mother and two brothers. He is the middle child, and after his parents' divorce, Toby's older brother Jake starts to behave differently. Soon Jake starts hanging out with the wrong crowd and gets mixed up into things like drugs and alcoh...more
Copyright: 2005
I chose to read "My Brother's Keeper" after reading author Patricia McCormick's novel "Sold". If the rating system had a 3 and a half star, then I would have given this book a 3 1/2.
Toby lives in a small apartment with his mother and two brothers. He is the middle child, and after his parents' divorce, Toby's older brother Jake starts to behave differently. Soon Jake starts hanging out with the wrong crowd and gets mixed up into things like drugs and alcoh...more
Patricia McCormick's main charachter, Toby Malone has the weight of the world on his shoulders. His dad left the family and now Toby is trying to hide from his mom and everyone else that his older brother, Jake is hanging out with some pretty shady guys, drinking and doing drugs. Toby also has some self esteem problems, what with being a teen and having some premature gray hairs, a freshman on the baseball team and liking Martha McDowell. His mom works all the time and has just begun to see the...more
Toby is a teenage boy living with his mother, younger brother (Eli) and older brother (Jake). His mom is always out with a new guy, and never at home. His younger brother Eli is a lost soul, hiding from life in the remains of his old blankie. Jake is addicted to drugs. Toby tries to save his brother, both brothers from the ruckus life gives out. But things do not go as planned.
I can connect this book to the book My Sister's Keeper, not only for the same title, but both characters try to save the...more
I can connect this book to the book My Sister's Keeper, not only for the same title, but both characters try to save the...more
Toby has always looked up to his older brother, Jake. Jake is charming, funny, popular, athletic... he seems to have just about everything working for him. However, Jake is falling into bad habits and drug abuse. And ever since his father left, Toby has taken it upon himself to hold his family together, even if it means covering up for Jake. Eventually though, Jake takes it too far, and Toby can't keep fixing his mistakes.
This story, while interesting, was not particularly unique or compelling....more
This story, while interesting, was not particularly unique or compelling....more
Reviewed by Long Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
A brother's love is a brother's love: one of the many truths to life and family. In MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, Patricia McCormick tells a sharp tale of the often too-complex relationships between brothers, and the unspoken feelings and subtleties of such a fragile thing.
Toby idolizes his big brother Jake. Jake's the typical big brother figure; cool, funny, charming, and the school baseball team stud. But things don't always turn out to be as great as they a...more
A brother's love is a brother's love: one of the many truths to life and family. In MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, Patricia McCormick tells a sharp tale of the often too-complex relationships between brothers, and the unspoken feelings and subtleties of such a fragile thing.
Toby idolizes his big brother Jake. Jake's the typical big brother figure; cool, funny, charming, and the school baseball team stud. But things don't always turn out to be as great as they a...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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My Brother's Keeper was about a family who doesn't have very much money and goes through many struggles. The father ends up leaving the three boys and their mother to go to California. And then the family struggles through hard times the oldest son Jake drinks, does drugs, and stays out very late and Toby the second son loves to collect baseball cards and tries to do what is best for the family and hates seeing Jake go through many struggles and the youngest son Eli is sensitive and has a big im...more
A middle child is fighting to keep his family together. His mom is still reeling from her divorce, his older brother is hanging out with the wrong people and doing drugs, and his younger brother is still a little boy, despite being 8. He does everything he can from using Orange lysol to cover up his brother's drug fumes, to having an obsession with baseball cards. But he can no longer lie for his brother anymore when things get too out of control.
Patrica McCormick's Cut is a real favorite with my middle school students. Edgy but not over the top. In My Brother's Keeper, the main character is contending with a high school brother turning druggie, a younger brother who adores him, a single mom who is scrimping after her husband walked out and is now dating, a best buddy with the patience of a saint, A worthhile look a family's struggle with adjustments which is not overly dark.
Toby is a 13 year old boy who is trying to hold his family together and deal with his father abandoning them. The book didn’t do much for me. The main character got annoying which pulled me out of his plight and made me care less. The plot and characters had potential but instead were one dimensional and redundant. There was minor swearing, sexual references, pot, and acid mentioned.
If a gun introduced in the first act must go off in the 2nd, when should the mint rookie Stargell baseball card introduced on p11 get stolen by the titular substance abusing brother?
I was on the fence about Cut, but really liked both Sold and Purple Heart, so I had high hopes for this one. I'm going to put it down for myself but push on teens that don't know Chekhov.
I was on the fence about Cut, but really liked both Sold and Purple Heart, so I had high hopes for this one. I'm going to put it down for myself but push on teens that don't know Chekhov.
An excellently written novel!
The novel follow a young boy named Toby as he tried to keep his family from falling apart. His little brother has reverted to hiding under his blanket and sucking his thumb and his older brother is delving into drugs. Toby fights desperately to cover up for his brother and spare his mother and more heart break.
The novel was well written and engaging. The writing is emotional and the characters are real and believable.
The novel follow a young boy named Toby as he tried to keep his family from falling apart. His little brother has reverted to hiding under his blanket and sucking his thumb and his older brother is delving into drugs. Toby fights desperately to cover up for his brother and spare his mother and more heart break.
The novel was well written and engaging. The writing is emotional and the characters are real and believable.
It was hard for me to read this book, but I think it is because I went into it expecting something like My Sister's Keeper, which it wasn't, at all. While reading this book there were times that I had to put it away and leave it like that for awhile. That always happens when I read Patricia McCormick's books.
Well, this book is about a boy named Toby, his mother, older brother Jake and his younger brother. Toby helps Jake hide the fact, from their mother, that Jake uses drugs. I think this is a good book to read in one day, because it is short but it shows how far siblings will go for eachother. I love this book.
This was the only book by Patricia McCormick that I hadn't read. It just doesn't live up to her other stuff. It seemed too much like the typical YA problem novel and McCormick is so much better than that. Compared to other problem novels though it was pretty decent and I did like the last 1/3 of the book.
Toby adores his older brother until he decides to throw it away with drugs and stealing, from Toby. Time after time he fails to get better, but then Jake turns it all around to be the big brother that Toby needs to have.
Because sometimes a person just knows when nothing is actually something.
Because sometimes a person just knows when nothing is actually something.
I like this book! Toby and hos brothers are funny. When i first picked up this book I thought it was going to be about a teenager on drugs because it was a sandwich bag on the front cover. That was a really wrong prediction because its really about a boy who likes baseball cards and tries out for the team. His father left and his mother carries frustration
around with her.
I finally finished this! The first half of the book was pretty boring and I realize she was just setting things up for the second half, which was where all of the action happened, but it was still pretty boring. I felt like Toby, the main character, wasn't interesting enough at times and mom seemed pretty damn oblivious to everything and that kind of annoyed me. Overall, a good read if you want to see how drug use can affect a family but not necessarily the most engaging book of all time.
Mom's dealing with the divorce and older brother dives into drug use. The middle brother feels like he's got to keep everyone together and hide all the problems from everyone else in the family...until one big bro takes things too far and things blow up. Quick read-not bad! :)
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Patricia McCormick is a journalist and writer. She graduated from Rosemont College in 1978, followed by an M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1986 and an M.F.A. from New School University in 1999. Her first novel for teens was Cut, about a young woman who self-injures herself. This was followed by My Brother's Keeper in 2005, about a boy struggling with his brother's ad...more
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