Sharon E. McKay is a bestselling, award-winning author. Her books include "Enemy Territory" and "Thunder Over Kandahar." She divides her time between Charlottetown, PEI, and Toronto, Ontario.
Daniel Lafrance is a storyboard and graphic novel artist and has worked as an artist in the film industry for many years. He lives in Toronto.
This title would be a great addition to any Junior High or High
School and could be used as a supplement for Social Studies or
English classrooms... Highly recommended.--Jennifer
Flaherty"Library Media Connection" (10/04/2013)
Daniel Lafrance's striking artwork vividly brings the reader face
to face with the children who are forced to participate in a brutal
war they know little about... War Brothers is a truly important
work both in the original version and in this graphic novel
version. Highly recommended.--Chris Laurie, Outreach Librarian,
Winnipeg Public"CM" (09/06/2013)
This story is based on actual events and is told in graphic novel
format presenting a unique view of the situation in Uganda... The
depiction of events is tastefully done so that students in younger
grades are able to comprehend the severity of the events taking
place in Africa. Although students would probably not pick this
book up on their own and will need prompting, it is a great
resource to have in any library collection.--Cassandra
Rondinella"VOYA" (08/01/2013)
[Lafrance's] beautiful, colorful depictions of Africa [are]
especially effective at offering the story urgency while still
giving it the feeling of a boy's adventure comic--it's very
reminiscent of European cartoonists like Hugo Pratt. Having this
story geared to a younger audience makes the graphic novel so bold.
It's depicting the horrors for the exact age group who experiences
them out in the real world. It's done with such a delicate finesse
that offers a path to empathy without causing a kid to sink into
depression about the implications and possibilities. It puts a face
on the nightmarish to just the people who can benefit from
it.--John Seven"Reverse Direction" (03/08/2013)
[LaFrance's] realistic drawings enhance the story presenting an
unflinchingly dark visual representation of the horrors young boys
like Jacob experience at the hands of the LRA. With this
graphic-novel adaptation, the author and illustrator reinforce
Jacob's conclusion that his role must be to tell the world what is
happening to these children, hoping for an end to the
violence.--Dean Schneider"Horn Book Magazine" (06/27/2013)
A challenging, uncompromising work... a beautiful treatment of
stark ugliness... McKay's exhaustive research and extensive
interviews with former child soldiers, and the verisimilitude she
brings to her characterization and storytelling render the abstract
concept of child soldiers with an all-too-real clarity. Lafrance's
art adds another layer, transitioning from crisp naturalism to
stylized shadows and colours as panic and violence rise in the
characters... This is a powerful, important work of reality-based
fiction... Parents [may] wonder whether their children should read
it. The answer to this question is not only, Yes, they should, but
also, Yes, they must.--Robert J. Wiersema"Quill and Quire"
(02/21/2013)
A truly important work that is well worth the read.--Ryan P.
Donovan"School Library Journal" (03/01/2013)
Devastatingly realistic... What went on in this part of this world
in the early 2000s is an important global issue for people of all
ages to be aware of, and these boys prove to be a good entry point
into a difficult subject. Although War Brothers, adapted from the
author's prose novel, is fiction, it is based on interviews with
survivors; everything that happened in this book has happened, and
is happening still. With his first graphic novel, Lafrance's
watercolor artwork truly shines, depicting many close-ups that
convey the deep emotions that the characters are going through... A
truly important work that is well worth the read.--Ryan P. Donovan,
New York Public Library"School Library Journal" (03/01/2013)
Highly recommended, this is a story that is riveting to read as
long as you are brave enough to continue turning the pages.--Tasha
Saecker"wakingbraincells. com" (04/19/2013)
It is powerful historical fiction. It is an important story to
tell, and this team has done so admirably.--Sally Bender"Sal's
Fiction Addiction" (04/02/2013)
McKay and Lafrance based this harrowing story on interviews with
escaped child soldiers, and they have kept their focus on the young
survivors as they desperately cling to their beliefs, hold out hope
for rescue, and struggle with reintegrating into their communities,
where people fear that the boys have been irrevocably changed into
killers. Lafrance's panels are tinted with soft, rich colors, which
belie the heartrending content within. This is a sorrowful and
all-too-true story, but one that ends on a hopeful note.--Sarah
Hunter"Booklist" (04/15/2013)
Normally, I prefer cleaner lines in graphic novels, but the
sketchy, colored pencil type look worked really well for this
story. It creates kind of a nightmare quality, reflecting the
horror of being a child soldier. This is the kind of graphic novel
everyone should read.--Martha Dodge"NetGalley" (02/24/2013)
This book is clean. Clean means it's tight. Maybe even deep... His
story has haunted me for weeks.--Amy Cheney, Alameda County (CA)
Library, Write to"School Library Journal YA Underground"
(03/19/2013)
This is a must for the classroom!--Jeffrey Canton"Canadian
Children's Book News" (04/01/2013)
This is a powerful graphic novel and a really good read.--J.K.
Parkin"Comic Book Resources" (02/11/2013)
This story is powerful, moving, and prompts much introspection
about humans' inhumanity to others, boy soldiers, and how quickly
an individual may be persuaded to kill another or betray others in
order to save his/her own life. It also contains a powerful message
about the redemptive power of hope and the resilience of
individuals such as Jacob. The graphic novel format makes a
compelling, heart-breaking story even more compelling.
Understandably, readers will find it hard to forget this story,
Jacob or his slow recovery from his ordeal.--Barbara A.
Ward"Reading Today Online, International Reading Associ"
(06/12/2013)
War Brothers is a riveting and compelling account of a young boy
from northern Uganda who is abducted into the Lord's Resistance
Army. Sharon McKay and Daniel Lafrance have created a powerful
graphic novel that provides a true no-holds-barred account of life
as a child soldier. Readers are swept into the world of these child
soldiers through intense action and dialogue where they experience
their pain and losses, but also their triumphs and their courage.
War Brothers presents this gripping tale in an engaging and
attractive way for younger readers and fuels the elimination of the
weapons system of recruiting children into war.--Melanie Tomsons,
Executive Director and CCO"Never Again International: Canada"
(04/01/2012)
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