This for me has been one of the most realistically written stories I’ve read in a long time. I felt a connection with each character, their emotions and thought process felt very real to me.Teddy is 15 and still trying to find himself while others around him assume they know him. He is a child with deep rooted fears and the understandable need to be loved by his parent. Jess is the older brother who on the surface seems a bit care free and self centred, but as we get to know him we see that he really isn’t the bad guy. He reacts badly at times but the caring is there, as is the guilt for leaving Teddy. At times the thoughts Jess has are selfish, but to me they also seem real. I think we are all capable of thinking the way he does after having so much responsibility pushed on us, especially when in Jess’s case he is not that old.Sal is the guy we all wish we had in our corner. He is the strong guy, the one to lean on, the one who knows what to do, the one who gets forgotten because he is always everyone else’s anchor. Sal is the knight in shining armour, but he is not perfect. He has his own issues. He is so busy trying to keep everyone else safe and happy he forgets to let others do the same for him.Overall a very interesting and emotional read, but unlike most the bad is not centre stage, we do not get pages of detailed abuse, instead we get thoughts and feelings and the frustrations of life kicking you when you are already down.Worth reading when you are looking for that little bit more realistic emotion in your fiction. Now I just want to see Teddy’s story. I’m curious as to just who Teddy grew up to be lol. On a side note, I don’t think the book blurb gives a fair impression of what this book is about. From the blurb it sounds like a typical straight forward plot, *moody teen disrupts a perfect setting then they all get along until something bad happens* scenario. That is not how this book reads. His Brother’s Keeper by Ali Katz is one of those stories that linger on long past the time you’ve read the last words. Part of it is the subject matter, but a bigger part is the depth of the characters and their come-to-life personalities. Dear heaven, Sal and Jess are wonderful, both individually and as a couple. The love that they share, the still-new excitement of their being together rolls off the pages and leave me somewhat envious… I remember those days!Then Teddy is brought into their lives; not by his choice mind you, and a whole new dimension of being together is added. Gotta love a big brother who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that his little brother is safe. And Sal is just freakin’ amazing in that he is more than willing to do what needs to be done for both the man he loves and the kid brother.But one of the things that made the biggest impact is that none of them are perfect and that’s more than fine.Jess is carrying around a mountain of guilt over his younger brother Teddy and, while intellectually I know there’s really not much he could have done, I can still see why he feels as he does. It’s heartbreaking in sooo many ways, for both Jess and Teddy, and now Sal.Sal, being a cop, has seen so much hurt that to have it touch the man he loves is almost more than he can stand. But for Jess, and later Teddy, Sal will do anything and everything he can to protect these two even at the cost of his own happiness. A man like that is… beyond price.Teddy; okay wow… his life has been one level of hell after another and it breaks my heart as we discover all that he’s been subjected to. How he managed to remain someone with a heart is beyond me but he did manage to hold onto his humanity. The strength that this young man has is amazing, but the struggles that are ahead of him are not only daunting but almost overwhelming and not only for him.This is an extremely emotionally charged story and yes while often difficult to read, it is rich and vibrant and very memorable. This is the first book that I’ve read by Ali Katz but the mastery with which she dealt with some extremely difficult issues—abuse and teen prostitution especially—is what kept me riveted to the pages. The vividness of her characters’ personalities and the lack of ‘type’—these are not caricatures, but people whose lives we are, for a time, allowed to be a part of however peripherally—is another wonderful facet of Ms. Katz’s storytelling. And very definitely why I will be pursuing this author’s books… you can never have enough stories like this. Kudos to Ms. Katz for this wonderful book; you’ve got yourself another fan.Kathy K.
What do You think about His Brother's Keeper (2010)?
Is is too much to ask that the front cover look like one of the characters?
—LLS
