Parents' Guide to

As Brave As You

By Terreece Clarke, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Poignant summer adventure brims with family love and hope.

Book Jason Reynolds Adventure 2016
As Brave As You Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Sirashlie
Sirashlie Parent of 6, 9, 13 and 13-year-old
January 26, 2023
age 10+

Family, the good and the bad.

So first the warnings. Mentions of divorce, abuse, suicide, war, and death of a (adult) child. So I like to read books before I put them on my shelf for students and this one has been in my closet a few weeks. Honestly I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was really good. The story is about two brother who live in the city, going to their grandparents for the summer (who they mostly only know through phone conversations) so their parents can spend the summer mending their relationship. They soon learn their relationship has mostly been over the phone because their father has a strained relationship with his father (the grandpa). They spend the summer doing as boys do in the country but also discovering the history of their family and all the scars with it.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Alison S.
Alison S. Adult
October 21, 2018
age 10+

Great!

I'm a teacher of 5th graders, but taught 7th/8th grade English for years prior. I think this book is fine for mature 10 year old readers and those who enjoy reading, but it was tough to get into for more reluctant readers I had in 7th grade. The content isn't inappropriate for 10 yo's at all--but definitely not any younger. I'd say most 6th graders would be able to handle it--all the way up to high schoolers (and adults). It does open with kids cleaning up dog poop, so some "surrendered" the book after that--others knew it was just a chapter and the book wasn't about that!! I liked it a lot--Jason Reynolds is a talented writer--this is very different from his Track Series (Ghost, Patina, etc, which I enjoyed more), but still a great read.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Genie and his older brother Ernie are spending four weeks at their grandparents' home in rural Virginia. It's a place so distant from their home in Brooklyn, New York, that the stars seem to multiply, the sun seems hotter, and the sky looks bigger. It's also a place without cell phone coverage and Wi-Fi. Genie is always full of questions, so many questions that he writes them in his notebook. But he already knows why they have to go -- his parents are trying to save their marriage. So while they head off to Jamaica, Genie is stuck picking peas with his brother (yuck!) and trying to figure out the mystery of his strange grandfather, why his dad won't speak to his father, what's the story behind the creepy house in the woods, and how to be brave when you're scared out of your mind. He suspects he won't find those answers on Google.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

Endearing, relevant, and enthralling, this novel offers a glimpse into the lives of one family in the lazy days of summer and captures the natural shifting dynamic that occurs in families over time. The boys rely on each other when the grown-up world gets to be too much, and their relationship and Genie's openness help the family to heal long-standing rifts. Author Jason Reynolds is a master storyteller. He creates characters that are so real, readers forget they don't actually know Genie, Ernie, and their grandfather.

Reynolds is not afraid to dig into topics others shy away from, yet somehow, in AS BRAVE AS YOU, he balances the weight of those topics with the natural lightheartedness of youth. Genie's character and his observations are funny and insightful and straddle the line between precociousness and typical 11-year-old (mis)understandings. This is a great family read.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about spending time without being connected to electronic devices. Brothers Genie and Ernie almost go crazy without cell phone coverage and an Internet connection -- at first. What could you do in four weeks without a computer and cell phones?

  • Family members in As Brave as You Are withdraw from one another, give each other the silent treatment, and confront their problems. Which way of coping seems most effective? Does your family have "rules of engagement" for working through problems?

  • Ernie and Genie learn a lot from their grandfather and grandmother. What life lessons or skills have you learned from other members of your family besides your parents?

Book Details

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