My+Brother's+Keeper

**My Brother's Keeper** by Patricia McCormick

I chose to read the book "My Brother’s Keeper" written by Patricia McCormick. Toby Malone was a teenager that had a hobby of collecting baseball cards. He would go to the card collecting store everyday to help out the owner. While he was there he would enjoy admiring all the cards. Toby has an older brother named Jake. He is the typical older brother. He was cool, athletic and is liked by everyone. He was the Most Valuable Player on his baseball team for the prior year. He was so good that his coach let him keep his jersey at the end of the season. Toby also has a younger brother, Eli, who loved to play Nintendo. His father had left them when Toby was little, but he still remembered him. He wished everyday that his father would come back and they would be a happy family again. Toby tried out for the baseball team and notices that Jake is not there. He has noticed that Jake had turned to using drugs and alcohol. Toby would always cover up for him when he came home late at night. He only did this because he knew it will deflate his mother even more than she was now. His mother is oblivious that Jake was not on the baseball team any longer and Toby planned to keep it that way. One day Jake was out drinking and the police caught him. He was underage so he was sent to Juvenile Court. The court called his mother and she was crushed. Jake's mother decided to send him to rehab clinic and hope he changes his life. Toby's mother asked if he knew all along about Jake and his problems. Toby explained to her how he knew and that he was only doing it because he loved Jake. Toby's mother understands why he covered up for his brother, but explained to him that if would have helped him out in the long run if he would have told her.

I read this book not knowing much about it, but I ended up thinking that this book was excellent. The main reason I liked it was it could happen to any two brothers. I also thought that the author did a good job on showing how deep a brother’s love can be and the issues families face. It was just unfortunate that the book ended the way it did. I did like how the book flowed and was able to read at a quick pace. I also enjoyed the length of the book; it was a very good read. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.


 * By: Kendall Mayes**