Brother

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As they grow older, Michael begins to see what Francis sees. “One morning I peered with Francis into a newspaper box to read a headline about the latest terror and caught in the glass the reflection of our own faces.” Still, Francis tries. He takes care of awkward Michael, who is prone to misfiring with the neighbourhood boys (“Yeah, homeboy is indubitably dope!”). Francis keeps him at arm’s length from the dangers and futile dreams that take shape in Desirea’s barbershop, a place where, among the do-rags and sharp fades, children of immigrants “found new language … kept the meanings close as skin”.

So I was expecting (and received) blood and gore. What I did not plan for was for such a deep story. The getting there was all the fun (???? – if you’re nuts like Mitchell). As for my reaction? I don’t do so well with feelings. They tend to make me all . . . . Then add the new baby: include a baby brother, baby sister – or baby sibling if it’s a surprise! – in the story. Choose from three adorable baby characters, each with a different natural skin tone. I loved to watch the evolution of the relationships and the way Michael's outlook begins to change when he befriends someone from outside the home. This book follows the Morrow Family, but in particular Michael Morrow, the second son and the one who doesn't quite fit in. Michael was adopted into the family and has since been well-conditioned in the Morrow ways. I LOVED it. This week has been all kinds of real life crazy for me and I guess it's fitting that I finished this craziness on Halloween night.

Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan is a soulful meditation on family trauma

Now, that’s not to say this wasn’t a stabby selection. On the contrary, it was indeed. It even featured a little something extra . . . And it is with this foundational belief in her safety that her universe diverges from that of her sons. Here is their most fundamental culture clash: she is a woman with a country where she is wanted, far away though it may be, and while her striving may lead nowhere, it probably won’t get her murdered by police. The skill of Ahlborn's writing was on full display in the intricacies of the familial relationships. The relationship between Michael and his sister, Misty, was heartbreaking and that between Michael and his brother, Reb, the most disturbing and dysfunctional of all.

Even after this happens though, loyalty to the family remains one of the most important themes in his world. Choose your book title from ‘A New Sibling for You’ or ‘You Are a Big Brother or Sister’, and we’ll add your fantastic title to the front cover. I really became attached to Michael as a character. As morally grey as he was, he seemed like the one shining light in this gloomy, hostile world. Francis and Mother share a quiet devotion and endless conflict that is unique to first-born children and single mothers. Her sadness is the subject of Chariandy’s most beautiful prose, from the casual way she explains her presence to overattentive sales people (“just window shopping”) to passages such as this:It is horrible and dreadful, but it could happen. Nothing is scarier than mankind and their capacity to harm one another. At least not to me. There was, at that time, a lot of anxiety about visible minorities moving into the area and changing the landscape. I grew up hearing these stories — about people I love and respect, who were profoundly creative and hardworking and simply had dreams of living a good life. These stories are often overlooked and ignored. I wanted to capture this narrative, one of resilience, creativity, tenderness and love."

Brother takes us inside the lives of Michael and Francis. They are the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, their father has disappeared and their mother works double, sometimes triple, shifts so her boys might fulfil the elusive promise of their adopted home. Young brother Michael goes along with the family. Because he really has to provide for the family because times is rough. The Next Chapter 11:38 Aparita Bhandari on 3 books set in Scarborough Featured VideoColumnist Aparita Bhandari on Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez, Brother by David Chariandy and That Time I Loved You by Carianne Leung. More about Brother from CBC Radio

Brother will linger long after you finish, move you to analyze your own prejudices, to look beyond headlines and question your own idea of what is valour and heroism." It is so well written, although horrifying, it feels 100% plausible. I mean, why couldn't this happen?

This book, set deep in the heart of Appalachia, is extremely disturbing. In fact, if you aren't disturbed by this, I'm not sure we can be friends. Our new sibling book is cleverly designed so you can personalise it for two children, whether your new baby has arrived yet or not. First, add the older sibling: add a child’s name to the story, and see it magically appear on the cover, throughout the story and in the illustrations. We’ve designed six little characters to choose from, for both boy and girl. Select their gender, then choose from a selection of natural hair and skin tone options. Throw in a music loving sister and older psycho brother who has decided his name should be "Reb" and you have a really close family.

Near the end of the novel, Mother takes her teenage boys for a walk. They watch tiny moths circle a plant near the creek. Michael describes them as torn pieces of an old book, “a scattered and wasted alphabet. Without any meaning at all.” But Mother retains her hope, useless as it may be. “Look closer,” she says. “Cup your hand and feel the proof of them against you. They’re not trash. They’re living things. And they’re flying.”