Brothers Unite is written in graphic novel format.  I do not have much practice reading graphic novels or comic books so I was intrigued to read this one. It took me a few pages to figure out the flow of the style, and I quickly realized that the art of the book is just as important as the words. The reader must be able to read facial expressions and to follow along the action in the frames.  Because of this, younger readers might not be able to follow the story on their own without guidance.  I found this book to be funny and filled with surprise turns of events.  There are a few statements that younger readers will not understand but, I found them to be laugh out loud moments.  (For example, a particular character says “You two Righteous Brothers are a melody of unchained proportions.”) The author weaves a tale of heroes that find themselves in strange predicaments and leaves the reader wanting more!

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Dial Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  4 religious exclamations; 2 mild obscenities; 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore:  Brothers smack each other to wake up; characters discuss next door neighbor might have died; character tears up his house and it falls and kills his mom with little detail; character breaks into a house; character beats up a bully and blood is shown coming out of his mouth; character stabs another character with no blood; superheroes fight bad guy as he throws cars at them; bad guy character threatens the superheroes.

Sex/Nudity:  Boy looks out his window at a girl; brother teases his brother about liking a girl; girl is impressed with the superhero capabilities; boy watches girl on a swing with googly eyes.

Mature Subject Matter:

Overpowering/controlling mother, death of a parent.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None