In My Brother Sam is Dead, James Lincoln Collier gives the reader a unique look into the era of the American Revolution. The story is interesting, and the author keeps the action moving along at a nice pace. The characters are likable and easy to care about. His choice of setting allows examination of both the Continental and Torie viewpoints concerning the Revolution, and his use of a child as the narrator gives leeway for exploring those opposing viewpoints from a perspective that has not yet been set in its ways, as would the attitude of an adult. The book is interesting from start to finish, and the author does a superb job of making literature that entertains at the same time as it serves the deeper purpose of causing the reader to consider the necessity or futility of war.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 9 religious exclamations; 15 mild obscenities; 2 religious profanities; 3 derogatory names. Note: British use of the word “bloody” not tallied; term “Negro” used in historical/non-derogatory way.
Violence/Gore: Non-graphic reports of the results of battles are made a few times; a graphic second-hand account of a man blown in half (brief); a battle involving more than a dozen participants in which men are shot and one is run through with a bayonet and beheaded; a graphic second-hand account of characters having their throats slit and one with his head half removed and brains exposed; a doctor slices a patient to remove a musket ball; a man is hanged; a man is shot at close range; cattle are killed (2 times); a boy and girl have a violent scuffle with no major injuries; a man is beaten by outlaws; a man is shot, resulting in broken bones; two characters injure their hands in a fight; a man’s nose is bloodied; characters burn a house; report of a ship’s cargo being destroyed; a man is thrown out of a business; mention of a father hitting a child; report of people being held up on the road; account of a man who died falling off a horse; mention of tar and feathering; mention of livestock violent deaths; reports of men lashed or killed for desertion; report of a man shot; rape is mentioned in passing; a beheading and an execution are both mentioned after they were earlier detailed.
Sex/Nudity: Two boys mention girls and “lasciviousness”; a boy strips naked in mixed family company (non-sexual); rape is mentioned in passing.
Mature Subject Matter:
War, death (family member/friend), racial discrimination, child running away (mention), theft, slavery.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Minors drink beer and wine; adults drink beer, wine, and liquor; characters are drunk (brief mentions); characters smoke pipes.
