BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS by Crystal Allen

Review by Amanda Smith

In Between Two Brothers by Crysal Allen (Balzer+Bray, 2024), eighth-grader Isaiah (Ice) Abernathy’s big brother Seth is a Junior in high school and Scarboro’s high school cross country hero. Seth is also Ice’s best friend, understanding “Shy Guy” inside Ice, and assuring him that he is not “Soft Serve” as a bully labeled him, but that his gentle, creative spirit is hard core.  The two brothers vow to make their last year together, before Seth sets off for Texas A&M with a full-ride scholarship, their best year ever. But when Seth is in a serious car accident that leaves him comatose and with severe brain-swelling, Ice’s world is rocked. Seth's prognoses seems hopeless. However, Ice refuses to give up on his brother and rallies therapists and friends to unlock Seth from his body and rewire his brain. And as Ice fights for Seth’s voice, “Shy Guy” shrinks and Ice finds his own voice too.

This tender story, based on true events, doesn’t shy away from reality. Allen brings the reader into the gravity of Seth’s condition, including feeding tubes, muscle atrophy, and voice boards, but offers hints of humor in all the right places to keep this heart-breaking story from becoming too heavy. And hope is woven throughout in sweet friendships, community, faith, and the bond between two brothers.
 
On writing:
Between Two Brothers is an excellent mentor text for writers with a story that is rooted in painful personal experience. In her author’s note, Allen states that even though the “...heartaches, the anger, the hopes, and triumphs...” are real, all the details of the story (characters, plot, and setting) are fictitious. Focusing on the universal truths, helps the author to keep a necessary distance in order to tell the story honestly but without it being overwhelming.

The way in which Allen deals with medical language and descriptions is another lesson writers can take away from this novel. Like painting with a dry-brush, Allen offers just the right amount of medical and legal jargon to keep a reader engaged in the story.  She sometimes employs adult characters to explain information to Ice, which means the language is automatically kid-appropriate. At the same time, the gravity of Seth’s injuries and the scary and painful reality for him and his family are never candy-coated. It is this restraint in language that allows for a realistic telling, filled with light and hope.

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Learn more about Crystal Allen here. Learn more about donating copies of Between Two Brothers to care facilities here.