40. After My Brother Sam

 

40. After My Brother Sam. James Lincoln Collier. 2026. 144 pages. [Source: Library] [1 star, mg historical fiction, why does this book even exist]

First sentence: The men had brought a couple of rough wooden coffins to the execution place. They put Sam's body in one of the coffins and loaded it onto a cart. "Timmy, can you drive this thing?" one of them asked me.

Premise/plot: After My Brother Sam is the sequel to My Brother Sam is Dead. Timmy is angry about his brother's death and acting out in strange ways. He befriends an orphan-thief, Becky, and tries his hand at being a thief. He then takes home Becky-thief to his mother and the tavern. Shortly there is a forceful man on the scene, Chauncy, (I think that is his name) who is essentially becomes a squatter at the tavern and insisting that he's the new partner or owner? No one seems to be able to make him leave???? There are a few confrontations with soldiers--both sides, I think--nothing actually actually comes close to happening. The book ends without a single thing happening except Timmy and Becky stealing stuff and eating at a tavern. Does that count as a plot? Should it count as a plot? Chauncy has to be the most irritating character ever. And one of the presumably supposed to be intelligent study questions is "why do you think  Chauncy is in the novel" and "what did you learn from him."

My thoughts: I would give this book less than one star if I could. I honestly don't know why this book was able to get published. It is just a non-book. It has a beginning perhaps. But no middle or end. It is literally like buying a bag of chips that is 80% air and 10% chips and 10% crumbs.


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

May Reflections

In May, I read eleven books. I hope to read more in June. We'll see what happens.

Books reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews


35. The Bad Beginning. (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) Lemony Snicket. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. 1999. 162 pages. [Source: Library] [j fantasy, mg fantasy, j fiction, mg fiction, 5 stars]

36. The Martian. Andy Weir. 2011. 369 pages. [Source: Library] [adult science fiction, 5 stars, space]

37. Project Hail Mary. Andy Weir. 2021. 476 pages. [Source: Library] [adult science fiction, 5 stars]

38. Wombat Waiting. Katherine Applegate. 2026. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, animal fantasy, j fiction, wildfires, dogs, pets, animals]

39. My Brother Sam is Dead. James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. 1974. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg history, mg fiction]

Books reviewed at Young Readers

32. Barbed Wire Between Us. Mia Wenjen. Illustrated by Violeta Encarnacion. 2026. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, poetry, reverso poetry]
33. Dinos that Drive. Suzy Levinson. Illustrated by Dustin Harbin. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, poetry]
34. Buzz Like a Bee (Board Book) Guilherme Karsten. 2026. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, board book, activity book, interactive books]
35. Board book: This Little Dinosaur. Ingela P. Arrhenius (illustrations). 2026. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, interactive book, dinosaurs]

Books reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

12. The Church Mouse. Graham Oakley. 1972. 40 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, picture book, animal fantasy]

Bibles reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

4. ESV Women's Study Bible. God. 2021. 2336 pages. [Source: GIFT] [Bible, study Bible, 5 stars]

2026 totals

Totals for 2026
Books Read in 2026	90
Pages Read in 2026	23376
January Totals
Books Read in January	21
Pages Read in January	5119
February Totals
Books read in February	24
Pages Read in February	4225
March Totals
Books read in March	18
Pages read in March	4099
April Totals
Books read in April	16
Pages read in April	6386
May	11
Pages read in May	4067

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Century of Viewing, May

In May, I watched 14 movies.

My two five-star movies were Modern Times and The Running Man (2014).

My four star and four and a half star movies are:

• Robocop (2014)
• Robocop 3
• The Last Starfighter
• Call the Midwife Season 15

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #22

This week I reviewed four books!

39. My Brother Sam is Dead. James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. 1974. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg history, mg fiction]
34. Buzz Like a Bee (Board Book) Guilherme Karsten. 2026. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, board book, activity book, interactive books]
35. Board book: This Little Dinosaur. Ingela P. Arrhenius (illustrations). 2026. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, interactive book, dinosaurs]

12. The Church Mouse. Graham Oakley. 1972. 40 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, picture book, animal fantasy]

Century of Viewing #22

I didn't finish a single show or movie this week. BUT I have been watching THREE television shows. Space Precinct (1994/1995), Wonderfools (2026), Timeless (2016-2018).



© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

39. My Brother Sam is Dead

39. My Brother Sam is Dead. James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. 1974. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg history, mg fiction]

First sentence: It was April, and outside in the dark the rain whipped against the windows of our tavern, making a sound like muffled drums.

Premise/plot: My Brother Sam is Dead is historical fiction for middle grade (and/or upper elementary grades). It is set during the American Revolution. The narrator, Timmy Meeker, spends the duration of the book confused by the complexities of war. He isn't really in favor or support of either side. He wants things to go back to normal. He hates that his brother Sam has been kicked out of the family for his "rebel" views and joining up with the Patriots. He knows his dad leans more towards being a Tory or Royalist. But also at the same time his dad has ALL THE OPINIONS that war is the worst thing on the planet.

My thoughts: This was my first time to read My Brother Sam is Dead. When I started it, I thought I would like it more than I did.

I picked up on the anti-war sentiment from the start. That didn't surprise me. I didn't expect war to be glamorized or idolized. I expected the view point to be war is UGLY, war is MESSY, war is TRAUMATIC, war is HORRIBLE. Many if not most books about war--any war--touch upon this ugliness, this trauma, this raw pain, this sorrow.

My Brother Sam Is Dead was written and published towards the end of the Vietnam War. Anti-war sentiment was high. America was also a few years away from celebrating the bicentennial. I don't know if either of these facts had any impact at all on the story these brothers were telling, were sharing. But it doesn't escape my attention that they might have wanted to remind readers that just because the war happened two hundred years ago, doesn't make it any less ugly, horrifying, terrifying, gross, disgusting, revolting, traumatizing. The "cause" they were fighting for did not negate the reality of war being what it fundamentally is. 

I guess what surprised me, and probably shouldn't have, is the way Tim loses his father and his brother. Not the fact that both died--or either died. BUT the how. It isn't so much that Sam Meeker dies in the novel. It is the how and why. The father's death was sad and unnecessary, but it was the brother's death that turns the novel about.

I do think that adult readers may read the book differently perhaps. I'm not sure. I do know that this is a book that I never would have picked up as a kid or teen.

As an adult, I was seeing things not so much through Tim's eyes but through the eyes of his parents.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews