War Brothers: The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay, Illustrated by Daniel Lafrance

This is the story of a young African teen whose boarding school is attacked by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Koni. The events that follow Jacob are tragic as the LRA implements their ruthless tactics in order to force Jacob and his fellow classmates into becoming part of the LRA. In order to survive his captors, Jacob and three other classmates swear to protect each other as family. War Brothers touches on a multitude of topics from child soldiers to the difficulties of re-entering society after such traumatic events. However, the book does not explore either topic in depth.  This is both good and bad as it can be used as a tool to introduce students to such topics but further resources would be needed to explore them more deeply. The graphics contain just enough text to get the story across, making it accessible to students at a lower middle school reading level. Like any good graphic novel, the story is well paced and told through a well balanced use of text bubbles and graphic panels. Students who enjoyed Dogs Of War should enjoy reading War Brothers.--Claudio Leon

McKay, Sharon E., and Daniel Lafrance, Illustrator. War Brothers: The Graphic Novel. New York: Annick Press, 2013. Print.