Plot Summary
In Uganda, many children are kidnapped and forced to join the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Based on actual events, War Brothers: The Graphic Novel follows a group of friends who are kidnapped by the LRA. Their only hope of survival is for them to remain true to their promise to stick together like brothers, no matter what happens.
Critical Analysis
Many cultural markers are given to the reader prior to the beginning of the story. A map of East Africa is shown, as well as, another map of Uganda. The story takes place in Uganda, near the city of Gulu. What appears to be a handwritten letter, dated 2002, gives the story's background to the reader. The letter is written by the main character, Jacob, who is from the Acholi tribe in Gulu. He gives the background of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and its leader, Kony, so the reader will be able to follow the storyline. According to the LRA, the soldiers are on a mission to fight against the government and create a country of Christians. Jacob knows that the LRA are not Christians because they do not care about the children they kidnap. He knows because he was one of them.
Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on interviews that the author conducted in Gulu, Uganda. In a postscript, McKay mentions that "everything in this book has happened, and is happening still." The back cover authenticates the story by telling the reader that McKay "spent time with child soldiers and based this story on real-life accounts." The LRA is an organization that is still in operation today. According to a CNN report, dated October 18, 2011, President Obama sent military troops to Africa to help search for the LRA leader, Joseph Kony. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/world/africa/africa-obama-troops/index.html?_s=PM:AFRICA)
The illustrations by Lafrance picture life in the city and jungles, complete with wildlife, surrounding Gulu, Uganda. The dress is what one would expect for those living in modern-day Africa. The illustrations are quite colorful at the beginning and at the end of the book. When the children are kidnapped by the LRA, the colors become muted as if even the color has drained from the pictures just as hope is seeping from the lives of these young people.
McKay does not spare the readers from the atrocities of the LRA. Not only do they kill innocent people but they also force their new recruits to do the same. If a child does not kill someone every day, he will not eat that day. Tony, who had plans to be a priest, was told to kill his classmate or the LRA would cut off Tony's arm. Tony beat his friend to death with a stick. Hannah tried to escape her captors, and when she was caught, the LRA cut off both of her ears. To realize that events just like this are still happening today is a very sobering and heart-wrenching thought.
Although the story takes place in Africa, the young people have the same ambitions and goals as those in other parts of the world. In Jacob's opening letter, he ends it by saying this is also a story of hope, courage, friendship, and family. He emphasizes family because family is important in Uganda. That is the universal truth of this story. Although young people today face tragedies, they can still have hope and courage that things will get better and that they will prevail. Regardless of who or what comes against them, they can rely on their friends and especially their family to support them.
In each of us there is a possibility to be a beast,
but also the possibility to reach the stars.
~Eleanor Roosevelt
Awards and Honors
YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2014
Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens, starred selection,
2013
Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novel List, 2014
USBBY Outstanding International Book, 2014
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, 2014
Independent Publisher Book Award, Gold, 2014
Cybils Award finalist
ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award finalist
Eisner Award, Best Graphic Novel nomination, 2014
Review Excerpts
"A truly important work that is well worth the read." — School Library Journal, March 2013
"... one of the most powerful graphic novels of 2013." — Ich Liebe Comics!, November 10, 2013
"...tells in vivid and harrowing detail the story of children abducted to become soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda." — Horn Book Magazine, July/August 2013
"War Brothers is a riveting and compelling account of a young boy from northern Uganda who is abducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army. Sharon McKay and Daniel Lafrance have created a powerful graphic novel that provides a true no-holds-barred account of life as a child soldier. Readers are swept into the world of these child soldiers through intense action and dialogue where they experience their pain and losses, but also their triumphs and their courage. War Brothers presents this gripping tale in an engaging and attractive way for younger readers and fuels the elimination of the weapons system of recruiting children into war." — Melanie Tomsons, Executive Director and CCO of Never Again International: Canada, a not-for-profit organization that works with youth on genocide prevention, the elimination of the proliferation of child soldiers and building human rights through education.
Other Books by Sharon E. McKay
Thunder Over Kandahar
Enemy Territory
Charlie Wilcox
Visit her website for more information: http://www.sharonmckay.ca/
Book Connections
Out of War: True Stories from the Front Lines of the Children's Movement for
Peace in Columbia by Sara Cameron
Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees by Deborah Ellis
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Connection Activities
- After reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, have the students discuss their thoughts and feelings using the reading guide created by BookBrowse (https://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm?book_number=1931).
- As a class, read I Dreamt...: A Book about Hope by Gabriela Olmos and translated by Elisa Amado. Discuss the problems facing children today and what can be done to make the world a better place.
Just reading your review makes my heart race even faster as I think what these children have gone through, and are still going through.
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