The Things a Brother Knows

I just finished Dana Reinhardt's The Things a Brother Knows, and it's one of those books that I'm just so happy it's in the world. Wow, that's an incredibly awkward sentence, but it's the truth. I have so many students with parents/siblings/cousins overseas, and The Things a Brother Knows is about the little brother of a soldier who comes home fucked up after three years in... probably Iraq, but unnamed. It was awesome--so much about the people, so little about "right" and "wrong." Highly recommended.

And did I mention, it's beautifully written? Reinhardt gets it so right. This is a novel about a boy and his brother the fucked-up soldier, but like all fabulous books, it's about a lot more:

"One of the things about walking I always appreciated is the way you don't have to look someone in the eye."

"I hold her against me. Her skin on my skin. Her chest pressed against mine. It's the single most amazing feeling in all of human history. Nothing has ever felt better, and I don't care if anything else happens, or if this is all there is, because I can't imagine anything feeling better than this feels right now."

"There are parts of the adults around you you're never meant to see."