As Brave As You

As Brave As You
By Jason Reynolds
Reviewed by Anaiya



A boy named Genie and his brother, Ernie, are going to go visit their grandparents for a month in West Virginia. Their parents were taking a trip to Jamaica. Genie thought maybe it was because his mom and dad were having problems. Ernie already knew what to expect but Genie didn’t. He was still a baby when he first met them.

 When they got there, Genie was wondering why his Grandpop was wearing sunglasses inside the house.Grandpa told him that he was blind. Ernie of course, already knew that.Grandma was perfectly ok,she wasn’t ill or anything . But Genie realized that his dad and Grandpa were having issues.Dad had barely talked to Grandpa. His mom said hello and went upstairs and started unpacking the boys clothes.

The next morning his mom and dad were going back to Brooklyn (which is where they live) to get to pack up for Jamacia.Everyone said their goodbyes and they left. Genie then wanted to get to know Grandpa so he started asking questions. The others questions, he wrote down because he wanted to look them up online. Time flew by fast because it was time to go to bed.

 The next day, Grandma woke them up bright and early. Breakfast was already ready because she wakes up with the sun. After they ate, they went outside to help Grandma pick some peas.Around lunch, they went back outside to play with the dog, Samantha. They saw a girl down the hill and went to go talk to her. Her name was Tess and she knew their grandparents. Tess became friends with Genie and Ernie. Genie knew that Ernie liked Tess and Tess liked him.

A few days later, it was Ernie’s birthday.Grandpa said that Ernie was going to become a man (which meant Ernie was about to learn how to shoot). Ernie didn’t want to learn how to shoot. He didn’t think needed to learn how to shoot. He thought he was letting Grandpa down so he decided to lean anyway. Genie was excited for Ernie but Ernie wasn’t excited at all. Grandpa told Ernie the rules and showed him how to shoot it. When Ernie pulled the trigger and the kickback hit him in the mouth. It knocked two of his teeth out and chipped the third one.

Grandma had rushed him right to the hospital. They put the two teeth right in, but the third one had to be fixed by a dentist. Will Ernie and Genie’s parents be happy about this when they come back from their trip? Who do you think will fix Ernie’s fixed tooth? Will Ernie forgive Grandpa for asking him to shoot a gun? You have to read the story.