Hi Alyssa, I have been really enjoying I am the Messenger so far. It is a great book for many reasons, but this week I feel like changing it up. Instead of blogging about the book I am reading, I decided i’m going to do a comparison between my two favorite books in this project so far. The books I will be comparing are My  Brother Sam is Dead and Butter. 

My favorite out of those two are My Brother Sam is Dead. This was the first book I read and I was really able to connect with it. The author based the book in the Revolutionary war, but wrote it in a way that the readers had had experiences that of Tim. For example when Tim looses his dad in the storm, it reminds me of loosing my dad in a grocery store when I was younger. I know that’s a pretty lame connection but the point is that the author was able to make connections like that which made it my favorite book out of the three.

The book Butter  was a good book but there were a few things that made me not enjoy it as much as My Brother Sam is Dead. The part of the this book that I did enjoy was how the author made you wonder. What I mean by that is how Butter throughout the book keeps putting himself into a corner and has to make tough decisions to get out. That aspect of the book always made me think, “what route will he take?” Or, “what will happen if he does this?” What made me not enjoy this book at times is how real it can be. When he talks about eating himself to death and his “Last Meal.” It makes me cringe and wan’t to put the book down.

This was my thoughts between the two books and I really enjoyed doing this instead of the usual blog post. I hope to hear where you are at in these books and your thoughts them soon.

Austin M.

Dear Alyssa,

When I first started reading I chose the Maze Runner first but after I left it at my grandparents house I decided to start reading My Brother Sam is Dead. I am on page 132 and so far the book has really surprised me. Before this all started that wasn’t one of my top three choices and I didn’t think I would enjoy it as nearly as much as the others. After reading it for a few nights it has proved me wrong.

What really stands out to me is how the writer connects a kids daily life and a revolutionary war so well. The connection is made because the kids father is a Tory; which means he believes in the English government, and the kids brother went off to fight for the colonists.  After reading chapter nine I had to take a little break because of how emotional it was and what it would feel like if this same situation ever happened to me. These are also the things that make me want to keep reading because there is never a dull moment.

On of my favorite characters so far is probably Sam because its how I would want to be if I lived in that time. What interests me the most about Sam is that he stays loyal and brave on what is right, even though about everyone in his town thinks differently and is unsupportive of what he is doing. Also, while reading about him though it’s hard to imagine being away from the people you care about for so long. The soldiers going off to war and not being able to come home makes me think it must feel like being locked in a room and not being able to get out.

I have really been enjoying this book so far and cant wait to hear your thoughts on the book you are reading!

Austin