Balzar and Bray | 978 -0063047297
Today is Isaiah “Ice” Abernathy’s birthday and he’s a bit salty.
In his own words he says, “In parts of Texas, it’s illegal to sell Limburger cheese on Sunday or shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel,” but “no one saw fit to make it a crime for a kid to do chores on his birthday.”
Salty or not, by the end of the first page, readers are rooting for Isaiah, a likable, hard-working kid who loves animals and hopes to be a vet one day. Isaiah rolls the wheelbarrow across the farm, checking in with his “four feathered divas,” Aretha, Mariah, Rihanna, and Whitney as they cluck to the music on Isaiah’s playlist and strut out of their coop.
Isaiah stops to chat with the horses, Dolly and Buster, and then Seth, his brother, shows up, ready to pounce. It’s Isaiah’s birthday, after all, which can only mean one thing – a good old-fashioned birthday tickle war.
Life is good. Theirs is a happy family. The two boys are not just brothers, they’re best friends. Soon, Seth will be going off to college, which means that the boys have a lot of memories to create before the big day arrives.
And then… their world falls apart. A serious accident lands Seth in the hospital and life becomes a situation no family ever imagined they’d be called upon to live through.
Will this tight knit family be able to handle the pressures of their new normal? How will they pull through? And will the bond between brothers be enough to bring the family a measure of hope?
Inspired by real life events, Crystal Allen has written a deeply moving book of hope in the face of impossible circumstances. From the moment I started reading BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS, until the time I finished and for days afterwards, I’ve held these brothers and their family in my heart and mind.
In an author’s note, Crystal writes that “It took eight years to finish this story… The plot, characters, dialogue, and most of the names… are fictitious. However, the heartaches, the anger, the hopes, and triumphs… are real.”
Told with Crystal’s signature humor and grace, BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS is a story of a family ultimately able to face the unimaginable by leaning on their faith, the love and care of their friends and community, and their trust and belief in one another.
It’s a book I will remember for a long time to come.
Highly recommended!
