Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells

Advantages: A gripping read, makes you think...
Disadvantages: May be upsetting

...bomb hitting an English city. Brother in the Land is almost the book equivalent. Danny Lodge is an ordinary lad. He lives in Skipley with his parents and younger brother, Ben. They own a shop. They are a normal family. They lead a normal life. Or at least, they do until important people far away decide to launch nuclear missiles at each other. Suddenly their lives are completely changed. They are living in a world that not only looks different, ...
...is because the characters in Brother in the Land were less well developed or whether I have become desensitised to this kind of thing, thanks to a diet of live news reports from war-torn countries. I hope it’s the former. The novel is short at only 150 pages and is easy to read, although not an easy read – if you see what I mean. I finished the whole book in a day, which was also helped by the chapters being very short and the desire ... Read review

Advantages: A thought provoking story. Good narrative and characterisation.
Disadvantages: Harrowing and often bleak.

I first read Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells a good number of years ago. I borrowed a copy from the library and was instantly impressed the writing and unsettling subject matter. When I was asked to read the new edition, to review for the library I now work at I agreed, and prepared to reacquaint myself with a classic book of my teenage years. ~~~THE AUTHOR. Robert Swindells has been a full-time author since 1980, but did write before that ...
...THE LAND. BACKGROUND~~~ Brother in the Land was first published in 1984. It has won the Children's Book Award, The Other Award, and was highly commended for The Carnegie Medal. THE STORY~~~ Brother in the Land centres around the character of a teenage boy (Danny) who somehow manages to survive a nuclear attack. Danny, along with his younger brother Ben, must learn and fight to survive in a society that has been torn apart. After originally thinking ... Read review

Advantages: gripping, keeps you interested
Disadvantages: a bit depressing at times, not for younger children

Brother in the Land, by Robert Swindles, is one of a great many books set in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. It is very touching but, given its subject matter, is understandably very sad. There are moments of hope, but the theme of the book is a depressing one. It's a children's book, but better for older children I feel. Not overly long, it shouldn't take too long to read. It deals in a very realistic way about issues such as sharing out of ...
...his dad and his little brother Ben. Because of the shop, they have food for now and shyare it out with some of their friends. But others are struggling to find things to eat, and it won't be long before they have to fight to keep what's theirs. Everyone in the town is waiting for the authorities to arrive, but when they do come, they don't bring help. They have food, so why should they share it? The authorities set up a farm and get the civilians ... Read review

Advantages: Very Gripping Story
Disadvantages: Technical errors

...15-17 years old, his little brother about 7 and a girl called Kim. At the beginning of the book it describes how peaceful the world is, until a war brakes out between the East of the World and the West. Nuclear bombs are dropped on countries including England. Danny Lodge and Co all get involved as Nuclear Bomb is dropped 5 miles away on a town called Branford and they live in a town called Skiply. This shows one of the problems as there are a lot ...
...He looks after his brother a lot and tries to help when he gets ill. He develops a relationship with a girl called Kim and a boyfriend girlfriend relationship develops. He is very assertive in the way he acts. He tries to help even if he knows he has not got a chance of winning, he just does it to help people. He helps Kim out of trouble. He is not aggressive though, as he had to stop Kim from killing her attackers. The book itself is well written. ... Read review

Advantages: good characteristic
Disadvantages: too short

Brother in the Land centers on the character of a teenage boy (Danny) who somehow manages to survive a nuclear attack. Danny, along with his younger brother Ben, must learn and fight to survive in a society that has became cave man rule. After originally thinking that they have been lucky to be alive, they soon begin to realize that living is going to be the hardest job of all. Danny has to grow up fast and to protect himself and those around him, ...
...should be optimistic. In the Brother in the Land, there also have optimistic part in it like the love between Danny and Kim, Danny helped Kim by fighting with two boys who want to stole Kim’s food, and Danny have optimistic he became loved Kim. And also people in Masada (Movement to Arm Skipley against Dictatorial Authority) worked together, look after each other and survive together. These things all showed these people are optimistic. they didn’t ... Read review

Advantages: A good read, a page-turner, easy to relate to the characters
Disadvantages: Only because I'm old and fussy!

...After having read Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells, I thought I would try some of his other books, so I borrowed Abomination from the library. This is a 206-page novel for ‘older readers’ that was published in 1998 and shortlisted for the Whitbread Award. The two main characters are two children aged twelve who attend the same school – Martha and Scott. Both are outsiders in some way. Scott is a new boy, just finding his way around a different school. Martha isn’t new, but she is still an outsider. She dresses in hand-made clothes and is known to be ‘weird’. Scott and Martha both face being bullied at school and find strength in each other, becoming friends. Scott is Martha’s only friend. She is a member of a religious order called the Righteous, which severely restricts her social life... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Spooky story set in a good location.
Disadvantages: Slightly predictable storyline.

...After re-reading and really enjoying Robert Swindell’s Post Nuclear story Brother in the Land I was inspired to read one of his other books (a boy returned it in the library and I snaffled it for myself) ~ Room 13. Room 13 is a very different story to Brother in the Land and I vaguely remembered reading it years ago. I once read that the reason that children, young adults and teenagers like Swindell’s books is because they are not too long, keep your interest and are pretty easy to read (by this I mean the use of language and not the subject matter ~ I wouldn’t call the images used in Brother in the Land particularly “easy”). Room 13 seems to fit this Swindells pattern; it isn’t long, it is written for a young audience (Swindells was even aided by a group of young children to come up with some of the plot twists) and uses young people... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Easy to read, a page-turner in places.
Disadvantages: Cliched, predictable.

...After recently reading two novels by Robert Swindells – Brother in the Land and Abomination – I felt I had become quite a fan, even if he is a children’s’ writer and I’m 33! So I bought another of his and borrowed two more from the library. This is my review of Room 13, a novel published in 1989 and the winner of the 1990 Children’s Book Award. Room 13 is a horror or thriller type of book for children aged around ten to fourteen, I would say. At just over 150 pages long, it is easy to read and after a slightly hesitant start, I finished the last hundred pages or so in one sitting. The chapters are fairly short throughout, which means they don’t look too daunting for kids. Each one begins with a black and white illustration of a gate, each time featuring a different picture inside, which... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful