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    As Brave As You
    As Brave As You
    As Brave As You
    Audiobook7 hours

    As Brave As You

    Written by Jason Reynolds

    Narrated by Guy Lockard

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Kirkus Award Finalist

    Schneider Family Book Award Winner

    Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

    In this “pitch-perfect contemporary novel” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award-winning author Jason Reynolds explores multigenerational ideas about family love and bravery in the story of two brothers, their blind grandfather, and a dangerous rite of passage.

    Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

    How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.

    Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 3, 2016
    ISBN9781508225089
    Author

    Jason Reynolds

    Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

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    Reviews for As Brave As You

    4.5/5

    140 ratings13 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Excellent read I was sad when it ended I wanted more.
    • 5/5
      A study in family dynamics, family history, the courage of Jeany to ask question and his grand dad to answer them. It’s sprinkled with great humor and all about secrets, honesty, loyalty, respect and love. I came to care deeply for each family member.
    • 5/5
      i was super awesome it is one of my favorite books
    • 4/5
      I loved how realistic this book was and that it didn't shy away from how messy family relationships can really be.
    • 4/5
      An achingly lovely but funny middle-school book about family and growing up. 4.5 stars.
    • 4/5
      As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds features two young brothers, Ernie and Genie who go to their grandparent's house in Nebraska, away from their Brooklyn home in the summer.

      I listened to this on audiobook and it was perfect. Guy Lockard added so much humour and energy to the reading that it really enhanced the whole book for me. The banter between the brothers is perfect and Genie, a young boy who just can't stop writing down and asking questions, is the perfect balance of reflective and cheeky.

      As Brave as You deals with some seriously big issues of masculinity, being a man and even trauma. The thing that I like about middle grade is it is able to touch on really big issues without being made too serious or inaccessible. Kids are emotional and deserve to have their experiences and others' experiences reflected in books.

      What I liked about this book was it touched on so many thoughts about masculinity and being a man through topics like fatherhood and familial responsibility. Genie's grandfather, who's blind, owns a gun and regularly takes out every night to clean it. Genie, of course, has many questions. Why does he own a gun if he's blind? How does he know he's putting it back together correctly? What kind of gun was it? etc. etc. etc.

      This book wasn't perfect by any means -- the dovetail ending didn't feel all that great, and it felt a little rushed. Sometimes I had a few problems, but overall, I seriously enjoyed it.

      Authentic, funny and sometimes sweet, As Brave as You drips with black boy joy, as it well should.
    • 4/5
      Ernie and Genie are sent to stay with their grandparents for a month in Virginia- a long way from the city, and lifestyle of Brooklyn. Genie has a million questions, including why does Grandpa always wear glasses and why does he disappear into that secret room every day? Why doesn't he ever go outside? Why does he carry a gun?As Genie gets to know his grandparents, he discovers his grandpa has gone blind, and there are some things he does anyways, and a few things he's afraid to do now. Genie's brother Ernie is celebrating his 14th birthday while they visit- will he become a "man" while they are there by learning to shoot a gun? Genie wishes he were turning 14, but finds out there's more to bravery than meets the eye. This would make a great book discussion book for grades 4-6.
    • 4/5
      Genie and Ernie are sent to stay with the grandparents down South so their parents can take a much-needed vacation. Grandpa is blind, and spends most of his time in a room with birds. The two brothers enjoy their time, but on Ernie's 14th birthday, when grandpa pressures him to take part in a traditional celebration, things go wrong. Both boys learn a lot about their family, its secrets and what being brave actually is.
    • 4/5
      Gene asks a ton of questions and, while living with his grandparents with no Google, he has to find a different type of answers.
    • 3/5
      Two brothers, Genie and Ernie, set out to prove how brave they are, but as things go, everything backfires.
      Ernie and Genie are from a Brooklyn. Now thy are headed to the countryside in rural Virginia to spend the summer with their grandparents.

      Genie is shocked and surprised when he figures out that their grandfather is blind due to a later in life condition. Thunderstruck and--being a curious kid--Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

      How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he's ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house--as in NEVER. One day Grandpop reveals a secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into--a room so full of songbirds and plants that it's almost as if it's been pulled inside-out. Is this where grand pop goes to be outside?

      During their visit Ernie turns fourteen. Grand pop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. . Confused by Ernie's reluctance, Genie is left to wonder--is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won't do?
    • 4/5
      Narrated by Guy Lockard. Genie and his big brother Ernie are staying with their grandparents in small-town Virginia for a month during the summer. They don't see their grandparents often so it comes as a surprise that Grandpop is blind and Grandma wakes with the sun. Their time there includes quotidian activities such as tending Grandma's sweet pea patch, cleaning out Grandpop's inside/outside room, helping Grandma at market, and visiting Tess (Ernie likes her; Genie just wants to use her internet). There are tragic and comic events: Ernie gets a mouth injury while reluctantly learning how to shoot; Genie inadvertently kills one of Grandpop's birds and tries to make up for it; there is clear tension in the relationship between the boys' father and Grandpop. Despite the family's quirks and human failings, Lockard portrays each member with warmth and a level of tough love. His Grandpop is particularly entertaining, a gruff teddy bear with a stubborn streak and sly sense of humor.
    • 5/5
      It's only June, but I'll predict this to be the 2016 Newberry Award winner.Genie and Ernie, brothers from Brooklyn, go to spend the summer with their Grandparents in rural Virginia. They're in for a lot of changes. No cell phone reception, chores, and getting to know their grandparents who they only know from phone calls before. Ernie, the elder, is brave, confident, and cool. Genie is intellectual, perpetually anxious, and afraid. The biggest change is perhaps dealing with their grandfather, who is (to their surprise) totally blind, and perhaps a little crazy. But Genie quickly makes a close bond with his Grandfather, while Ernie is bonding with the pretty girl down the hill. The plot explores fear and bravery, guilt and forgiveness. Every little element of the book has meaning. Jason Reynolds crafts a beautiful story, perfectly paced, with likable and believable characters. Though written for young adults, I would think most adults who enjoy good fiction would love it as well. I certainly did.
    • 4/5
      Sweet, heart-felt and evocative. Jason Reynolds does it again!Recommended for 5th-9th grade readers.