As Brave as You

Eleven-year-old Genie is a worrier who keeps a notebook full of questions about everything. When his parents need time to work on their marriage, he and his older brother, Ernie, leave Brooklyn to spend a month with their grandparents in the small town of North Hill, Virginia. Country life feels strange and slow to Genie after the city, but the biggest surprise is learning that Grandpop is blind. As Genie spends long afternoons talking with his grandfather, he starts to uncover old family stories. Then Grandpop announces that Ernie will learn to shoot a gun for his fourteenth birthday, and both boys must decide what bravery really means. This warm, funny family novel suits readers about 10 and up.