Charlie’s brother DeAndre has died, but as he begins high school, he still has him to guide him. DeAndre still visits his brother and Charlie is the only one who can see him. They don’t know how he is able to come back and visit, and DeAndre is confused about the rules or the fact he really is only “awake” when he is visiting his brother, but he’s a comfort to Charlie regardless.
Charlie meets Samantha, and for a first relationship, things seem to go good for them. I think she is good for him and helps bring him out of his shell. Their relationship is strong and they are waiting until the right time to have sex. When they finally do, it goes completely different than I would have thought. They were irresponsible about it and didn’t use condoms. They also have an uninformed discussion about hymens, and I think this combination is what has me rating this book a 4-star instead of a 5-star.
I understood that it was a good thing that a time would come when DeAndre couldn’t visit anymore because in a way it wasn’t healthy for Charlie to spend so much time with his ghost of a brother. But I loved their relationship as it isn’t often that siblings get along so well. The schooling down there is completely different than what we have up here, and I even messaged the author to confirm as I wouldn’t want to be in 90-minute classes in high school! This was a fun read though, it was well-written with great characters, and I think aside from the small issues I had with it, it’s a great YA read.
For now, you can read my review on Goodreads. Little Big Brother is available for preorder on Amazon for $3.99 and will release May 13th.