THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DEAD BROTHER

The future of Rise and Jesse, young men living in Harlem, is a foregone conclusion: one will make it out, and one will die in the streets. This prediction isn't just in the title; it is in the voice of JD Jackson when he portrays the rashness of Rise and the sensitivity of shy, artistic Jesse. Jackson's rich baritone, which appears when he portrays the pastor, is more pleasant than the higher-pitched voices he gives the teenaged leads. The print version is accompanied by Jesse's cartoons, which are sometimes awkwardly described in the audiobook. However, these comic interludes offer respite to the despairing realism in this depiction of life for a young African-American male in Myers's urban setting. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]