BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER

Narrator Barry Buckner channels the forthright voice of a young fencer in this realistic middle-grade audiobook. Multiracial brothers Donte and Trey Ellison attend a tony, overwhelmingly white, prep school, where dark-skinned Donte faces endless racist bullying and light-skinned Trey coasts with the popular crowd. After being unjustly arrested for a classroom offense committed by the fencing team's captain, Alan, Donte pours his outrage into becoming a fencing champion himself and beating Alan at his own game. Buckner delivers Donte's first-person narration with nuanced, rhythmic assurance, occasionally quickening his pace to indicate Donte's emotions or to heighten the tension during the back-and-forth beats of a fencing match. Similar to Jason Reynolds's Track series, this audiobook blends strong characterizations, timely content, and sports action. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2020]