In Canadian Kenneth Oppel’s novel Half Brother, thirteen-year-old Ben Tomlin is not impressed when his father, a behavioral scientist, moves Ben and his family across the country and brings home a new baby “brother”: Zan, a newborn Chimpanzee. Ben’s father is attempting to find out if Zan can learn human sign-language by treating the baby chimpanzee as part of the family. Zan is raised like humans, until even Ben begins to develop love and affection for the chimpanzee. As Ben becomes a student researcher helping on his father’s project, he begins to think of Zan as actually part of the family and more than just an experiment. The cancellation of funding to Ben’s father’s experiment, however, devastates Ben as he faces the prospect of losing his new half brother to a laboratory. Ultimately, Ben is faced with a difficult and morally ambiguous choice of doing what his father says, or doing what he feels is right.

     Half Brother focuses on the difficult choices that teens can face: to do what they have been told, or to do what they feel is right. Oppel presents this choice in a coming-of-age story, and much like many of YA literature’s most famous heroes (e.g. Harry Potter), teens are able to experience this coming-of-age and how to face difficult decisions right alongside Ben. This is a must read for teens bordering that difficult line between dependence and independence, as it shows that life is full of difficult decisions, but like Ben, they have the ability and strength to face these decisions head on.



Oppel, K. (2010). Half Brother. Toronto, Ont: Harper Collins.

 

Reviews

 

Check out Patrick Ness's Review of Half Brother ​ here!

And check out a review of Half Brother in the Globe and Mail here!

 

Extras​



Click here for a great Discussion Guide for Half Brother, designed by Kenneth Oppel himself.



Also, take a look at the book trailer for Half Brother, also by Oppel himself!



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