He still carries a revolver despite the fact that he can’t see to shoot anymore. Brooke was a sharpshooter in the armed forces, a role that was integral to his identity before becoming blind. One of the rituals Brooke had created for his sons and neighborhood boys was teaching them how to shoot a gun once they turned 14. Brooke comes to confide in his grandson over time. One day, Genie accidentally poisons one of the birds by feeding it apple seeds, which adds to his sense of guilt as he tries to catch another identical bird to replace it. Brooke allows Genie into his sanctuary, a sunroom that Brooke has designed to mimic the outdoors, with birds called barn swallows in cages, false grass, houseplants, and a nature soundtrack playing. Genie develops a relationship with his grandfather in late-night talks and assisted walks as he helps Brooke leave the house. Guilt increasingly consumes Genie after he accidentally breaks the wheel off a model fire truck treasured by his grandmother because it belonged to Wood.

An old yellow house in the woods attracts both boys’ interest. Genie and Ernie settle into a routine at their grandparents’, helping with chores, getting to know a local girl named Tess-Ernie’s eventual mutual crush-meeting a cast of local characters, attending church with their grandmother, and exploring the woods near their grandparents’ house. Brooke doesn’t feel comfortable leaving the house because he becomes disoriented when he doesn’t know where things are and can’t respond to threats in his environment. He also discovers, on his first morning in Virginia, that his grandfather has become blind after developing glaucoma. Genie discovers that both his grandparents are still mourning the loss of their son. Genie’s dad blames Brooke for pressuring Genie’s Uncle Wood into joining the armed forces rather than becoming a firefighter-Wood was killed in the Desert Storm conflict of the early 1990s. Genie’s dad has been estranged from his own father Brooke, refusing to talk to him or take his kids to visit. For a month during the summer, while their own parents work out marital difficulties, they send the brothers to Virginia to visit their dad’s parents-whom the boys hardly know.

This guide uses the 2017 Atheneum edition of the novel.ġ1-year-old protagonist Genie and his brother, 13-year-old Ernie, live in Brooklyn.

As brave as you are