My name is Calvin Sinclair, I'm eleven years old and I have a confession… ...I killed my brother.
It's the summer before grade six and Calvin Sinclair is bored to tears. He’s recently moved from a big city to a small town and there's nothing to do. It’s hot, he has no friends and the only kid around is his six-year-old brother, Sammy, who can barely throw a basketball as high as the hoop. Cal occupies his time by getting his brother to do almost anything: from collecting ants to doing Calvin’s chores. And Sammy is all too eager - as long as it means getting a "Level" and moving one step closer to his brother's Eagle status.
When Calvin meets Aleta Alvarado, a new girl who shares his love for Goosebumps books and adventure, Sammy is pushed aside. Cal feels guilty but not enough to change. At least not until a diagnosis makes things at home start falling apart and he's left wondering whether Sammy will ever complete his own journey...
From Ant To Eagle.
Praise:
"An honest portrayal of love, loss, and friendship in the face of a life-changing journey." — School Library Journal
"Lyttle’s debut is an uncommonly honest examination of mortality and the ways in which growing up complicates sibling relationships. ... Lyttle delicately tackles the subjects of grief and death, trusting middle-grade readers with a sophisticated story that includes notes of humor. A moving and ultimately hopeful book." — Booklist
"Lyttle's voice for Cal is appealingly direct and articulate ... and his account of his struggle to cope will appeal to readers. Tender, direct, and honest." — Kirkus Reviews
Purchase at Amazon HERE
Purchase at Amazon HERE
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Excerpt:
My name is Calvin Sinclair, I’m eleven years old, and this is a story about my brother.
I wanted to start at the beginning—the day Sammy was born—but I can’t remember the day he was born and anyway, I can’t start there.
There’s only one place I can.
Last summer.
Before the Ontario heat began to smolder, before the corn was much higher than my shoulders, before I’d ever met a girl named Aleta Alvarado.
Before everything fell apart.
Let me get two things straight before I begin:
First—I loved my brother. I loved him more than I knew and more than I knew how to show. Sure, I picked on him, manipulated him, excluded him, neglected him, but deep down, I loved him. It’s hard to explain so I’ll just leave it at that.
Second—and this is the hardest part to write, but it needs to be said.
I’m the one who killed Sammy.
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Alex Lyttle is a pediatrician living in Calgary, Alberta with his wife and three children. He was raised in London, Ontario – the setting of his first novel, From Ant to Eagle, which he wrote based on his experiences working in the Pediatric Oncology unit. When he is not working, writing or playing basketball, he enjoys learning new magic tricks to perform for his young patients.
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The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.
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