Autobiography of My Dead Brother Themes

Autobiography of My Dead Brother is filled with male characters who are uneasy about their masculinity. Jesse's dad bottles up his emotions, which leads to some pretty serious arguments with his fa...

The novel's title drops a pretty big hint that it's going to involve at least one death, and it doesn't disappoint. From beginning to end, Autobiography of My Dead Brother is a bloodbath. Bobby Gre...

In Autobiography of My Dead Brother, Jesse is an artist whose drawings help give his life meaning. C.J.'s the same way, but with music; it's all he wants to do for the rest of his life. These dream...

Many, if not most, people are afraid to die. But since Jesse lives in a neighborhood where his peers die violently every day, his fear of death is one of the most real things in his life. Watching...

Autobiography of My Dead Brother begins and ends with the funerals of teenage boys who are murdered in gang-related incidents. Several drive-bys are sandwiched in between those funerals, and Jesse...

Jesse always thought he and Rise would be together forever. After all, they've been best friends almost since birth and Jesse never had a reason to think that would ever change… until recently. R...

Jesse spends a lot of Autobiography of My Dead Brother wondering what the heck is up with Rise. He's seen a lot of changes in his friend, but he can't figure out what's causing them. Though Rise pr...

Criminal activity is a huge part of daily life in Jesse's neighborhood. Over the course of Autobiography of My Dead Brother, we read about drug deals, theft, and even murder committed by a cast of...