Brothers

It is impossible when reading Dana Reinhardt's "The Things a Brother Knows," not to notice that several themes emerge involving brothers. The story unfolds when seventeen-year-old Levi is contemplating the return of his older brother from his stint in the US Marines. He reflects back to how close he and his brother had been growing up. With a little bitterness, he remembers things changed when Boaz got a driver's license and a girlfriend. Even though Levi wants to be just like his brother, he fears he never will measure up because Boaz has it all.

As the story unfolds, however, it is Boaz who must rely on his younger brother to readjust to civilian life. Perhaps because the brothers are so close, Levi knows instinctively that his brother is in trouble and needs help. He barely talks to anyone in the family and rarely comes out of his...