We Could Be Brothers

With piercing insight and humor, Derrick Barnes delivers a fresh, thoughtful look at two very different teen boys thrown together in after-school detention.


Robeson Battlefield and Pacino Clapton meet in detention, where they discover they both had scuffles with the same person, Tariq. Although the boys have different mannerisms (Robeson is more respectful of the girl sharing detention with them) and lifestyles (Pacino lives in a sketchy part of town; Robeson lives in a huge well-to-do house), they become friends. As the tension with Tariq intensifies, Robeson is conflicted about what to do. His father insists on nonviolence. But Tariq will have none of that. And the final confrontation is fast approaching.

Derrick Barnes is the author of several acclaimed books, including the Ruby and the Booker Boys series: BRAND-NEW SCHOOL, BRAVE NEW RUBY; TRIVIA QUEEN, THIRD GRADE SUPREME; THE SLUMBER PARTY PAYBACK; and RUBY FLIPS FOR ATTENTION, published by Scholastic. Barnes’s YA novel THE MAKING OF DR. TRUELOVE was an ALA Quick Picks selection, and has been hailed by the New York Public Library as one of the 100 Best Books for the Teen Age. Derrick and his wife, Tinka, reside in Kansas City, MO, with their three sons.