Sons From Afar by Cynthia Voigt James and Sammy Tillerman, ages 15 and 12, are brothers who live with their grandmother and sister. James is troubled by his own nerdiness, and feels the need to prove himself by being on his school baseball team, even though he hates baseball. Sammy is a lively, popular guy, who is somewhat of a slacker in school. James is bothered by Sammy's lack of realistic future plans, and Sammy sees his brother as a somewhat alien dreamer.
When they go out in search of their father, who left them when Sammy was only two, they learn a lot about themselves. James takes control in searching for his father, and gains some measure of confidence. And as Sammy proves to have many good ideas, James learns to respect his brothers strenghths.
This book was published in 1987 and is set in the early 70s, so the scene seems somewhat strange.
Happy reading.
