In 1978 Connecticut, 13-year-old Nicholas Parisi is an accomplished pianist and basketball player living in an upper-class neighborhood of Fairfield County with his socialite parents who consistently show him off as one of their trophies. Despite being immensely popular in school and among his circle of close friends, Nicholas secretly loathes the lifestyle he is forced to be a part of, and is haunted by the sudden death of his older brother, Gabriel, who died in a car crash six years earlier. As his contempt for his home life begins to boil over, Nicholas takes out his frustrations on another student, the much dorkier and less popular Elijah Barber who has been a target for being a poor Jewish boy in a wealthy neighborhood.

Following his altercation with Elijah, Nicholas is suspended from school and his life seems to be turning upside-down as the family and friends who all once admired him seem to be turning their backs on him. To make matters worse, Nicholas' parents announce to him that they are taking in a foster son who has recently been orphaned, and the boy whom they are inviting into their home happens to be Elijah Barber himself. Despite showing nothing more than hostility toward Elijah, Nicholas is perplexed at Elijah's seeming inability to be cruel.

As time goes on, the two boys begin to make friends with each other, and as their relationship grows, they become strangely inseparable to the point where they need each other to survive. But there is something off about Elijah Barber that Nicholas can't quite put his finger on. Why are strange things occurring in town ever since he came around? Why is it that disturbing things are happening to those who once wronged Nicholas? And why is Elijah so deeply upset about it all? From Julian Katz, author of Don't Call Me Ishmael, Dear Brother is a coming-of-age romance with a suspenseful and at times horrific look at the consequences of simply being who you were at birth.