Somewhere in the Darkness (Newbery Honor Book) (original 1992; edition 1992)

by Walter Dean Myers

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A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be an, often painful, time of discovery for them both.

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Member:	CharlotteMarie
Title:	Somewhere in the Darkness (Newbery Honor Book)
Authors:	Walter Dean Myers
Info:	Scholastic (1992), Hardcover, 168 pages
Collections:	Your library
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Somewhere In The Darkness by Walter Dean Myers (1992)

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14yo Jimmy lives a fairly happy life in Harlem with Mama Jean, a family friend. His mother is dead and his father has been in and out of prison. When Crab - his father - shows up out of the blue one day to take Jimmy on a cross-country trip, Jimmy struggles with missing his home and Mama Jean, and trying to reconcile the man in the car with his ideas about what his father would and should be like. Crab has - and still does - make questionable life choices, but can Jimmy be strong enough to give him what he seeks - forgiveness?
This one feels a little dark for a Newbery Honor Book, but it's a good one, nonetheless. Myers does a nice job of making all the characters feel real - Jimmy reads just right for a 14yo, and I love that he's a PoC teen who faces hardships but isn't all-angst-all-the-time. Myers is also good at creating an atmosphere of unease and feeding it without letting it get overbearing. (

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electrascaife | Jun 20, 2021 |

Crab and his 14 year old boy take a trip across America. Crab's been in jail, his boy, Jimmy, doesn't know him, he's been in New York, living with Mama Jean. A little late for bonding, and as the story progresses, we learn a little about Crab's life and Jimmy's struggle to take this all in.

Crab's sick, real sick, and he gets money any way he can. Jimmy helps, Jimmy's confused, It's real, all the way from Chicago to the conjure man in Arkansas. (

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Chica3000 | Dec 11, 2020 |

Left me feeling like it wasn't complete. (

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aldimartino | Nov 24, 2020 |

Left me feeling like it wasn't complete. (

)

Andy_DiMartino | Nov 24, 2020 |

00008763

lcslibrarian | Aug 13, 2020 |

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Has as a teacher's guide

Somewhere in the Darkness - Teacher Guide by Novel Units, Inc. by Novel Units

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Honor – Fiction – 1992)

Coretta Scott King Award (Honor – Author – 1993)

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1993)

Newbery Medal (Honor Book – 1993)

Thumbs Up! Award (Winner – 1993)

Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee – Middle Grade – 1995)

Notable Lists

Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection – 1993)

CCBC Choices (1992)

NCTE Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8 (1st Edition – 1990-1992)

Notable Children's Book (1993)

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Canonical title

Original title

Somewhere In The Darkness

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Epigraph

Dedication

For Paris Griffin,

a friend

First words

Jimmy Little sat on the the edge of the bed, eyes closed, listening to the rain that beat against the window. In the street below cars hissed by. Somewhere a radio blared. It had been on for most of the night.

Quotations

"Jimmy! Come here, quick!" Cookie was in the doorway.
"What?"
"There was a guy here looking for you," Cookie said. "A tall guy. Said he knew you. I haven't seen him around here before."

...He opened the mailbox. There were three pieces of mail: a postcard from Herbert Jewelers, a bill from the electric company, and an advertisement from Macy's. There was nothing from the school.
"How you doing!"
The voice startled Jimmy. He turned to see a tall, thin man leaning against the wall.
"Doing okay," Jimmy said, trying to lower his voice so he would seem older.
"Your name is Little, isn't it?" the man asked.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "Who you?"
"I'm your father," the man replied.

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▾Book descriptions

A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be an, often painful, time of discovery for them both.

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Book description

A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be an, often painful, time of discovery for them both.

Available online at The Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/somewherei...

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