Somewhere in the Darkness

by Walter Dean Myers

Book Overview

An exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJA in hardcover.Jimmy hasn't seen his father in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439523567
• ISBN13: 9780439523561
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Somewhere in the Darkness

Jimmy's dad came in so suddenly he barely had time to think. Somewhere in the Darkness is an awesome book its action packed. As Jimmy and Crab race to find and get the truth. It blew me away. The author is Walter Dean Myers he has written many other books including Monster and Scorpions both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Scorpions won the Newbery honor award and Monster won the national book awards. Some Where in the Darkness has won the ALA book list, the ALA book for young adults, the ALA notable book for children, the Coretta Scott King Award, and Newbery honor. It's a fantastic fiction book published in 1992. Jimmy and his mom are doing great. Suddenly Jimmy's life is turned upside down when a mysterious man shows up and says that he is his father. He knows a lot of thing like his father's name, "Crab." Then he says that he and Jimmy have to go to Chicago because he has to get a job, which is why he is out of jail. Leaving his mom behind he goes with Crab to Chicago but along the way he learns that he isn't going to just Chicago and he isn't going there to get his dad a job. Then out of no where Crab wants Jimmy to know the truth that he didn't shoot anybody and Jimmy believes him. Now they re on a race to search for the truth seeing old friends and learning new things. They need to get to Arkansas but on the way crabs back goes out. Then Rydell (the guy who really shot the guards) won't tell the truth. Jimmy and Crab keep running into problems and are running out of time but don't quit they keep at it. My favorite character is Crab he has such a reputation, he broke out of jail just find his son and tell him he did not kill anybody. He really needed him to know him because Jimmy never really new his father all he had was a picture. His background about him is great he is wanted by the police and he and his son are trying to tell them that he's innocent. The author really put some description in the book with the setting. One example was when they went to Chicago I felt like I could see the buildings. Then the author described how the land changed from highway to farm land. I could vividly see the setting many times in this book. This book could not get any better. It had action and adventure two things I love in a great book. It could use a different ending so he could make a sequel to it. I've got to read another book of his. I can strongly recommend this book for action and adventure seekers. This an all out great book to read you can't put down.

Somewhere In The Darkness

Somewhere In The DarknessWalter Dean Myers This book is about a boy named Jimmy Little. His mom died and his father was in jail so he lived with his mom?s friend. Jimmy called her Mama Jean. One day Jimmy?s father comes to their house looking for Jimmy. Jimmy?s father?s name was Crab. Crab was telling Jimmy and Mama Jean how he got out of jail and got a job in Chicago. He also said that he wanted to take Jimmy with him. Mama Jean and Jimmy were very upset about this, Jimmy didn?t want to go and Mama Jean didn?t want him to go either. Mama Jean decided it was best for Jimmy if he went with Crab so he could spend time with him. They went on a long car ride from New York to Chicago, but Jimmy soon found out that they were not going to Chicago. It turned out that Crab escaped from jail when he was sick in the hospital with a kidney disease and that they were really going to Arkansas to straighten something out. Crab was in jail because he was accused of murder, he did not kill any body it was his friend Rydell. The police went to Rydell?s house to arrest him but Rydell told the police that it was Crab. The police believed Rydell because he was white and Crab was black. When they got to Arkansas Jimmy got really close to Crab and they were both having a good time. They went to Rydell?s house so that he could tell the police that Crab was innocent but he refused. Crab was really upset that he got him in trouble and left. That night Crab died from his kidney disease. Jimmy was very upset and he went to live with Mama Jean again. I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was one of those books that you thought something was going to happen and something else did. This book kept you aware of what was going on and you were looking forward to see what would happen next. In the first chapter I thought that this book was really boring and I would not get into it. By the third chapter I did not want to stop reading it. The author in this book is very descriptive and it made me feel like I was right there watching what was going on. My favorite part of the book was when Crab decided to take Jimmy to Chicago with him. This was my favorite part because the author described how Jimmy and Mama Jean were feeling so well that I almost cried too. The only part of this book that I did not like was that it took too long for the book to get exciting. If you like books from the early 1900?s then I would recommend this book to you. This book was when there was discrimination and segregation of whites and blacks. I would also recommend this book to someone who enjoys social studies. In this book you learn a lot about what happened in the past and the geography of different states. I would not recommend this book for younger kids because it would be harder for them to understand it as clearly as some one older would.

Great book about a young boy's dreams & hopes.

What happens when you find out that life isn't going to turn out like you always thought it should? In Somewhere in the Darkness, Myers tells the story of Jimmy Little, a young boy who has to deal with the fact that his dreams of having a perfect family have been deferred. By the book's end Jimmy comes to his own conclusions of how to face this difficulty. The characterization and overall tone reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's play, The Stonemason, which also deals with the relationships between black fathers and sons. When I finished Somewhere in the Darkness I felt like Myers had given me a valuable insight into dealing with life's messiness. I loved reading this book. It got inside of me-reaching my mind and my heart. I'm a college student in the midst of a young adult literature course. We're reading about two books a week. This has been my favorite so far.

I Loved It!

I was really surprised to see that most of the reviews for this book were negative. I loved the book when I read it in sixth grade and have been searching for it ever since. (4 years) I thought it taught a lot about self-worth and it actually helped me deal with some personal issues in my life at the time.

I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A BOY NAMED JIMMEY AND HE LIVES WITH THIS PERSON HE CALLES MAMA JEAN BECUSE HIS MOM IS DEAD AND HIS DAD IS IN JAIL. UNTIL HIS DAD ECAPES FROM JAIL AND TAKES HIS SON TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT STATE TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS HOUSES TO FIND OUT THE REST YOU WILL NEAD TO READ THE BOOK. BUT THERE IS A SURPRISE ENDING.