Somewhere in the Darkness

Somewhere in the darkness is a 1993 young adult realistic fiction novel written by Walter Dean Myers. It was published by Scholastic inc. The novel was a John Newbery honor award and a Coretta Scott King honor award.

Jimmy Little is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives in an apartment with his legal guardian that he calls "Mama Jean". His mother died and his father is imprisoned for committing a crime.

One day as Jimmy comes home from school, he summons the name of Mama Jean (she was not at the house). Instead he sees this tall guy named Crab. The guy tells him that he is his father.

When Mama Jean comes home, Crab explains that the prison let him out. Mama Jean was happy to see him. But he explains that he wanted to take Jimmy with him across the country. Mama Jean was a little worried about what could happen on that trip. But she did not want to let Crab down. So she agreed to let him go on the trip.

She gives Jimmy money for transportation and tells him to call her whenever he wants.

Jimmy and Mr.Crab drive from state to state. During the rides, Jimmy finds out that Crab actually escapes from prison. He wants to be let out of the car immediately, but after a little while of talking and reasoning Jimmy decides to stay with him.

Jimmy meets some of Crab's friends. Some were nice people that he had no problems with. Others were stuck up jerks that Jimmy could not stand.

In the end of the novel, Crab dies in the bed of the hospital. Jimmy feels sad and can not get Crab out of his mind. Jimmy gets the money out of his pocket and heads back home to Mama Jean.

Characters

Jimmy- A fourteen-year old boy who displays mischievous acts that gets him into trouble. He is embarrassed to talk about his father. He is lazy, trouble-making, and curious.

Crab-Jimmy's father. He was taken to prison after being accused of committing a crime. He broke out, trying to see Jimmy. Even though he was not a criminal, he sometimes commits crimes during the novel for certain reasons.

Mama Jean-Jimmy's legal guardian. She has been taking care of Jimmy since the time his mother died.