Somewhere in the Darkness

Narrator JD Jackson voices all the bewilderment and tempered hope felt by 14-year-old Jimmy Little when he's yanked away from his caregiver, Mama Jean, by his father, Crab, an escaped convict. Together, the two make a cross-country trip in search of family relations and complicated levels of forgiveness. Grasping at a world slipping away, Crab moves from bravado to emotional and physical pain, which is eloquently, realistically portrayed in Jackson's narration. The journey from New York City to Arkansas via Chicago requires Jackson to deliver diverse accents and personalities and portray a medley of peripheral characters. He meets these challenges, delivering a sharply paced story that moves from reflection to chilling confrontation. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Jimmy is 14 years old. His biological mother is dead and his father has been incarcerated for the past nine years. As the story opens, Jimmy is living with Mama Jean in a rundown New York neighborhood. One day he returns home to find a stranger claiming to be his father. Crab, as Jimmy's father is called, has been released from prison, and a condition of his release is that he has to get a job. He claims that one is waiting for him in Chicago, and he wants to take his son with him. Mama Jean reluctantly agrees, and an equally reluctant Jimmy begins his journey with Crab. It becomes evident to Jimmy that Crab's story about the job is a lie. Meanwhile, Crab is determined to prove to Jimmy that he did not kill the person he was convicted of murdering. This is a bittersweet story of a father trying to make up for lost time with the son he barely knows. The story does not have a feel-good, happy resolution, but it ends on a hopeful note for Jimmy's future. The degree to which J.D. Jackson is able to capture the essence of the story is wonderful. His narration is even toned yet full of expression and feeling. This is a remarkable yet sad story made even better by a stellar audio performance.-Mary Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 1997
PW gave a starred review to this "stark slice of realism" about an African American teenager getting to know his ex-convict father. Ages 10-up.