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retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful story about a young man caught up in the covid pandemic and in quarantine. Told in verse (of course, it's Nikki Grimes!). I think young people will identify with his experiences, especially the need to be with friends.
corky12's review against another edition
2.0
This reviewer was given a copy of the book by the publisher on NetGalley.
TLDR: A novel-in-verse that deals with heavy topics too quickly to let them sink in. With a mix of out of context poems and more telling than showing, I did not connect to the characters or their struggles.
Garvey in the Dark is a novel-in-verse about living through 2020, the year of a pandemic, murder wasps, and the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The book touched on some understandably dark and crucial issues, but none of them were fleshed out to satisfaction. With only 91 (mostly half-filled) pages, I finished the story in less than an hour. This was not enough time to discover anything about the characters to make me like them. (Apparently, this novel is a sequel to a book I did not read, which may have had an impact; I treated this as a standalone title.) The characters do not feel developed, even though Garvey is the narrator. I could not see his image in my mind or really get a feel for him as a person. His friends were shown only in snippets.
Most of the book felt like showing instead of telling. I wanted to see their interactions, especially him and his family, but almost everything was his descriptions alone. The poetry aspect did not work in the narrative's favor, as it made the chapters very short. Some of the poems felt disjointed while others flowed together like a typical prose novel. I would have preferred one or the other – a book of poetry or a novel-in-verse – instead of trying to mesh the two together. I understand the author was using a very specific style of poetry, and the style worked. The poems themselves just felt like they didn't always flow.
Finally, this is a more subjective take on the issue. COVID-19 was a horrible time, but most of the families I personally knew were never this affected. They didn't wipe down all their groceries or worry about their perfectly healthy family members dying overnight. My essential husband never lived in another room when he got sick (we've both had COVID twice) or bagged his clothes after leaving the store. Garvey is a child, so the anxiety is understandable. However, more context of the family would have helped me understand the panic. This was not my experience, so it felt unrealistic to me. I'm not saying every book needs to be relatable to every reader. However, I wanted to understand why Garvey's family specifically felt the need to act in this manner. Were there immunocompromised people in the home? Was there a previous scare of a family member getting sick? More information and more showing, as opposed to telling, would have really helped me out in that aspect.
TLDR: A novel-in-verse that deals with heavy topics too quickly to let them sink in. With a mix of out of context poems and more telling than showing, I did not connect to the characters or their struggles.
Garvey in the Dark is a novel-in-verse about living through 2020, the year of a pandemic, murder wasps, and the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The book touched on some understandably dark and crucial issues, but none of them were fleshed out to satisfaction. With only 91 (mostly half-filled) pages, I finished the story in less than an hour. This was not enough time to discover anything about the characters to make me like them. (Apparently, this novel is a sequel to a book I did not read, which may have had an impact; I treated this as a standalone title.) The characters do not feel developed, even though Garvey is the narrator. I could not see his image in my mind or really get a feel for him as a person. His friends were shown only in snippets.
Most of the book felt like showing instead of telling. I wanted to see their interactions, especially him and his family, but almost everything was his descriptions alone. The poetry aspect did not work in the narrative's favor, as it made the chapters very short. Some of the poems felt disjointed while others flowed together like a typical prose novel. I would have preferred one or the other – a book of poetry or a novel-in-verse – instead of trying to mesh the two together. I understand the author was using a very specific style of poetry, and the style worked. The poems themselves just felt like they didn't always flow.
Finally, this is a more subjective take on the issue. COVID-19 was a horrible time, but most of the families I personally knew were never this affected. They didn't wipe down all their groceries or worry about their perfectly healthy family members dying overnight. My essential husband never lived in another room when he got sick (we've both had COVID twice) or bagged his clothes after leaving the store. Garvey is a child, so the anxiety is understandable. However, more context of the family would have helped me understand the panic. This was not my experience, so it felt unrealistic to me. I'm not saying every book needs to be relatable to every reader. However, I wanted to understand why Garvey's family specifically felt the need to act in this manner. Were there immunocompromised people in the home? Was there a previous scare of a family member getting sick? More information and more showing, as opposed to telling, would have really helped me out in that aspect.
thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
A return to Garvey’s life in Garvey in the Dark.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second in stories focused on Garvey and his family.
This is written in TANKA verse which has a five syllable seven syllable pattern throughout. It's impressive to read when you realize the constraints of the pattern.
Garvey is living life during the pandemic eclipsed by virtual learning, police brutality on people of color and lockdown due to COVID.
There is a timeline at the beginning that really highlights how difficult 2020 was for the average person. Now add in a student navigating a new way to learn and the fear of getting COVID (Garvey's father is an essential worker and so the only one going out into the world).
I liked that this identifies the stresses of being a teen during COVID, but I wanted more development in the relationships.
This is written in TANKA verse which has a five syllable seven syllable pattern throughout. It's impressive to read when you realize the constraints of the pattern.
Garvey is living life during the pandemic eclipsed by virtual learning, police brutality on people of color and lockdown due to COVID.
There is a timeline at the beginning that really highlights how difficult 2020 was for the average person. Now add in a student navigating a new way to learn and the fear of getting COVID (Garvey's father is an essential worker and so the only one going out into the world).
I liked that this identifies the stresses of being a teen during COVID, but I wanted more development in the relationships.
mrs_bookdragon's review against another edition
5.0
Carve out time because putting down Nikki Grimes’ books just don’t happen. I devoured this book. I love having more of Garvey’s story and having it set during the pandemic and George Floyd as well was a good surprise. This was a fantastic read and kids will really enjoy seeing their history on the page.
stitchykitch's review against another edition
5.0
The tears were FLOWING, not that it was sad per say but it brought back a lot of the feelings we all had in the early days of the pandemic, as well as the rage and helpless feeling of witnessing Breonna Taylor and George Floyd losing their lives at the hand of the police.
This was beautiful poetry. I didn’t recognize the tanka form until I read about it in the afterward.
This was beautiful poetry. I didn’t recognize the tanka form until I read about it in the afterward.
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful, sparse tanka poetry again, but the pandemic plot feels less compelling than the first story. Even though readers likely all lived through some type of covid experience, it's less relatable, more of a checking off of events. The poems taken individually are lovely, emotional, with much to unpack, so maybe a slower analysis in a student book club will make a more meaningful, enjoyable read.
cocoanut7's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Weird to read a story about Covid when I lived it. I think it will help some people process the situation. For me, I didn’t exactly want to relive Covid again. But very well done. Loved the poetry format.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic