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Module 3 Poetry - GARVEY IN THE DARK - Written by Nikki Grimes


Module 3 – Book Review 4 

Review of Nikki Grimes’s GARVEY IN THE DARK 

*This review was written for a course through Sam Houston State University.


1. BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Grimes, Nikki. (2022). GARVEY IN THE DARK. Wordsong. ISBN: 9781635925265


 2. SUMMARY 

"Garvey in the Dark" is a novel in verse that follows a young boy named Garvey who is growing up and learning who he is and how he fits in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Garvey struggles with his identity and the expectations of his father. His love of music and the guitar is his connection with his father, and it is put on hold as his father (one of the few still working during the lockdown) is busy installing the lifeline of the country in homes.


As the pandemic changes his family's life and the lives of his friends, the reader can feel the stress and strangeness of everything that happened during the pandemic lockdown. Garvey is dealing with his simple life and trying to understand his mother making masks and cleaning like never before, online school and church, and being isolated in quarantine, all to fight what the author calls "the invisible beast." Once his father falls sick, Garvey starts to see how music can help heal his family and connect to others. 


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS  

Nikki Grime's novel-in-verse, "Garvey in the Dark," is interesting as it takes a specific form of ancient poetry that originated in Japan. At the end of the book, the author explains the poetic form she chose called Tanka, which is a form of ancient poetry that comes from Japan. The word Tanka is translated to "short poem" in Japanese and is usually five lines long. The author does include mood, which is the basis of a traditional tanka poem, but also describes the intention of the layout of lines and syllables, which is more focused on telling the story.  


As a teacher who taught during the pandemic, I found this an emotional read that brought back the memories of everyone's struggle and the chaos that became the hallmark of our country. Seeing the student's perspective from the time of the pandemic was something that was not genuinely talked about and discussed. Everyone knows the toll it took on education and what schools and teachers tried to do; however, people rarely have heard or considered the young student's take on that time in history. 


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) 

Booklist (October 15, 2022 (Vol. 119, No. 4)) 

Written in sequences of five-line tanka poems, a haiku-like form, this verse novel transports readers back to the early pandemic months through Garvey’s experiences. The poems vividly express his thoughts and emotions as he, his family, and his friends deal with unwanted changes in their lives as well as the underlying dread of COVID-19.


Kirkus Reviews (September 15, 2022) 

Relying again on the poetic form of tanka, this elegant verse novel sees Garvey and his family seeking to push through the maelstrom of life in 2020. Grimes conveys many of the elements specific to Black life in 2020, focusing on how families adapted to Covid, not knowing whether a lasting resolution would arrive. A way for young people to reflect on a troubled time. 


School Library Journal Xpress (October 14, 2022) 

Told in the modern form of tanka poems (31 syllables in five lines), this novel in verse, set in Southern California, shows the routine of daily life for Garvey-being with friends, going to school, attending church, creating music-and the increasing whispers of illness, death, and the looming threat of the "Invisible Beast" (as Garvey and his friend Manny call it).  Grimes, with her characteristic graceful, emotive poetry, incisively captures and uncertainty, exhaustion, fear, and isolation of the era. A hopeful tool for processing the pandemic, which has occupied a significant portion of students' young lives. 


5. CONNECTIONS  

  • Related Books - Other books for children to see other novels in verse and stories of challenges for young people 

  • Woodson, Jacqueline. BEFORE THE EVER AFTER. ISBN 978-0399545443 

  • Grimes, Nikki. GARVEY’S CHOICE. ISBN 9781713746560   

  • Enrichment Activities -    

  • Coping Mechanisms – Discuss Garvey’s use of music to cope with the pandemic. Ask students for ways they find comfort during challenging times. 

  • Tanka Poetry Workshop – Introduce students to the tanka form and help them write their own. Tanka form (5-7-5-7-7) 

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