Dave at Night
Gail Carson Levine
(a book review by Jackie)

Just imagine feeling guilty your whole life for your mother’s death. Well Dave Caros does. This is a story about a boy named Dave, whose dad died when he was twelve, his uncle took his brother, and his stepmother sent him to an orphanage called the Hebrew Home for Boys (the HHB). She did this because she could hardly pay for herself.
Dave hated the HHB. The superintendent, Mr. Doom, was Dave’s fear. Mr. Doom did terrible things to the kids! Sometimes even worse than a whipping! The first night Dave had been at the HHB, he noticed that the last thing he got from his father had been taken. The boys at the HHB told him about the knick- knack cabinet in Mr.Doom’s office but no one in the HHB was brave enough to get the key, open the cabinet,get their belongings, put the key back and get out without Mr.Doom seeing him by that time!
One day, Dave told himself he just had to see the outside world. At night he snuck out. First he had to sneak downstairs into the supply closet to get rope so he could tie it onto something to get over the fence. Somehow he managed to get out without a prefect seeing him. Then he found a tree, tied the rope to a low branch, climbed up the rope, and jumped off. He was walking along the sidewalk and found a dollar. Then he met a man named Solly who brought him to Irma Lee’s party, she lived in Harlem. Dave continued to sneak out to go to Irma Lee’s parties.
Dave told Irma Lee he was looking for a place to live and Irma Lee said that he coud stay in her house. A couple of days later, Irma Lee asked her mother if Dave could stay but she said no.
Dave went out wandering the streets and he remembered Solly. He started to shout Solly’s name and after he had gone all the way up and down the street, he heard Solly call “Boychick,is that you?” Solly became an adult that Dave could trust and spend time with.
I really liked this book. It made me realize how lucky I am to have many people who care for me. Dave had to take care of his own needs and had to look for people he could trust.

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This page last updated: 08/28/04.