In the Night, on Lanvale Street

by Jane Leslie Conly

I'm afraid, but I can't call Mom or Dad, 'cause Jerry might wake up. If I try to tell Shannon, she puts a pillow over her head, 'cause she doesn't like to talk about Mr. Healy. She says remembering him makes her sad.
"Charlie," he whispers.
I'm afraid. In the dark night, I feel like I'm at sea, in that little boat Mr. Healy used to talk about. That's why I'm writing this down. If you're listening, I hope you'll listen close. I'm not making any of it up.
He whispers in my ear, "Watch out."

A new novel from a Newbery Honor author

Summer has just begun, and thirteen-year-old Charlie and her younger brother, Jerry, anticipate spending the lazy days roaming their working-class Baltimore neighborhood. That is, until Jim Chalmers, a strange man who used to live nearby, enlists their help in solving the murder of their neighbor Mr. Healy.

As Charlie learns more about Mr. Healy's death, she struggles to protect her innocent younger brother from the realities of gangs and drugs, and to help him make that difficult transition from childhood to adolescence.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Friendship, Family

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Daughter of author Robert C. O'Brien.

Reviews

[Kim]

This story has some tough and serious elements in it. Mental illness, murder, drug gangs, arson. And in the middle of it all is 12-year-old Charlie and her 7-yr-old brother, Jerry, along with Charlie's best friend Shan. The kids' neighbor, wonderful old Mr. Healy, was murdered one night and no one seems to be doing anything about it or to know anything about it. Charlie doesn't understand why the adults in the neighborhood aren't clamoring for justice. The only adult who seems to care is Jim, a.k.a. the Raincoat man, because he's always wearing a raincoat. Jim enlists Charlie and Jerry to help solve the mystery and leads them all to be in danger. Because whoever killed Mr. Healy did it to keep him quiet about the drug deals. The murderer won't hesitate to kill again.

Also happening is normal middle grade stuff; a first crush, feuding friends, and sneaking out.

While I appreciated the sense of place that was wonderfully drawn, I was a little taken aback by the ending and the tone. At times, the story felt like a normal MG summer adventure, but it really was much more dangerous than that as we learn in the end. For that reason, I would hesitate to recommend it to young readers.

[Kaelyn]

I first read In the Night, On Lanvale Street when I was in fifth grade, and I didn't get the themes that Jane Leslie Conly was trying to get across in this book. Rereading it, this book was amazing and emotional and realistic and just phenomenal. There are so many things this book does well and a lot of the topics are something that people usually avoid, which made the story that much more intense.

Probably the best addressed issue that people don't really talk about is gang activity. Much of the story centers around this and it's one of the main themes that really hit home for me. My most favorite quote in the whole book is this: "Those gangs can own you, Marcus. They lure you in with money and drugs until, little by little, they steal your soul away. Then you're trapped and can't get out." It shows that these kids who are members of a gang used to be good people, but they were lured in. Then they can't get out because the gang would go after them. All these themes are captured by the thirteen year old main character who notices the people around her changing.

This story also had many POC characters. I don't really read enough books with POC characters, so this was a welcome change.

This book also addressed how people might not be evil even if they do things that could be considered bad. One character does drugs, but the main character noted that he was very nice to everyone, even though he did drugs. Even the parents noted this by saying that the drug addict wasn't bad, he was just enslaved with very bad things. It kind of made the same statement with mental illnesses, though I didn't like this statement as much because the character was called 'crazy' and almost looked down upon because of it. There was also an atheist in this story, but she was never looked down upon by Charlie who was very religious, which I liked.

I loved the mystery aspect to it, along with the themes. The plot kept rolling and kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know who killed Mr. Healy through the entire thing and it was just a good story even without the themes I've mentioned above.

Overall, this book was amazing and made me cry and is definitely worth your time.

My blog for all my book reviews and book discussions and the occasional movie, TV, or music review! ------> http://booksandmoviesandmusic.blogspo...

[Patty]

Another good book by Conly. I am traveling with this author in a few months, so figured it would be smart to have read a few of her books. They have been good so far, so I have more on hold at the library.

Once again, Conly is writing about a neighborhood that is not well-off. There have been a lot of changes and the kids of the area have a better grasp of this than the adults. Drugs are moving in and with them trouble.

This book is aimed at younger folk and I think they would find it interesting. For the kids that use my public library, the worries in this book have not become prevalent. But issues of growing up are universal. So I would recommend this book to any tween.

[Mary Ann]

This is not a 'feel good' book, and while this book's intended audience may have been children, I believe adults would benefit to read it as well. It is a sad, but sorely true commentary on the times we live in. Would that every community faced with this problem would resort to the ending solution this community came to. Why does it have to wait until so many innocent have paid the price before we adults take a stand for what is right?

[Rani]

Another summer story, this time kids help to solve a murder mystery. I love the twist and turns in the story!