Took: A Ghost Story

Daniel is the protagonist of Took, and most of the novel is told through his first-person perspective. He is a seventh grader who, up until the beginning of the novel, has lived a privileged life. Once his family loses their money and moves to Woodville, West Virginia in the first chapter, conflict begins for Daniel, his sister Erica, and their parents. Daniel is contemptuous of Erica. He doesn’t like her talking to her doll all the time and gets annoyed by her attitude about the move. However, Daniel also feels negatively about the move. He tries to be mature about it, not complaining like Erica, but deep down, he “felt like packing my belongings and siding with Erica. Maybe between the two of us we could persuade Mother and Father to go back to Connecticut” (23). Despite these feelings, Daniel makes an effort to adjust, but things continue to decline for the family. Daniel hears scary noises and sees strange creatures in the woods. Mother and Father fight more and more, tired from their financial instability and jobs. At school, “the boys continued to knock [Daniel] around and the girls whispered about Erica” (42).