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Dave's Song
Alternating chapters present the view points of a high school boy and girl, long-time schoolmates who finally become curious about each other.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 17, 2020
2020 Review
I read this again because I was visiting friends who have a few chickens for egg production and I always love to visit with the chickens. Plus, fresh eggs are the best. That made me think of this book because Dave, the handsome boy, lives on a chicken farm run by his father and chickens (and birds of all kinds) are an important part of the story. This time around the novel seems a little YA for me, but I still enjoyed it. Dave and Kate are portrayed as authentic teenagers feeling their way into adulthood and trying to figure out what kind of people they are and what kind of lives they want to live. It was written in the late 1960s, early 1970s when Vietnam was just getting going and rock'n'roll was still considered scandalous (Kate's father calls Dave a "beatnik" which is a scathing indictment of Dave, who's not a beatnik at all).
What's pleasant is the lack of the ubiquitous magical creatures and all that nonsense. The characters are authentic without a lot of drama and their concerns are just as timely now as they were then. Plus, love the chickens. Seriously considering getting chickens myself.
Older Review
I wish I could find the right cover for my copy because it's a better representation of the book's story (plus the guy is handsome and tall and has a chicken pecking at his feet) but ah well. This is another great book I probably found at a yard sale when I was in high school. It's another love love love book. It's a book about two high school kids, Dave and Kate, and basically how they grow up and make adult decisions. That sounds lame and boring, but it's such a wonderful book and not lame and boring at all. I've read it many, many times over the years and I'll probably read it a few more dozen times.
I read this again because I was visiting friends who have a few chickens for egg production and I always love to visit with the chickens. Plus, fresh eggs are the best. That made me think of this book because Dave, the handsome boy, lives on a chicken farm run by his father and chickens (and birds of all kinds) are an important part of the story. This time around the novel seems a little YA for me, but I still enjoyed it. Dave and Kate are portrayed as authentic teenagers feeling their way into adulthood and trying to figure out what kind of people they are and what kind of lives they want to live. It was written in the late 1960s, early 1970s when Vietnam was just getting going and rock'n'roll was still considered scandalous (Kate's father calls Dave a "beatnik" which is a scathing indictment of Dave, who's not a beatnik at all).
What's pleasant is the lack of the ubiquitous magical creatures and all that nonsense. The characters are authentic without a lot of drama and their concerns are just as timely now as they were then. Plus, love the chickens. Seriously considering getting chickens myself.
Older Review
I wish I could find the right cover for my copy because it's a better representation of the book's story (plus the guy is handsome and tall and has a chicken pecking at his feet) but ah well. This is another great book I probably found at a yard sale when I was in high school. It's another love love love book. It's a book about two high school kids, Dave and Kate, and basically how they grow up and make adult decisions. That sounds lame and boring, but it's such a wonderful book and not lame and boring at all. I've read it many, many times over the years and I'll probably read it a few more dozen times.
June 27, 2009
This was a childhood favorite, and it is tangentially related to another of McKay's books, Canary Red. In chronological order, this one comes second, but it really doesn't matter, the crossover is minimal.
The books are 40 some-odd years old, and yet IMHO, they hold up well to the passage of time. The book follows the thoughts and interactions of Dave (the disaffected loner) and Kate (the mildly wild girl searching for truth and honesty). In alternating chapters we are given glimpses into their thoughts and fears and concerns and desires. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, one of my favorite songs from that time period. Judy Collins does a wonderful version of it, as does Noel Harrison, but I always favored the version sung by Neil Diamond.
The overriding theme of the book is on honesty, with one's self as well as with others. Dave & Kate seem to be relatively typical teenagers, with all the angst and struggle for individuality that usually comes with that condition. The only departure is Dave's involvement with raising and breeding chickens, though in context, that also is believable. Each gains precious insights into themselves & the world around them. This was a book that I enjoyed reading many times, and one I recommend for teenagers this day.
The books are 40 some-odd years old, and yet IMHO, they hold up well to the passage of time. The book follows the thoughts and interactions of Dave (the disaffected loner) and Kate (the mildly wild girl searching for truth and honesty). In alternating chapters we are given glimpses into their thoughts and fears and concerns and desires. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, one of my favorite songs from that time period. Judy Collins does a wonderful version of it, as does Noel Harrison, but I always favored the version sung by Neil Diamond.
The overriding theme of the book is on honesty, with one's self as well as with others. Dave & Kate seem to be relatively typical teenagers, with all the angst and struggle for individuality that usually comes with that condition. The only departure is Dave's involvement with raising and breeding chickens, though in context, that also is believable. Each gains precious insights into themselves & the world around them. This was a book that I enjoyed reading many times, and one I recommend for teenagers this day.
September 12, 2017
I enjoyed this book very much. It was sweet and innocent and rang true for the time it was written. Since I grew up during this time, I could feel what it was like back then--- 1969.
It's about a small town and growing up in the late 60's. Kate can think of nothing but leaving that small town when she graduates from high school. She ends up dating two boys--- one is being prepped for the business world, and the other loves animals and was raised on a chicken farm. Dave is rough around the edges, but has such a gentle side. Kate doesn't want much to do with him, and yet she cannot stop coming around to think about him. Mel is over polite and well groomed. His folks have money and he gets what he wants. Who will get Kate's heart?
It's about a small town and growing up in the late 60's. Kate can think of nothing but leaving that small town when she graduates from high school. She ends up dating two boys--- one is being prepped for the business world, and the other loves animals and was raised on a chicken farm. Dave is rough around the edges, but has such a gentle side. Kate doesn't want much to do with him, and yet she cannot stop coming around to think about him. Mel is over polite and well groomed. His folks have money and he gets what he wants. Who will get Kate's heart?
September 14, 2012
One of the 1st books I bought for myself as a teenager and read several times. I've even had my daughters read it.
December 22, 2010
I read this book in grade school so after all these years it does seem a bit dated. I'm pretty sure I don't love it as much as I did back then, but I do remember being taken by the chapter titles which were lines from a song and feeling moved by them. That part remained the same for me. I am curious about the author, but have found nothing about him. Ah, well...the search continues.
December 8, 2017
I read this book in junior high - it was my first real romance novel. I related to both Cat and Dave. Like Cat, I was popular, out-going, and involved at school. However, I had a secret passion for science and sci-fi, and my curiosity was never quenched so I sat up nights under my covers reading Popular Mechanics and building things. Because I spent much of my youth on a farm, I understand the complexities of tending to farm animals, especially chickens. For this reason, even though I'm a girl, Dave's story probably resonated through me more than Cat's. You see, author Robert McKay has a writing style that embraces those awkward adolescent years which appeals to both boys and girls. Each chapter drew me in and helped me reflect on my on teenage path and dared me to expand my personal borders and connect with those who have other interests than mine. But mostly, this story touched my teenage-coming-of-age heart and the longing to find someone who accepted me as I was and help me to become all I can be - even if only for a little while. (Sometimes I wish this book were adapted into a movie, in the style of "The Notebook," "Murphy's Law," and "My Girl." )
July 14, 2019
I was so happy to find this gem back! Had read it a long long time ago, and had help from some friends getting the title of it (I kept getting it mixed up as titled Suzanne's Song).
A young adult love story about Dave and Kate, with a time set in the mid - late 60's. He raises old breeds of chickens on his father's farm, and she is a restless girl in her senior year of high school. They share a biology class together where she discovers a talent for science. He shows talent in genetics and breeding of birds, and meeting an old friend of his parents starts him on a path for his future studies. They become friends then more than friends as the book progresses, and start to understand the attraction for each other.
It was a little dated, but not so much you couldn't look past it. I think I enjoyed it more now than my younger days since I've studied science and Biology since then, plus raised chickens for several years. Exciting to see the names of chicken breeds I had raised! So glad I found this again.
A young adult love story about Dave and Kate, with a time set in the mid - late 60's. He raises old breeds of chickens on his father's farm, and she is a restless girl in her senior year of high school. They share a biology class together where she discovers a talent for science. He shows talent in genetics and breeding of birds, and meeting an old friend of his parents starts him on a path for his future studies. They become friends then more than friends as the book progresses, and start to understand the attraction for each other.
It was a little dated, but not so much you couldn't look past it. I think I enjoyed it more now than my younger days since I've studied science and Biology since then, plus raised chickens for several years. Exciting to see the names of chicken breeds I had raised! So glad I found this again.
April 6, 2025
Robert McKay (1921-1982) began writing novels when he was incarcerated for robbery in Ohio. From that unconventional beginning, he published several novels aimed at younger readers. While McKay had real talent, his novel Dave’s Song has some serious flaws.
The beginning of Dave’s Song is terrific. Set in the late 1960s, the novel focuses on two southern Ohio high school students - Dave and Kate - who are attracted to each other. McKay writes some chapters from Kate’s perspective and some chapters from Dave’s. Perhaps unsurprisingly (given that McKay was a man), the chapters focusing on Dave are more detailed. Dave is the standard-issue, brooding, anti-establishment loner. However, the teenagers are often able to push around the town’s adults, which rings false to the reader.
McKay had a good eye for detail and uses the Ohio setting well. For instance, McKay adds a second suitor (Mal) who is the son of the wealthiest man in town. Also, there is a suspenseful fight scene.
Unfortunately, about 100 pages into this 150-page novel, McKay loses his focus. He becomes preachy and delves into the prejudiced attitudes that people hold toward ex-inmates. This diversion fits poorly with the rest of the plot and kills the love story’s momentum.
Sometimes an author doesn’t recognize the strength in his own work. While Dave’s Song isn’t bad, my copy will be going to the thrift store.
The beginning of Dave’s Song is terrific. Set in the late 1960s, the novel focuses on two southern Ohio high school students - Dave and Kate - who are attracted to each other. McKay writes some chapters from Kate’s perspective and some chapters from Dave’s. Perhaps unsurprisingly (given that McKay was a man), the chapters focusing on Dave are more detailed. Dave is the standard-issue, brooding, anti-establishment loner. However, the teenagers are often able to push around the town’s adults, which rings false to the reader.
McKay had a good eye for detail and uses the Ohio setting well. For instance, McKay adds a second suitor (Mal) who is the son of the wealthiest man in town. Also, there is a suspenseful fight scene.
Unfortunately, about 100 pages into this 150-page novel, McKay loses his focus. He becomes preachy and delves into the prejudiced attitudes that people hold toward ex-inmates. This diversion fits poorly with the rest of the plot and kills the love story’s momentum.
Sometimes an author doesn’t recognize the strength in his own work. While Dave’s Song isn’t bad, my copy will be going to the thrift store.
January 16, 2023
I read this when I was a teenager, but that was so long ago that I didn't remember anything except the song, Suzanne>. A coming of age story, told alternately from the viewpoints of the two protagonists, Kate and Dave, both seniors in high school, feeling their ways toward adulthood. Excellent.
September 21, 2024
very cute little book! this is my second time reading it, but it’s just as cozy
September 2, 2022
I come back and read Dave's Song every so often--I must have read it 50 times over the years since I was a high school girl. I've read The Troublemaker by Robert McKay a number of times, too, but I can't find that for free online, or I'd re-read it, too.
Kate is a high school senior in Tylerton, Ohio, not too far from Columbus, but with no dedicated highway between them, it can't even become a suburb. She's becoming a woman, yearning for life with capital L, but she hates Tylerton because it holds no excitement, no promise, no future she desires. She doesn't consider herself college material, and plans to be a secretary of sorts just so she can get a job in another city--maybe even New York City!
Kate grew up with Dave (Tylerton's a small place), but they don't really have substantive interactions. He's the son of a chicken farmer who spends his time in nature. Dave is attracted to Kate, but they both don't seem to have anything in common, except a passionate love for music and looking for more in life than mindlessly living and dying.
I really love the message of this book, which is about finding your own integrity, growing up and deciding what really matters and what is superficial. Every time I read it, I go back to my high school self, and it reminds me who I was and who I am and how the two combine.
It's not a five star book. That's a very subjective rating for a book no one really needs to track down. It was already dated when I read it 50 or so years ago. It's more dated now. But if I'm still alive in a few years, I'll probably revisit it again, just the same.
Kate is a high school senior in Tylerton, Ohio, not too far from Columbus, but with no dedicated highway between them, it can't even become a suburb. She's becoming a woman, yearning for life with capital L, but she hates Tylerton because it holds no excitement, no promise, no future she desires. She doesn't consider herself college material, and plans to be a secretary of sorts just so she can get a job in another city--maybe even New York City!
Kate grew up with Dave (Tylerton's a small place), but they don't really have substantive interactions. He's the son of a chicken farmer who spends his time in nature. Dave is attracted to Kate, but they both don't seem to have anything in common, except a passionate love for music and looking for more in life than mindlessly living and dying.
I really love the message of this book, which is about finding your own integrity, growing up and deciding what really matters and what is superficial. Every time I read it, I go back to my high school self, and it reminds me who I was and who I am and how the two combine.
It's not a five star book. That's a very subjective rating for a book no one really needs to track down. It was already dated when I read it 50 or so years ago. It's more dated now. But if I'm still alive in a few years, I'll probably revisit it again, just the same.
July 21, 2012
I thought that told a very memorable small-town story.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews