This is my second installment of reading books which inspired some of my favorite movies. I really enjoyed this book, even more then the movie. I think if Hollywood would have stuck with some of the original plot lines in the book, they may have had a better chance at a sequel. Davy is from a broken home. His mother left when he was twelve and his father drank then beat him. This first time Davy "jumped" was right before his father was going to beat him with his belt, the buckle side. He landed in the local library, one of his favorite hang outs and the only place he feels safe. In the beginning, the plot pretty much stays the same as the movie, however, he is not best friends with a girl from school, he doesn't fall into a river and then jump causing everyone to think he's dead. He does run away to New York where he does actually rob a bank.