Gantos, Jack. 2011. DEAD
END IN NORVELT. Read by Jack Gantos. New York: Macmillan Audio. Audiobook, 7:12. ISBN 1427213569
In 1962, Jack Gantos is having the
worst summer of his life. Grounded for
good after he shot his dad’s Japanese sniper rifle and mowed down all his mom’s
corn, he can’t imagine his vacation getting much worse. That is until his mom
volunteers him to help out Mrs. Volker, an elderly neighbor and one of the last
few original residents of his Pennsylvania town of Norvelt. Jack records and types obituaries for the
town paper with Mrs. Volker, which soon gets him wrapped up in a small town
murder mystery that ultimately teachers him the value and importance of
history.
DEAD
END IN NORVELT, read aloud by author and title character Jack Gantos, is a
captivating story about a picture-perfect town that is slowly dying away,
literally. The novel’s setting is in
fact its star character. The city of
Norvelt represents the idealist life in the United States in the fifties and sixties,
a way of life that is diminishing during the summer of 1962. Neighbors can no longer trade or barter for
goods or services, a fact that Jack’s mother finds appalling and disheartening. Young Jack is bored by his town’s slow pace
of life and escapes into his favorite history books to help the time pass each
day. What he soon realizes is that the
utopian Norvelt, which is carefully being dismantled and moved away, house by
house, has its own rich history with ties to exciting events across American
history, much like the books he loves to read.
Jack’s unusual friendship with Mrs. Volker, an elderly lady who admires
Mrs. Roselvelt and the values on which she helped found the small town, teaches
Jack respect and regard for the past, a theme that Gantos weaves throughout the
book. The plot turns suspenseful when
the town realizes too many of Norvelt’s original residents are oddly passing
away within weeks of each other, and readers will be swept into the investigation
of Jack, Mrs. Norvelt, and her wacky neighbors.
The surprise ending is more than just a mystery solved, but also
concludes with Jack finally winning his freedom from an entire summer spent
grounded and a startling adventure that will put Norvelt back in the history
books for good.
Young
Jack Gantos is a serious yet kind character who hates to disappoint his parents,
but still can’t resist the lure of sneaking out every now and then while
grounded. Teenagers across the country
will relate to his dramatized boredom, as well as his weak stomach for all things
surrounding death and gore. He is a
believable character with an innocence that makes him trusting and likable. Gantos’s tells the story in a personal style,
with his narration of the novel reflecting his emotions and feelings of a young
boy growing up in small town, America.
Historically set in the 1960’s and following the post-depression
generation, Gantos sprinkles in other historical tidbits through Jack’s own
readings and Mrs. Volker’s expanded obituaries, which will have readers
checking his facts and pining to learn more.
For example, Mrs. Volker gives Jack and expanded summary of the
coincidental deaths of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on the same
day, July 4, 1826. Gantos’s research is
detailed and thorough, spanning eras and centuries. Young adults with a knack for history will be captivated by Gantos's tale of his own life (and then some) in DEAD END IN NORVELT.
“A
fast paced and witty read.” – SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
“A
bit of autobiography works itself in all of Gantos’s work, but he one-ups
himself in this wildly entertaining meld of truth and fiction by naming the
main character… Jackie Gantos.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Gantos,
as always, delivers bushels of food for thought and plenty of outright
guffaws.” – BOOKLIST
Awards
and Recognitions:
*
Scott O’Dell Award
*
2012 Newbery Medal
___
Young
adults who enjoy DEAD END NORVELT can check out more by Jack Gantos:
WHAT
WOULD JOEY PIGZA DO?, ISBN 0060544031
JACK
ON THE TRACKS: FOUR SEASONS OF FIFTH GRADE, ISBN 0374437173
An
interview with Jack Gantos can be found on his website at:
Other
historical fiction novels set in the 1960’s:
NEIL
ARMSTRONG IS MY UNCLE AND OTHER LIES MUSCLE MAN MCGINTY TOLD ME, By Nan Marino,
ISBN 0312665482
___
Sources:
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