Dead End in Norvelt: (Newbery Medal Winner)

Jack Gantos

Sep 2011 · Norvelt Series Book 1 · Sold by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

About this ebook

Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction!

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launced on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder.

Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

Ratings and reviews

I couldn't wait to just get this book over with, personally, I don't like books of this particular genre, and I didn't really get the point of the book. It was just a bunch of events... Happening.

It gets you hooked up once you start reading this book. It has amazing stories and events that amazes readers. It also is humorous book that everybody could enjoy. I did not finish this book but I am willing to. I think it is a very good book. A great book for all ages. Praises for Jack Gantos

Jack is caught between his arguing parents. His mother has grounded him for firing a Japanese gun his father owned. She has also volunteered him to help Mrs. Volker, a neighbor who writes obituaries. Mrs. Volker has arthritis in her hands and can no longer write or type up the obituaries for the Norvelt News. Through the obituaries she tells the history of the deceased. The deceased have recently become the original women of the town of Norvelt. Jack loves this new job since he loves history. He has one problem, if he gets overly excited his nose will begin to bleed. As the elderly women of Norvelt begin to drop like flies, people are beginning to wonder if it is murder. Mrs. Volker examines the bodies and pronounces each death that of natural causes. Not everyone is convinced. Could she be hiding something? This was a wonderful book full of history and lessons that the reader won’t mind learning. The mystery was enough to keep you reading, yet not so difficult you couldn’t figure it out. Highly recommended reading.

About the author

Jack Gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include Hole in My Life, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honors; the Joey Pigza series, which include a Newbery Honor book and a National Book Award Finalist; Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; and the Rotten Ralph series.