Sometimes a summer read is the perfect combination of funny, fast-paced fun, a bit of a mystery, and a tender look at a past era. Dead End in Norvelt is just that kind of read!
Twelve year old Jack Gantos (the protagonist of Dead End in Norvelt, not the author of the book...though even the author admits that there is much of himself in his namesake) looks forward to the freedom of the summer of 1962, until he is grounded for life for accidentally shooting his father's war souvenir--a Japanese rifle--towards the drive-in movie theater. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it starts the roller coaster ride of his summer, featuring an elderly coroner/obituary editor who lets people think he is her boyfriend, a spurned admirer, rat poison, and a sudden increase in unexpected deaths in the small town of Norvelt.
Author Jack Gantos, awarded the Newbery and Scott O’Dell Awards for this book, spins the narrative of his childhood with an eye for the unbelievable. You will laugh out-loud at Jack (the character) as he rushes around the town of Norvelt, trying to keep his feuding parents happy.
You won’t want to miss the sequel, From Norvelt to Nowhere!
Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York City, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.
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