Summary
It's 1962 and after getting grounded for the entire summer (!) for shooting off his dad's Japanese war rifle, young Jack (aka the author, Jack Gantos), will do just about anything he can to get out of the house.
He quickly comes to the rescue of Norvelt's medical-examiner-and-obituary-columnist old Mrs. Volker. While she may be too old to type up the obits, Mrs. Volker is one of the last standing original Norvelter's and she's made a promise to the great lady Eleanor Roosevelt to stay in town until all of the founding elders pass on. Jack serves as Mrs. Volker's "boyfriend," going on deliveries, typing up obituaries, and even driving Mrs. Volker's car.
Despite being grounded, missing out on baseball games, and digging a "bomb shelter" (aka runway) for his dad, Jack's summer is full of action. From solving a mystery of why Norvelt's old ladies start dropping like flies, to stopping his [massive, gushing, extremely bloody, sporadic and anxiety-driven] bloody noses, Jack proves that Norvelt isn't just a "dying town," but a friendly community of lively folk in need of a little less rat poison...
My Thoughts
Gosh, I sure have read about death and dying a lot recently! Good news, Dead End in Norvelt takes a humorous point of view of death and dying... Which is a much needed break from all of the serious stuff I have been reading! I didn't find the book nearly as gory as the reviewers below, but I can certainly see why this is a "boy's book" through and through.
I can see why the Newbery commitee chose Dead End in Norvelt as a winning book: it is charming, funny, nostalgic tale of small towns and growing up.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (I have to share them here because Colin keeps getting irritated by how much I've stopped and read from the book!):
A timeless example of how hunting can be, well, a bit stinky (location 924 of 4010):
He kept his eye pressed against the sight as he tracked the deer between the crisscrossing tree trunks, and all I could think about was my twitching sphincter. I was trying to open it just a tiny bit so a whisper-thin stream of gas would noiselessly escape into the air and stealthily warn the deer without Dad knowing it was me.And, who doesn't like a bit of blood and drama before the first chapter is even finished?? (location 122 of 4010):
I tasted blood. "Oh cheeze!" I shouted. "I've been shot in the mouth!"
With the dish towel clutched in her hand, she pressed it against my forehead.
"Am I dying?" I blubbered. "Is there a hole in my head?Am I breathing?"
"It's just your nose problem!" She said exasperated. "Your dang bloody nose!"What have others said?
Here is a review from Kirkus Reviews (2011):
An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named "Jack Gantos."
The gore is all Jack's, which to his continuing embarrassment "would spray out of my nose holes like dragon flames" whenever anything exciting or upsetting happens. And that would be on every other page, seemingly, as even though Jack's feuding parents unite to ground him for the summer after several mishaps, he does get out. He mixes with the undertaker's daughter, a band of Hell's Angels out to exact fiery revenge for a member flattened in town by a truck and, especially, with arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, for whom he furnishes the "hired hands" that transcribe what becomes a series of impassioned obituaries for the local paper as elderly town residents suddenly begin passing on in rapid succession. Eventually the unusual body count draws the-justified, as it turns out-attention of the police. Ultimately, the obits and the many Landmark Books that Jack reads (this is 1962) in his hours of confinement all combine in his head to broaden his perspective about both history in general and the slow decline his own town is experiencing.And, a quote from Publishers Weekly (2011):
Gore is a Gantos hallmark but the squeamish are forewarned that Jackie spends much of the book with blood pouring down his face and has a run-in with home cauterization. Gradually, Jackie learns to face death and his fears straight on while absorbing Miss Volker's theories about the importance of knowing history. "The reason you remind
yourself of the stupid stuff you've done in he past is so you don't do it again."
Some ideas for the library or the classroom
Dead End in Norvelt is a must-read-aloud for all 5th and 6th grade classrooms! There are several arguments I could make here for why this book is perfect for a read-aloud, but I will just name a few:
1) Historical fiction at it's best, there are countless historical references throughout the text! In Texas, we study US History in 5th grade and this would be an ideal paring for late in the year. Jack's father is obsessed, and quite frankly a bit scarred, from the war and discussing his character would be a good way to start talking about war, soldiers, and veterans. Life for Jack in Norvelt could easily be compared and contrasted to life today. Also, Jack reads several history texts and Mrs. Norvelt ties each of her obituaries to an important day in history- both lend themselves well to further classroom research.
2) The book is HILARIOUS! I won't get over the passing-gas-while-hunting chapter for a long, long time! And, Jack's mom thinks she's killed all of the old ladies in town with her cooking! Sweet!
3) Talk about figurative language! Dead End in Norvelt is jam-packed to the brim with fun metaphors and similes! Yay!
"It was as if she could preserve her anger and store it in a glass jar next to the hot horseradish and yellow beans and corn chowchow she kept in the dank basement pantry," (location 822 of 4010).
"Miss Volker's yellow house which was glowing under the morning sun as if it had been carved out of melting butter," (location 1117 of 4010).
"I felt as if I were trapped inside that house, as if I couldn't escape the broiling walls- as if my life and the life of that house were burning down together," (location 2214 of 4010).
Oh! And, one more thing...
Please read the book for yourself! I want everyone to fall in love with Jack just as I have!
References
Dead end in
norvelt. (2011). [Review of the book, Dead end in norvelt by Jack Gantos]. Publishers
Weekly, 258(30), 54-55. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2103/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=503015704&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Dead end in
norvelt. (2011). [Review of the book, Dead end in norvelt by Jack Gantos]. Kirkus
Reviews, 79(16), 1466-1466. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2103/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=65258786&site=ehost-live&scope=site
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