Deadend in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Deadend in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

                                                         

1.      Bibliography

Gantos, Jack.  Deadend in Norvelt. MacMillion Audio. CD 7 hrs. ISBN 1427213569

2.      Plot Summary

Deadend in Norvelt is the story of a young Jack Gantos (the author) as he relives one summer of his childhood in Norvelt, Pennsylvania.  The town is a community that was originally founded for unemployed coal miners during the Great Depression.  The idea was that they would communally farm and barter for their needs.  The story takes place as the town is dying and young Jack is enlisted to document the tale in a series of obituaries of the town’s dying residents.  It is a story of family dynamics as his mother, a town native, struggles to stay put and his father, a restless soul, tries to find a way to move the family to a place he can find a job to support them.  Jack is caught in the middle and struggles for a way to please everyone.

3.  Critical Analysis

The character of Jack Gantos is relatable to today’s children because he experiences the same things today’s youth experience.  He gets into trouble, he becomes a go-between with his parents, he experiences health issues and he has interactions with people his own age and the elderly neighbors.  The historical time period can be “felt”.  It was a simpler time, after the Great Depression and World War II, the town is concerned with economic stability and the cold war (bomb shelters in the back yard). It is a small-town atmosphere and Jack just wants to play ball with his friends.  The pull between parental chores and peer pressure is relevant and timeless.

The unabridged audio version is contained on 6 CD and runs for 7 hours.  The sound is clear and contains no sound effects or musical score.  It is read by the author and even though the author is not a professional voice talent, by having the author as the narrator, his inflection is authentic.  The listener can feel what young Jack was feeling because it comes from the real experiences of the teller.  The story is followed by an interview with the author which children will find enjoyable because the author tells how much of the story is true and how much is fictional and he gives a little more background of his experiences growing up in this town and about the dichotomy of his parents.

4.      Review Excerpts

2012 Newbery Medal winner

2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

ALA Notable Children’s Book

ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults

From Booklist: “Gantos, as always, delivers bushels of food for thought and plenty of outright guffaws.”

From Horn Book Magazine: Starred review. “The audiobook was just for fun, since Jack narrated it himself and I'd listen to him read a grocery list, his delivery is that funny. There's more than laugh-out-loud gothic comedy here. This is a richly layered semi-autobiographical tale, an ode to a time and place, to history and the power of reading.”

From Kirkus Reviews: Starred review. “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 . . . Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones.”

From Publishers Weekly: Starred review. “A bit of autobiography works its way into 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.”

From School Library Journal: “Gantos narrates this laugh-out-loud semi-autobiographical tale, providing a pitch-perfect rendition of Jack's sarcasm, exaggeration, and whining.”

5.      Connections

Gather and use with other Jack Gantos, such as:

      Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. ISBN 1250061687
      Joey Pigza Loses Control. ISBN 1250061679

Gather and use with other children’s’ books set in the 1960s, such as:

      Schmidt, Gary D. The Wednesday Wars. ISBN 054723760X
      Zindel, Paul. The Pigman. ISBN 0060757353

Include in a history lesson using the time periods Jack Gantos uses in his obituaries.

Use in a history lesson about Eleanor Roosevelt.

Use in a social studies, history or geography lesson and study Homestead Communities.

Use in an economics lesson when discussing bartering.