**Please note: The following book review has been created as part of coursework at Texas Woman's University.
1. Bibliography
Gantos, Jack. 2011. Dead End in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 9781250010230
2. Plot summary
It's 1962 in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, a New Deal homestead community established in the 1930s by its namesake, EleNOR RooseVELT. Jack is a young boy who is looking forward to his summer vacation but finds himself grounded for the summer when he accidentally shoots off his father's Japanese rifle and mows down his mother's corn crops. When his mother volunteers him to help out old Miss Volker, he finds himself writing obituaries for the townspeople who are mysteriously dropping like flies. A history buff himself, Jack enjoys Miss Volker's retelling of history when she dictates the lives of the Norvelt deceased. But when Miss Volker gets arrested for murder, Jack has some mysteries to solve, and his summer turns out to be much more exciting than he had anticipated.
3. Critical analysis
The main character of the novel, Jack, is a typical twelve-year-old boy who resembles many young teenagers today with his love of baseball and occasional mishaps. His mom is a housewife, typical of the time period, who grew up in the house in which she now lives with her own family, but Jack's dad has an urge to leave Norvelt which he calls a dying Commie town. His plans to build a bomb shelter highlight the fears about the Russians that many Americans had at this time in history. The setting of the book is clearly representative of the time period with drive-in movie theaters and bomb shelters. Norvelt is a small town in the 1960s, and the author creates a very laid back, community feeling. Through the relationships among the townspeople, it is evident that everyone knows each other. The author uses Jack's love of history to incorporate more historical elements to this work of fiction. For instance, Jack has a Landmark history series about famous explorers, and through the first person point-of-view of the novel, he teaches readers about Pizarro's conquest of the Inca civilization in 1532. Additionally, Jack helps Miss Volker write the obituaries of Norvelt residents when they die, and Miss Volker always adds a little bit of history at the end of each obit. For example, when Mrs. Dubicki, dies on July 4, she writes about how John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 and launches into a history lesson about the Declaration of Independence. Finally, the newspaper column, "This Day in History," which Jack reads daily, gives readers more history lessons. Unfortunately, the author does not provide a bibliography or website references for further study of Norvelt or the homestead communities. Readers may search on their own, but additional resources would be helpful, especially for students. One thematic idea presented in this novel is the importance of remembering the past which is reinforced through the historical references sprinkled throughout the book. Another thematic idea of family and community is revealed through the relationships among Jack and his parents and the other residents of Norvelt. The author's style transports the reader back to 1962 and into Jack's world. The historical facts are accurate and are balanced with elements of fiction to create a seamless story which vividly depicts post-WWII, small town America.
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
-Horn Book, Starred review: “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.”
-Kirkus, Starred review: "Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones."
-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.”
-School Library Journal: “A fast-paced and witty read.”
-“Nobody can tell a story like Jack Gantos can. And this is a story like no other. It’s funny. It’s thoughtful. It’s history. It’s weird. But you don’t need me to attempt to describe it. Get in there and start reading Gantos.” —Jon Scieszka
5. Connections
This book would make a great novel study for an upper elementary or lower middle school class. It can easily be tied into a social studies unit of study about Eleanor Roosevelt and the New Deal Homestead communities of the 1930s.
Teachers and librarians will find the Dead End in Norvelt guide helpful for in-class or cross-curricular studies: Teacher's Guide
Click here learn more about Jack Gantos and Dead End in Norvelt.
Readers will look forward to the follow-up book From Norvelt to Nowhere which is coming soon!
Also, readers should explore some of Gantos's work in the Joey Pigza series such as Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (ISBN 0312623550) and the award-winning sequel, Joey Pigza Loses Control (ISBN 9780312661014).
Younger readers would enjoy the Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader series and the Rotten Ralph picture book series. Older readers can enjoy Gantos's novel Hole in My Life (ISBN 9780312641573) which received the Michael L. Printz Honor and Robert F. Sibert Honor.
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