Dead End in Norvelt

Gantos, J. (2011). Dead End In Norvelt. Harrisonburg, VA: RR Donnelley & Sons Company.

Set in the 1960s, in the midst of the communist war, a boy, Jack Gantos, is learning how to survive life in his parents house.  His mother prefers to barter for everything and his father believes in the value of cash. Caught in-between the arguments of his parents and having made one big mistake, Jack gets grounded for the summer.  Instead of baseball and hanging out with friends, Jack helps his neighbor, an elderly obituary columnist, Miss Volker.  Miss Volker is an original Norvelter and is tracking the deaths of the others, planning on being the last one standing.  This summer though, things speed up and the deaths seem to come unnaturally rapidly.  Miss Volker is the target of accusatory fingers, but did she really do it? This book is the 2011 Newbery Award Winner.  The way Jack Gantos weaves historical fiction with wild fiction is phenomenal and makes for a thoroughly entertaining read.  Just make sure you aren’t a nose-bleeder.  (Grade 3 and up).