Dead End in Norvelt (Norvelt #1)
Jack Gantos
3.69 · 26 ratings · Published: 13 Sep 2011
Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets.
But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his Utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder.
Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.
- historical 3
- historical fiction 3
- funny 3
- realistic 3
- mystery 3
- children 2
- family 2
- coming of age 2
- friendship 2
- action / adventure 2
- small town 2
- summer 2
- male mc 1
- comedy 1
- crime 1
- war/big battles 1
- law enforcement 1
- military, war & conflict 1
- Add topics
- format - reader age
- young adult 3
- middle grade 3
- audiobook 2
- book 1
- content warnings
- death / grief 2
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The 'Norvelt' series
26 ratings 3.69 ·
death · book · male-mc · realistic · killer · historical-fiction · law-enforcement · violent-conflict · coming-of-age · children · historical · audiobook · middle-grade · friendship · comedy · children-books · family · fiction · action-adventure · humor
Norvelt reading order and complete book list ❯