Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Winner, 2012 Newbery Award
Quick Summary
A boy is grounded during the summer of 1962 in the small town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania and befriends one of the town's first citizens who happens to be the town's medical examiner and obituary writer.
Favorite Quote
I had not become the future king of England, but I wished I had. King Arthur had to deal with plague, famine, and evil knights. Instead, I was just the lone digger of a fake atomic bomb shelter.
About the Author
Jack Gantos, author of several book series (Rotten Ralph, Jack Henry, Joey Pigza) was raised in Norvelt and currently lives in Boston. I highly recommend you read the author bio on his website, which contains lines like: "The seeds for Jack’s writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister’s diary and decided he could write better than she could." If you enjoy audio interviews, his interview on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is one of the most entertaining author interviews that I've ever heard.
My Project
The book describes the small town as having houses that were all alike like Monopoly houses. Interestingly, the ones I used are not quite identical—the greens are slightly different and at least one house is a little smaller than the others. I also wanted to tie in the obituaries that the main character helps write, so I typed up a part of an obituary from the book and cut it apart to use for the background. I researched dyeing papers using tea and coffee, but decided against it when I found that the results would not be archival. Instead, I aged the paper with a combination of paint and acid-free ink. I added a brass propeller to symbolize the dad's airplane. The wooden word "remember" is an echo of one of my favorite lines in the book: "Don't ever forget your history or any wicked soul can lie to you and get away with it." (Can you read that line and not think of modern-day politicians?)
Final Thoughts
This felt like a "boy book"—shooting guns, fixing up airplanes, driving cars, looking at dead people, digging in the dirt. An interesting world, but not really my world. (I would have never read this book growing up.)
This is a good book for the history buff as it's filled with passages from the history books Jack reads, the oral history about the town from his elderly neighbor, plus all the historical details from its 1962 small town setting.
It's definitely one of the subtlest mysteries I've ever read; I didn't even know there was a mystery to solve until near the end. I liked that aspect. It seems more realistic than the adult mysteries that dump a dead body on page one. I want to read the sequel, From Norvelt to Nowhere.
Your Turn
Readers: If you read this book, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.
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