Dead End in Norvelt

by Jack Gantos
Hennepin County Library audiobook 6 discs / PRMS hardcover 341 pages
genre: YA humor / historical fiction
read by the author . . .

Warning! I *will* include spoilers.

When a colleague saw that I was reading this book, she expressed disappointment in the title. I was mostly enjoying it, until I go to the end and thought, "What?! That's it?!"

I have put this in the "historical" genre of my collection, but it could easily be in the "humor" section. There are lots of amusing bits in this story. The main character's name is . . . Jack Gantos. I thought it odd that the author would use his own name about this skinny, pathetic kid who has nosebleeds all the time. Set in 1962, how much of it is autobiographical?

The town was named after EleaNOR RooseVELT, and she was the inspiration for this small town of poor people whose lives depended in large part on the coal mines. The importance of history came through clearly, and I truly enjoyed the character of Miss Volker, who writes the obituaries for the local paper.

The "huh?" parts at the end can be expressed through my questions. Mr. Spizz murdered a bunch of people to try to win over Miss Volker? And he tried to frame Jack for the poisoning? How does that fit into a humorous story? The dad encourages his son to throw paint bombs at the drive-in theatre? No one calls Mr. Huffer on his land grabs? What the heck was the Hells Angels stuff? There are so many loose ends and unanswered questions . . . I'm not even sure the author knew what he was trying to say.

The story on page 81 about Jack's dad taking him deer hunting and Jack's true feelings toward the idea of killing the deer . . . this was poignant.

Mom's shouting on page 122 made me chuckle. I can relate. "How do you remember all that stuff?" I asked over my shoulder as I ran back down the hall. "I have it memorized," she shouted behind me, "because I'm forced to say it every day of your animal boy life!"

Overall, an enjoyable book with a regrettable non-conclusion.