Dead End in Norvelt

Book #1 in the Norvelt series

Grounded for life, a boy uncovers secrets in his town's obituaries, leading to unexpected adventures.

3.7/5 Goodreads · 22,432 ratings

384 pages· 73,677 words· Est. 7 hour read

$10.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Jack's summer plans crumble when he's grounded, but life takes a wild turn as he helps his eccentric neighbor write obituaries. Each story unravels secrets of their quirky town, leading Jack into a whirlwind of bizarre events, including a dancing plague and a possible murder. As Jack navigates this strange adventure, he discovers that the past is never truly gone, and the future is full of surprises. Will Jack uncover the truth behind the mysteries, or will he be swept away by the chaos? Dive into a tale where history and hilarity collide in unexpected ways.

From the publisher

Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year’s best contribution to children’s literature and the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction!

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.