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 fiesty 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.
- Read-Along eBooks for Children
- Get Hooked on a Series- eBook
- Winter Reading
- eBook Shorts: Your Favorite Stories, but Shorter
- Percy Jackson Collection
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- Romance in the Middle, Ages That Is
- Living on the Edge
- Is It True Dukes Have More Fun?
- Danielle Steel eBooks
- True Stories of World War II
- Biographies of Early Americans - eBooks
- Shifting Sands
- See all
- Read by the Author
- Short Stories for Short Commutes
- Have You Listened to the Most Popular Titles in the Collection?
- Winter Listening
- Percy Jackson Collection
- Animals on Audiobooks
- Audiobooks the Whole Family Will Enjoy...
- Audie Award Winners
- Oldies But Goodies
- Get Hooked on a Series- Audio
- Audiobooks You Might Have Missed
- Listen and Learn
- Listen & Learn: Science Nonfiction
- See all
- 2021 Library Reads
- 2022-2023 Great Stone Face Short List
- 2022-2023 Isinglass Award Short List
- 2022-2023 Flume Award Short List
- 2018-2022 Ladybug Award Nominees
- Romance Award Winners
- 2020 Library Reads
- Edgar Award Winners
- 2019 Library Reads
- Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award Winners
- 2018 Library Reads
- Book Shimmy Awards
- 2017 Library Reads
- See all
- Travel Magazines
- News Magazines
- Heath & Fitness Magazines
- Gardening and Outdoor Living Magazines
- Popular Magazines
- House and Home Magazines
- Tech and Gaming Picks
- Magazines for History Lovers
- Crafts & Hobbies Magazines
- Food & Wine Magazines
- Delving Into Your Devices
- Magazines for Science Enthusiasts
- Hobby magazines
- See all