Dead End in Norvelt (2012)

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.

Dead End in Norvelt is the story of a twelve-year-old who happens to have the same name as the author - Jack Gantos. The story takes place in the early 1960's. Jack has been grounded for the summer for firing off his father's Japanese rifle, that he did not know was loaded, at the drive-in screen. Now he can only do chores around the house and help Miss Volker, who is the town's medical examiner, historian and official obituary writer. She needs him to type the obituaries for her because her fingers are crippled from arthritis. With each obit that Jack helps Miss Volker write, he learns more about the power of the written word. Since Miss Volker is the town historian, Jack also learns about the importance of history and learning from it. When a handful of elderly women start dying through the summer, people begin to suspect that the women may be the victims of homicide. There are plenty of suspects - even Jack's parents! Through all of this, Jack learns from Miss Volker that only fools ignore history.

Winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal