From Norvelt to Nowhere - by Jack Gantos (Paperback)

About the Book

Young Jack accompanies Miss Volker on a wild pursuit of the chief suspect in the Norvelt murders, while being pursued themselves.

Book Synopsis

This rocket-paced follow-up to the Newbery Medal-winning novel Dead End in Norvelt opens deep in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis. But instead of Russian warheads, other kinds of trouble are raining down on young Jack Gantos and his utopian town of Norvelt in western Pennsylvania. After an explosion, a new crime by an old murderer, and the sad passing of the town's founder, twelve-year-old Jack will soon find himself launched on a mission that takes him hundreds of miles away, escorting his slightly mental elderly mentor, Miss Volker, on her relentless pursuit of the oddest of outlaws. But as their trip turns south in more ways than one, it's increasingly clear that the farther from home they travel, the more off-the-wall Jack and Miss Volker's adventure becomes, in From Norvelt to Nowhere, a raucous road novel about roots and revenge, a last chance at love, and the power of a remarkable friendship.

A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2013

Review Quotes

"Gantos employs gothic humor, scene-crafting mastery, and Jack's querulous voice to offer a wild and challenging road-trip novel, murder mystery, meditation on American history, and love story all in one." --The Horn Book

"The book is fast paced and laced with both history lessons and hilarity." --School Library Journal

"A hilarious havoc-ridden road trip." --BCCB, starred review

"Dollops of history and mystery, plus gross to wickedly barbed comical set pieces set in a talky, ambling, amiable odyssey." --Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Dead End in Norvelt won't want to miss this lively sequel." --Booklist, starred review

"Gantos's sequel to his Newbery-winning Dead End in Norvelt offers less history, more murder, and another hefty helping of zaniness." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A bumper-car ride through history . . . Wonderfully wacky . . . darkly comic." --The Washington Post on DEAD END IN NORVELT

"This is a story like no other." --Jon Scieszka, founder of guysread.com on DEAD END IN NORVELT

"* Laugh-out-loud gothic comedy." --The Horn Book, starred review on DEAD END IN NORVELT

"* [A] wildly entertaining meld of truth and fiction." --Publishers Weekly, starred review on DEAD END IN NORVELT

"A brilliant book, full of history, mystery, and laughs." --Dave Barry, coauthor of the Peter and the Starcatchers series on DEAD END IN NORVELT

About the Author

Jack Gantos was raised in the town of Norvelt and now lives in Boston. In addition to his two Norvelt novels, he is also the acclaimed author of the Joey Pigza series, the Jack Henry story collections, and the many Rotten Ralph books.