6/30/2023 0 Comments The dead end in norveltConstant historical delving works well as part of Miss Volker’s obituaries (every death is linked to that day in history), but less successfully as part of Jack’s musings about life. Jack’s peer relationships are sketchier, and tangential to the story. Miss Volker is a charming character, and it’s easy to see why Jack grows to like her. His mother grew up in Norvelt and is holding on to its communal past, while his father is carting unused Norvelt houses to another thriving town. His relationship with his parents is particularly well drawn. Not surprisingly, Jack is funny and has a unique perspective. Throw in a sinister undertaker, a Hell’s Angel gang who curses the town, and a rash of mysterious deaths, and the summer becomes unexpectedly exciting for Jack (which is a problem, because his nose will gush blood at the least provocation).ĭead End in Norvelt can be very funny. Jack discovers history through reading a collection of discarded library books and keeping company with Miss Volker. Jack, age 13, is looking forward to a summer of baseball and adventure when he is grounded and assigned to work with the original Norvelter, Miss Volker, town coroner, historian, and chief obituary writer. The original families are dying and younger townspeople have left. In the past 30 years, the town has declined. Norvelt was founded in 1934 as a low-income community housing project. Jack Gantos is both author and hero in this novel set in 1962 in the town of Norvelt (named after its patron, Eleanor Roosevelt).
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