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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “This is an amazing book, featuring a young boy named jack who has to write obituaries for an old lady named Ms.Volker because he is grounded. His dad intends to run away from Norvelt, while Jack's mom want's to stay. |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “This book started out with a five-star rating. It was funny and quirky and I can see boys really liking this book. However, as I continued to read, stars began to fall off the rating scale. For one thing, I have never read a book that was both very anti-America and very pro-America at the same...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“The book “Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos shows how amazing people like Eleanor Roosevelt can make a difference for people whose homes got foreclosed when the coal mines in that area were closed in 1934. Jack Gantos is a young boy that is curious to know about the past. Miss Volker is the neighbor that Jack gets “lent out” to and becomes good friends with Jack. Jack learns what is so important about Norvelt, a town that Eleanor Roosevelt built to help people whose job got lost due to the foreclose of mines. Jack learns how to write obituaries with Miss Volker. Miss Volker is a Norvelt “original” that was given a job by Eleanor Roosevelt to be the town’s ‘nurse’. Miss Volker vowed to never get married until all the “originals” died off even though Mr. Spizz wants to marry Miss Volker. The climax point of the story is when all the “original” ladies of Norvelt started to die off. This makes Miss Volker and Jack wonder what is happening to them and jump to conclusions that Mr. Spizz is poisoning the poor old ladies. To find out if this was true, Miss Volker has Jack wander around town trying to find what Mr. Spizz is doing. Jack ends up buying a type of bug poison for Mr. Spizz who claims that he was going to use it at the town dump where there were an abundance of cockroaches. The end of the story Jack gets accused of killing of the old ladies due to buying the poison and the poison showing up on the autopsy reports. “Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos contains a theme of doing the right thing even if you don’t want to do it in the first place, because in the end, you might actually like it. Jack does this by helping Miss Volker with writing the obituaries that she couldn’t write due to very bad arthritis in her hands. Throughout this book you learn how to be nice even if you don’t really want to due to irritation towards another. We learn how communities can make a big difference in one’s life because how close knit you can become with your neighbors. I would rate this book a five because it is a great book letting you know how great giving a helping hand out and at the same time, this book is super humorous. ”
Gretchen J wrote this review 20 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Dead End in Norvelt is a great novel. It begins when Jack is having the best summer when he fires a rifle bulit out of a Japanese rifle and gets in trouble for the rest of summer. He spends his summer writing orbitraries for all of the original novelters who passed on with Ms. Volker.”
Aaron yazd wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A little towns elderly are dying off some how?”
Dalton D wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It was a funny book. I wanted to have it for my children's Ccollection but I didn't like the philosphy espoused toward the end of the book.”
Mikie wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Adolensent Novel #2: I liked this book becasue it shows how your summer vacation can get ruined and do something you dont want to. ”
Jake Bass wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Jack Gantos is a great author and I had the pleasure of meeting him when he gave an author talk at our school. I was happy to find out that a sequel is being written for the novel because I felt like I needed more for the ending.”
Mrs. Doyle wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I enjoyed the history adventures that were in this book and the fact that even though they are not entirely true they could be.”
Niki Guese wrote this review Friday, April 19, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Don't want to get in trouble in his house! Mama don't play!”
Susan wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I liked this book, but I did not love it. I had higher hopes for this Newbery winner. I'll have to think about it and write a more critical review later; I just can't put my finger on what my disappointment was for this one. I think it felt too disjointed. I wasn't quite sure who the audience was on this one.”
Susie P wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Dead End in Norvelt is wildly entertaining and a great book for those who like--and don't like--to read. Part true tale and part fiction, it tells about Jack's crazy summer--the summer he spent writing obituaries with his nosy elderly neighbor, accidentally shooting WWII era rifles, digging a ditch for a fake bomb shelter, and trying to do the impossible--stay out of trouble. Check this one out--it's a must read.”
Mrs. Hodges wrote this review Friday, April 5, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
