Norvelt

2 primary works

Dead End in Norvelt

by Jack Gantos

Published 13 September 2011

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

From Norvelt to Nowhere

by Jack Gantos

Published 10 September 2013

This town is haunted by more than just ghosts . . .

When Jack dresses up as a notorious local murderer for Halloween, he thinks he’s found the perfect costume to scare away evil spirits. But when the real murderer returns and another old lady dies, he starts to worry that he might not be showing the best judgment.

Together with Miss Volker, the last remaining original Norvelter, Jack sets out on a road trip through the dark side of America’s history to track down the killer once and for all.

Will they save Norvelt? Or are they going nowhere?

From Norvelt to Nowhere is Jack Gantos’s hilarious follow-up to Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal and shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian Children’s Prize.