Summary
This
semi-autobiographical story is set in the summer of 1962 in the real town of
Norvelt, PA, and centers on the quirky escapades of eleven year old Jack
Gantos. Due to some unwise choices of his own and his parents’ conflicting
ideas, Jack finds himself grounded for the summer – that is, until Miss Volker,
an elderly spinster who has taken upon herself to compose the obituaries of the
original town members, hires Jack to be her typist. Miss Volker, whose
arthritic hands cause her to be handicapped physically, certainly has no
handicaps mentally, and she capably and wittingly dictates to Jack the
obituaries as more and more of the town’s original members die off. The book
follows Jack on multiple escapades that involve such things as digging a hole
for a bomb shelter, driving without a license, dead bodies, rat poison, bloody
noses, Hell’s Angels, WWII relics and airplanes, and multiple suspicious deaths
of the town’s senior citizens. Through it all, it’s almost as if Jack is
immersed in a virtual history book – and he learns the value of studying and
appreciating history as it relates to the present.
Interest
Because of its
knack for adventure, the male protagonist, the mostly outdoors setting, and its
realistic tone, this book would appeal mostly to boys. Boys who would find most
satisfaction in this book are those in the younger adolescent stage, ages
eleven to fourteen, although some older boys may find enjoyment in it for
purely nostalgic reasons. The book itself does not necessarily fit one specific
story type, but it follows an adventure-suspense motif that appeals strongly to
boys in the early stage of adolescence.
Developing Well-Adjusted Readers
Progressive Independence and Separation
from Parents: As
Carlsen relates, teens have a “great need to break these ties [with their
parents] so that they can emerge as independent beings into adulthood”
(13). As a pre-adolescent, Jack certainly
begins exhibiting signs of desiring to gain an independent footing aside from
his parents. Although there are moments in the book when Jack finds himself
seeking out his parents’ love and approval, the overall tenor of the book is
Jack learning to resolve conflict on his own without the aid of his parents.
Early adolescents will certainly be able to relate to Jack and his desire to be
a separate entity from his parents.
Changed Relationship with Peers: Although Jack is
officially an employee of Miss Volker, he finds himself deeply drawn to her.
Perhaps because he is grounded and is not permitted to do much of anything
else, Jack becomes consumed with taking care of his spinster friend, and he
spends the better part of his summer waiting by the phone for Miss Volker to
solicit his help. The book also details Jack’s rocky relationship with his
friend, Bunny, who is a girl that seems to exhibit more masculine character
traits than the main character. Her dad is the town mortician, and the viewing
of dead people is second nature to this tough chick, which is a pastime that
horrifies and terrifies Jack. Bunny takes pleasure in frightening Jack by
forcing him to look at her dad’s latest specimens. Because Jack wants to please
Bunny and keep her as his friend, Jack follows Bunny’s whims and rarely stands
up to her taunts – but, the book ends with Jack proving to Bunny that he is
brave and willing to risk adventure – on his own terms. Early adolescents will
enjoy Jack’s development as he seeks to forge his own identity with his peer
group.
Finding a Significant Role Model: The book starts
out relating Jack’s rocky relationship with his parents – his mother doesn’t
seem to understand his adolescent ideas, and his father seems to be more
concerned with finding a way to get out of Norvelt than taking an interest in
his son. When Miss Volker hires Jack to be her assistant, it is natural that
Jack should ultimately relegate the role of “significant adult” to her. As the
story unfolds, it seems that Miss Volker, whose original reason for hiring Jack
was purely logistical in nature, desires to be more than just an employer to
Jack. She uses each obituary as a history lesson – teaching Jack that history
does repeat itself –therefore one must know history to avoid repeating what
shouldn’t be repeated. The reader can’t help but read between the lines to
sense that Miss Volker, although she takes almost maniacal pleasure in the
dictating of the obituaries, is saddened to see the town as she has always
known it die along with its people. She becomes a role model for Jack, and Jack
willingly accepts her presence as such. This book may appeal to those early
adolescent boys who are seeking to find someone who will understand them and
encourage their proficiencies and sharpen their deficiencies.
Coming to Terms with the Body: Jack’s biggest
annoyance with his body is his constantly bleeding nose – whenever Jack is
confronted with fear or anxiety, his nose begins to gush. The author devotes
quite a bit of time to gory exaggerations of this frustrating malady – and the
reader is forced to empathize with Jack’s insecurity about it. Miss Volker
comes to the rescue with this issue: she is a retired nurse, and she decides to
perform a home-based cauterization of Jack’s nose, which fixes the stubborn
problem and thus boosts Jack’s self-image. Whether they themselves have
struggled with this very issue, or have struggled with another physical
“deformity,” many teens will be able to relate to Jack’s embarrassment and
humiliation with his problem.
Relating to the Opposite Sex: Because the
story is centered on a pre-adolescent, the subject of sexuality is not
addressed on any level. Jack’s best friend Bunny is a girl, but the book does
nothing to indicate that either character is interested in the other
romantically. Theirs is a platonic relationship; in fact, Bunny seems to
display more masculine character traits than feminine, which does more to
further the idea that they are interested only in friendship.
Achieving a Sense of Status: At the
beginning of the story, the reader is struck with the fact that Jack doesn’t
seem to be good at much of anything. On top of that, Jack finds himself
grounded for the summer, which prevents him from being able to participate on
his baseball team. When Jack’s mother hires him out to Miss Volker, he is
devastated – why would he want to spend his summer with a crazy old lady? As
Jack begins to work for Miss Volker, however, he finds that he is good at
typing. Not only does Jack discover a personal sense of accomplishment in this skill,
but he even has a chance to write an obituary of his own – something that he is
proud to show off. I think teen readers could relate to Jack’s thrill in
discovering hidden talents and will applaud his efforts in finding a sense of
belonging.
Achieving an Integrated System of
Values: Two
differing sets of values vie for Jack’s attention throughout the book. The
first, strongly espoused by his mother and Miss Volker, is socialist in nature.
According to Miss Volker, the town of Norvelt was founded on the principles of
community sharing – the government sanctioned the creation of the town to give
the desperately poor a chance to have a middle class life. Miss Volker’s
greatest fear is the passing away of the town’s original ideals along with the
passing away of its original members. On the other side of the value spectrum
is Jack’s dad. He thinks that the town of Norvelt is full of Nazi-loving,
Communist hippies, who want nothing to do with modernization and are content to
siphon off each other and the government. Throughout the book, Jack’s dad is
constantly looking for ways to escape the prison of the “dead end” town, so
that he can step out and make something of himself in a more capitalistic
environment. Jack spends a lot of time musing over the good and evil of both
value systems, although he doesn’t necessarily make a conscious choice to
accept or reject either one. The typical pre-adolescent probably would not be
able to decipher the book’s overall tone that condones socialism and rejects
capitalism, but a more mature reader may be able to grasp it and be able to
apply it to his own value system.
Work Experience: Although Jack
did not go looking for employment himself, he benefits from it nonetheless.
First of all, Jack finds that his otherwise dull summer of being constrained to
his home is made more enjoyable by his adventures with Miss Volker. Jack also
learns the value of a good work ethic. As he works for Miss Volker, he finds
himself improving in his job performance and improving in his sense of identity
apart from his parents. Working for the summer has enabled Jack to experience
and discover things that would have been unavailable to him otherwise. A
definite parallel exists in the book between Jack’s rising abilities in work
and Jack’s emerging independence from his parents. This book could encourage
those early adolescents that working is not only honorable, but worthwhile.
Making a Vocational Choice: Although the
book does not portray Jack making a conscious vocational choice (he is too
young to do so), it does portray those who have made vocational choices, along
with the benefits or detriments involved with those choices. For instance, Miss
Volker pronounced herself historian at the town’s founding, and the reader
definitely gets the sense that she enjoys her work – in fact, her work seems to
be her life. On the other hand, Jack’s father would be an example of someone
who seems to drift from job to job and is always looking for something better.
He never seems satisfied and is always looking to improve his lot. This book
could encourage those adolescents to follow a career path that speaks to them,
rather than just falling into something haphazardly.
Issues
A few issues may
need to be addressed when teaching or reading through this book. First of all, Jack’s
use of the euphemism “cheese-us-crust” is spattered throughout the book and may
be considered offensive by some readers. Secondly, in his quirky style, the
author decides to explain Jack’s nosebleeds with such gruesome and gory detail
that many readers may be repulsed by it, although the early adolescents that
are drawn to this book may find the details fascinating and exciting. Finally,
the issue of socialism vs. capitalism would need to be discussed. Since the
author has a more positive view of socialism than he does of capitalism, it
would be easy for the early adolescent who is still maturing in his value
system to accept the author’s underlying contention that socialism is good and
capitalism is bad.
Recommendations
This book is the 2012 Newbery
winner. To be honest, I am still trying to figure out what makes it such an
honorable book. Many reviewers hail the book as “brilliant” and “genius,” but I
wonder if those who think such are themselves from “dead end” towns and relate
to it more on that level, rather than on a literary level. While I can
appreciate Gantos’ quirky way of writing, I do not think the book is all that
it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, the book lacks forward motion – it feels
stagnant. Although many “exciting” things happen in the book, they don’t seem
to make sense or fit into the overall theme of the book. Also, Jack’s character
is frustrating – he is a weak, fearful protagonist that does not seem to
develop much throughout the book, except in his appreciation of history. I
think that many adolescent boys will be frustrated that Jack is not more of the
daredevil type and wish for more exciting adventures. Also, the book’s
resolution at the end comes a little too quickly and conveniently. I wanted to
like this book, but I found Mr. Gantos’ style more off-putting than inviting
and his characters more static than developing. Although the book has some
redeeming value especially for the history buff, the only recommendation that I
would give for reading this book is its status as a Newbery winner.
