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Norvelt #2
From Norvelt to Nowhere
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 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.
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 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.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2013
103 people are currently reading
1055 people want to read
About the author
Jack Gantos
81 books551 followersJack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD, and many other well known characters such as Rotten Ralph, Jack Henry, Jack Gantos (memoirs) and others. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery, the Newbery Honor, the Scott O'Dell Award, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award.
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 345 reviews
November 19, 2015
I enjoyed the sequal to Dead End in Norvelt, but not quite as much as the original. Some aspects of the book seemed just a little too far-fetched for me. I still love Jack's character and many of the supporting characters too. If you liked Dead End in Norvelt, you'll enjoy this follow-up; just maybe not as much. :)
February 25, 2014
I enjoyed the continuing adventures of Jack and Mrs. V as they travel to Florida for a funeral. Listening to Jack Gantos narrate the audiobook almost convinced me that the author was recounting a true family story.
February 6, 2014
Eh...for me, this book fell a little flat compared to the first one, which I loved. There were a few too many similes, and didn't make me laugh as much.
Favorite quotes:
Miss Volker had treated me like her best friend. I think she was sixty-five years older than me, but it sort of evened out because I was her youngest friend and she was my oldest friend. I made her feel younger and she made me feel older. I asked questions and she gave answers. I made her feel smart and she made me feel clueless. She was helpless and I was good help.
"There are just some days," she said, "that are lived out like the last page of a book, and I think today is one of those days."
"What happens tomorrow?" I asked.
"You start a new book," she replied.
Favorite quotes:
Miss Volker had treated me like her best friend. I think she was sixty-five years older than me, but it sort of evened out because I was her youngest friend and she was my oldest friend. I made her feel younger and she made me feel older. I asked questions and she gave answers. I made her feel smart and she made me feel clueless. She was helpless and I was good help.
"There are just some days," she said, "that are lived out like the last page of a book, and I think today is one of those days."
"What happens tomorrow?" I asked.
"You start a new book," she replied.
October 25, 2017
Personal Response:
This sequel to Dead End In Norvelt was much more interesting for me. The plot took me all over the place, sometimes confusing me, but always finding a way to explain what happened. I really liked the change in action from the first book to this one, and also loved the humor contained in both of them. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read it again.
Plot:
This book started off where the last one left off. Mr. Spizz went off to an unknown location and Miss Volker was determined to take his life for the crimes he did. Miss Volker needed to travel to Florida to see her deceased sister, and Jack, although unlicensed, drove her. Jack and Miss Volker, followed cautiously by Mr. Huffer, the funeral parlor owner, go on a cross country journey taking them from a small, almost deserted town in Missouri to the Everglades in Florida. Jack and Miss Volker began their journey with a train ride to Grand Central Station in New York to see the burial site of the deceased Eleanor Roosevelt. On the train ride there, the two of them were very discreetly approached by both Mr. Spizz and Mr. Huffer, both of whom were trying to get Jack to believe the other was the real killer. Their time at the site was an important moment for Miss Volker because of her lifelong commitment to Eleanor as the health inspector in Norvelt. After Jack and Miss Volker had their time at the burial site, they bought a Volkswagen beetle to use on their trip down to Florida, and found out that Mr. Spizz had bought a car just before them. The whole way down, Spizz was always one step ahead as if he knew exactly where Jack and Miss Volker were going to go. There were multiple scenes of fast highway racing between Jack and Spizz with Miss Volker throwing her harpoon at Spizz to try and kill him.
Characterization:
The narrator, Jack Gantos was a very important role in the story. Without him, there would not have been any story being that he is also the author. Jack, in this book, was a boy about 11 years old and had a rough life living during the post depression time. He was called to work by an old neighbor, Miss Volker. After the last book’s murders, he assisted Miss Volker on a cross country chase to foil the murderer and find her lost love. Jack had to deal with an unbelievable amount of crazy history lessons and old lady attitude. I think that Jack became a lot more responsible throughout the book, and he also came to have a better attitude toward his life and history by the end.
Effect of Setting on Plot:
The effect of the setting on the plot for this book was very similar to the effects on the last book. The places used in most of the book are towns in the middle of nowhere, which really allows the plot to happen. If any of the plot would have happened in a large city, there would have been some suspicious people and the police definitely would have been brought into the story. In small towns that are abandoned or just scarcely inhabited, nobody knows what happened there except the people who were there. If there had been a different time used in the book, things would have changed. Technology would have been more advanced and there may have been a better way to investigate the murders than what had been done in the time used. The story was also placed in a time where people were more worried about themselves and their survival than they were for other people and even the rest of their town. The cause of this was the Cuban missile crisis, which made many Americans fear for their lives, so they were not really worried about the well being of anyone else.
Recommendation:
I think this would be a great book for just about any person in their early teen years. The reading level is not extremely high, and there is plenty of humor to keep anyone interested. I do think that a reader must have a general knowledge of basic history to understand a lot of the book, but again, only basic knowledge. Overall, this book is not at all gender specific and would be a decent read for boys and girls.
This sequel to Dead End In Norvelt was much more interesting for me. The plot took me all over the place, sometimes confusing me, but always finding a way to explain what happened. I really liked the change in action from the first book to this one, and also loved the humor contained in both of them. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read it again.
Plot:
This book started off where the last one left off. Mr. Spizz went off to an unknown location and Miss Volker was determined to take his life for the crimes he did. Miss Volker needed to travel to Florida to see her deceased sister, and Jack, although unlicensed, drove her. Jack and Miss Volker, followed cautiously by Mr. Huffer, the funeral parlor owner, go on a cross country journey taking them from a small, almost deserted town in Missouri to the Everglades in Florida. Jack and Miss Volker began their journey with a train ride to Grand Central Station in New York to see the burial site of the deceased Eleanor Roosevelt. On the train ride there, the two of them were very discreetly approached by both Mr. Spizz and Mr. Huffer, both of whom were trying to get Jack to believe the other was the real killer. Their time at the site was an important moment for Miss Volker because of her lifelong commitment to Eleanor as the health inspector in Norvelt. After Jack and Miss Volker had their time at the burial site, they bought a Volkswagen beetle to use on their trip down to Florida, and found out that Mr. Spizz had bought a car just before them. The whole way down, Spizz was always one step ahead as if he knew exactly where Jack and Miss Volker were going to go. There were multiple scenes of fast highway racing between Jack and Spizz with Miss Volker throwing her harpoon at Spizz to try and kill him.
Characterization:
The narrator, Jack Gantos was a very important role in the story. Without him, there would not have been any story being that he is also the author. Jack, in this book, was a boy about 11 years old and had a rough life living during the post depression time. He was called to work by an old neighbor, Miss Volker. After the last book’s murders, he assisted Miss Volker on a cross country chase to foil the murderer and find her lost love. Jack had to deal with an unbelievable amount of crazy history lessons and old lady attitude. I think that Jack became a lot more responsible throughout the book, and he also came to have a better attitude toward his life and history by the end.
Effect of Setting on Plot:
The effect of the setting on the plot for this book was very similar to the effects on the last book. The places used in most of the book are towns in the middle of nowhere, which really allows the plot to happen. If any of the plot would have happened in a large city, there would have been some suspicious people and the police definitely would have been brought into the story. In small towns that are abandoned or just scarcely inhabited, nobody knows what happened there except the people who were there. If there had been a different time used in the book, things would have changed. Technology would have been more advanced and there may have been a better way to investigate the murders than what had been done in the time used. The story was also placed in a time where people were more worried about themselves and their survival than they were for other people and even the rest of their town. The cause of this was the Cuban missile crisis, which made many Americans fear for their lives, so they were not really worried about the well being of anyone else.
Recommendation:
I think this would be a great book for just about any person in their early teen years. The reading level is not extremely high, and there is plenty of humor to keep anyone interested. I do think that a reader must have a general knowledge of basic history to understand a lot of the book, but again, only basic knowledge. Overall, this book is not at all gender specific and would be a decent read for boys and girls.
July 18, 2017
If you have read the first book of this short series, then you have already met Jack Gantos, the author and the main character. Jack is well-meaning and clever, but most of the time he is fairly clueless and lovable. However, he isn't a very convincing character as I believe that very few twelve-year-olds possess that level of innocence and earnesty usually trademark of a much younger child. The actual plot is twisting and elaborate. Every chapter contains an alarming development or cringe-worthy event, and readers will try to help Jack solve the latest Norvelt murder and will learn a shocking truth that no one saw coming. And at the end of the day, no one is who you thought they were and nothing is as it seems.
June 17, 2019
This was not nearly as good as the first, Dead End in Norvelt, but I am glad I read it because it answered some questions from the first novel.
August 19, 2021
If you enjoyed Dead End in Norvelt, then you should definitely continue the story and read From Norvelt to Nowhere. I love the quirky sense of humor of the author as well as the bits of a history he has thrown in along the way.
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October 26, 2024This was a good book. I remember Jack and Miss Volker having the Volkswagen Beetle on the cover of this book. It has the letters RUNS GREAT on it. It does run great. And Jack and Miss Volker were traveling around the U.S to hunt down this enemy named Mr. Spizz.
November 9, 2013
From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos – 4th grade and up – Mystery/Historical Fiction - It was so fun to jump back into Jack Gantos’s Norvelt community! There are such wise, knowledgeable characters that Jack is surrounded by yet still he goes through incredibly crazy twists and turns. I love that this book is a murder mystery where there are surprising answers to questions and odd situations that pop up through the entire book. Terrific story. I did weary a little from Miss Volker during her history lessons, but perhaps this was because of my lack of knowledge for some of the lessons she was sharing. I’m not sure how it happened, but I now have read another book that had to do with bombs/missiles and bomb shelters… although going inside a septic tank was certainly a new situation! It was fun to laugh through this book.
I had my “sticky” notes ready with this read, here were my favorite portions:
One of my favorite opening lines I’ve enjoyed recently with books: “It was Halloween afternoon and I was swinging hand over hand like an escaped chimpanzee across the lattice of open attic rafters in Miss Volker’s rickety wooden garage.”
Jack’s argument with his mom about reading Classics Illustrated comic books. Wouldn’t you want to let your child read if he said this?: “But these books get me excited.” Unfortunately, Jack’s mom’s response was: “”It’s unfortunate that it takes so little,” she said in a voice laden with scorn. She leaned over the bed and with both hands gathered up the comics as if they were a loose deck of filthy cards.” – sigh.
Another line from Jack’s mom that I really thought was lovely/powerful: “Choice is not about how we die,” she said with contempt, “but about how we choose to live.”
On friendship from Jack: “Miss Volker had treated me like her best friend. I think she was sixty-five years older than me, but it sort of evened out because I was her youngest friend and she was my oldest friend. I made her feel younger and she made me feel older. I asked questions and she gave answers. I made her feel smart and she made me feel clueless. She was helpless and I was good help.”
I had my “sticky” notes ready with this read, here were my favorite portions:
One of my favorite opening lines I’ve enjoyed recently with books: “It was Halloween afternoon and I was swinging hand over hand like an escaped chimpanzee across the lattice of open attic rafters in Miss Volker’s rickety wooden garage.”
Jack’s argument with his mom about reading Classics Illustrated comic books. Wouldn’t you want to let your child read if he said this?: “But these books get me excited.” Unfortunately, Jack’s mom’s response was: “”It’s unfortunate that it takes so little,” she said in a voice laden with scorn. She leaned over the bed and with both hands gathered up the comics as if they were a loose deck of filthy cards.” – sigh.
Another line from Jack’s mom that I really thought was lovely/powerful: “Choice is not about how we die,” she said with contempt, “but about how we choose to live.”
On friendship from Jack: “Miss Volker had treated me like her best friend. I think she was sixty-five years older than me, but it sort of evened out because I was her youngest friend and she was my oldest friend. I made her feel younger and she made me feel older. I asked questions and she gave answers. I made her feel smart and she made me feel clueless. She was helpless and I was good help.”
August 21, 2018
The sequel to 2011’s Newbery-winning Dead End in Norvelt is just as laugh-out-loud wacky as the first. Jack teams up again with old Miss Volker, the last original old lady in Norvelt (now appearing to be approaching senility in fits and starts), and this time they’re on a road trip to catch a murderer whose MO is poisoning old ladies with Girl Scout Cookies. Just one teensy problem arises on the way: they’re not exactly certain who the murderer is, or what to do when they catch him (or her)…
Along the journey they have to contend with a fall into a septic tank (but I thought it was a bomb shelter!), Miss Volker’s stiff claw hands (only viable when she heats them up), Jack’s constant nosebleeds (strong enough to break through Miss Volker’s “cure” from the first book), and a couple of folks who seem to be after them with intent to kill.
There were a handful of moments when I lost the storyline for a couple paragraphs because the narration was a little bit confusing. But the bizarre situations, the Miss Volkerized historical mini-lessons, and the outrageous, dark humor were all there. Don’t expect to find yourself in Norvelt again…but definitely prepare for another wild ride at the hands of Jack Gantos.
Grown-up portion of review:
Gantos (the author) attempts to parallel the story to Moby-Dick and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but it creates a little bit of narrative chaos and pulls Miss Volker out of character. Also, I didn't really feel like the characters developed very soundly. Seems like the plot tightness of the first book was this time sacrificed for additional humor. But shoot...it is pretty dang funny.
Along the journey they have to contend with a fall into a septic tank (but I thought it was a bomb shelter!), Miss Volker’s stiff claw hands (only viable when she heats them up), Jack’s constant nosebleeds (strong enough to break through Miss Volker’s “cure” from the first book), and a couple of folks who seem to be after them with intent to kill.
There were a handful of moments when I lost the storyline for a couple paragraphs because the narration was a little bit confusing. But the bizarre situations, the Miss Volkerized historical mini-lessons, and the outrageous, dark humor were all there. Don’t expect to find yourself in Norvelt again…but definitely prepare for another wild ride at the hands of Jack Gantos.
Grown-up portion of review:
Gantos (the author) attempts to parallel the story to Moby-Dick and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but it creates a little bit of narrative chaos and pulls Miss Volker out of character. Also, I didn't really feel like the characters developed very soundly. Seems like the plot tightness of the first book was this time sacrificed for additional humor. But shoot...it is pretty dang funny.
October 13, 2016
I cannot say that I enjoyed this book, and I debated whether or not I should give it a one star rating. I bumped it up to two for the unique and bizarre plot, and because it becomes a tangled up mystery near the end, and I had to solve it! The answer really wasn't that great though....
The first half of the book is written with a large and unnecessary amount of adjectives and similes, which made it feel very juvenile and poorly written. The situation Jack finds himself in is so unrealistic for a twelve year old, and I could not get past that. The 60's were a different time, but would a mother really let her child travel hundreds of miles with an old woman when he should be in school? The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde theme throughout the book was intriguing, though maybe a bit too much of a stretch for this book's intended audience.
The first half of the book is written with a large and unnecessary amount of adjectives and similes, which made it feel very juvenile and poorly written. The situation Jack finds himself in is so unrealistic for a twelve year old, and I could not get past that. The 60's were a different time, but would a mother really let her child travel hundreds of miles with an old woman when he should be in school? The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde theme throughout the book was intriguing, though maybe a bit too much of a stretch for this book's intended audience.
October 25, 2020
From Norvelt to Nowhere, the second book in the Norvelt series, has Jack and his neighbor Miss Volker heading cross country first to pay their respects at Eleanor Roosevelt’s grave, then off to Rugby, Tennessee and one of my favorite places, St. Augustine, Florida. The book takes place during the early 1960’s during the Cuban missile crisis. Miss Volker manages to work in a lot of history lessons and life lessons as they travel across the country on the lookout for a serial killer. There is also quite a bit of discussion about 2 of Miss Volker’s favorite books – Moby Dick and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The dark humor, madcap adventure, history and literature discussions will appeal to a wide audience from pre-teens to seniors.
June 10, 2015
I loved this book even more than its prequel. Gantos is the king of hilarity and I laughed so hard listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Gantos. The relationship between the young boy and Miss Volker is wonderfully touching and hilarious. Set against the backdrop of the cold war and the death of Eleanor Roosevelt make this a great historical novel. Kudos to Gantos!
February 3, 2016
what if you had people blamed you for something you didn't do? I thought this book was actually good. I loved how Jack Gantos says that jack and Mrs.volker was the killer but actually wasn't it was Mr.Huffer. I love how Jack Gantos makes such a strong relationship between Jack and Mr.Volker.I recommend this book to middle scholars who like chapter books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2013
Jack Gantos. Quirky and hilarious. Thoughtful and poignant. Eleanor Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Intergenerational friendships. Need I say more?
October 28, 2015
Fun book. but make sure you read the first book in the series,Dead End in Norvelt, or else it won't make sense at all.
January 8, 2016
This is a great book! It is the 2nd book in the Norvelt series and if you want to read this book I would recommend you read the 1st book before the 2nd so it makes sense.
February 1, 2018
This one was a bit off.
Jack somehow gets swept along on a crazy road trip, with his old-lady neighbor Ms. Volker. She's after a murderer, or so she says, and apparently there's a few people after her too. Also, Ms. Volker has a gun. Jack isn't sure what to think, except that he should stop anybody from killing anybody else. If he can.
* * * * *
I really liked Dead End in Norvelt, and my oldest son liked it too, when he read it a couple of months ago. This one....I steered him away from it. Not that there's content issues, per se, but there's kind of a weird vibe going on between Jack and Ms. Volker. In some places he's coming on to her and in other situations she's coming on to him. I mean, she's old enough to be his grandma. It was unsettling and just strange.
Pretty much the whole time Jack is certain that Ms. Volker has lost her mind. She certainly acts like it. Is it all an act? Maybe Gantos did too good a job of convincing me along the way, because when she makes a turn-around, that's when I stopped believing. Maybe she just started taking her meds or something, I don't know.
Then there's the whole issue of the trip in the first place. So, Jack's parents were okay with him escorting her on her trip. Okay, I guess. I'll go along with that--it was a train ride to Grand Central Station. Not much could go wrong there, right? However, when it turned into several-thousand-mile road trip and they were still just fine with it all? Um...no, not so much. "Have fun stormin' the castle, Jack, and be sure to buckle up since you're still TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE!" Just no.
I didn't find it nearly as funny as the first. More like disjointed, a bit manic, and strange.
I blog at www.ofbooksandblooms.com
Jack somehow gets swept along on a crazy road trip, with his old-lady neighbor Ms. Volker. She's after a murderer, or so she says, and apparently there's a few people after her too. Also, Ms. Volker has a gun. Jack isn't sure what to think, except that he should stop anybody from killing anybody else. If he can.
* * * * *
I really liked Dead End in Norvelt, and my oldest son liked it too, when he read it a couple of months ago. This one....I steered him away from it. Not that there's content issues, per se, but there's kind of a weird vibe going on between Jack and Ms. Volker. In some places he's coming on to her and in other situations she's coming on to him. I mean, she's old enough to be his grandma. It was unsettling and just strange.
Pretty much the whole time Jack is certain that Ms. Volker has lost her mind. She certainly acts like it. Is it all an act? Maybe Gantos did too good a job of convincing me along the way, because when she makes a turn-around, that's when I stopped believing. Maybe she just started taking her meds or something, I don't know.
Then there's the whole issue of the trip in the first place. So, Jack's parents were okay with him escorting her on her trip. Okay, I guess. I'll go along with that--it was a train ride to Grand Central Station. Not much could go wrong there, right? However, when it turned into several-thousand-mile road trip and they were still just fine with it all? Um...no, not so much. "Have fun stormin' the castle, Jack, and be sure to buckle up since you're still TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE!" Just no.
I didn't find it nearly as funny as the first. More like disjointed, a bit manic, and strange.
I blog at www.ofbooksandblooms.com
December 7, 2017
3. From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos is an outstanding book, full of mysterious problems that need to be solved. Jack is a teenage boy living in a small town named Norvelt. Not many people live there his elderly mentor Miss Volker is the only living elderly currently in the town. It’s Halloween night and the town’s killer shows up. That leads Miss Volker and Jack on a road trip to find out who this killer really is. This book makes me feel very intrigued and leaves me wanted to know more! Especially when Jack is trying to find the killer with Miss Volker. Jack’s point of view in this book is very important because he is the one going through all of the catastrophes. If it was by one of his friends point of view I wouldn’t have liked this book as much. Even though I like this book a lot there was a couple of things I didn’t like. At the very beginning Jake and Miss Norvelt had this very long unnecessary conversation while cleaning out her garage. About stuff that I felt didn’t even matter in the book, I felt like that part was slow and didn’t catch my eye quite like the other half of Norvelt to Nowhere did. The theme is this book would be everything will be alright. Jack goes through a lot of hard trials in his life but he has to think to himself everything will always be alright
July 15, 2020
If you felt a bit unsatisfied with the ending of Dead End in Norvelt than DEFINITELY read From Norvelt to Nowhere. Just don't expect it to be better than the OG.
I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVED the first book! The characters were absolutely hilarious, the antics were insane, and the story itself was well-written and engaging.
Okay, with that out of the way, I'd say that From Norvelt to Nowhere falls a bit short of what made the first novel so great.
1) A big part of the theme in the story is history and I found that it was utilized SO WELL in the first novel, it truly was unique to the story. However, in the sequel, history feels like it's just there because it was in the first book. I wish that would have been examined closer. It was just a lot to absorb and at times I had to stop and evaluate what I was reading and why.
2) I constantly felt like I was missing something and kept having to flip back and re-read, only to find that I was still confused. By the end of the novel when the mystery "falls into place" Jack is like "I'm confused" and I was like "ME TOO."
3) I feel like Dead End in Norvelt (The OG) did a better job of making you believe. With the sequel, I found myself questioning if our main character, Jack, was dreaming.
I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVED the first book! The characters were absolutely hilarious, the antics were insane, and the story itself was well-written and engaging.
Okay, with that out of the way, I'd say that From Norvelt to Nowhere falls a bit short of what made the first novel so great.
1) A big part of the theme in the story is history and I found that it was utilized SO WELL in the first novel, it truly was unique to the story. However, in the sequel, history feels like it's just there because it was in the first book. I wish that would have been examined closer. It was just a lot to absorb and at times I had to stop and evaluate what I was reading and why.
2) I constantly felt like I was missing something and kept having to flip back and re-read, only to find that I was still confused. By the end of the novel when the mystery "falls into place" Jack is like "I'm confused" and I was like "ME TOO."
3) I feel like Dead End in Norvelt (The OG) did a better job of making you believe. With the sequel, I found myself questioning if our main character, Jack, was dreaming.
October 15, 2018
Overall I think, "From Norvelt to Nowhere," was a good book. I feel this way because it had an interesting plot filled with ups and downs. The majority of the plot takes place in Norvelt, PA, Philadelphia, PA, New York, Washington D.C. and Florida. The plot changes throughout these locations as the main characters chase Mr. Spizz. Mr. Spizz is an old man who kills all of the elderly women in Norvelt. He kills them by giving them a poisoned girl scout cookie. The main character Jack, Ms. Volker, and Bunny spend the book hunting down Mr. Spizz with a goal to kill him. I liked this book because it was an interesting plotline that I haven't really seen before in another book. In Conclusion, I enjoyed reading, "From Norvelt to Nowhere."
April 10, 2024
Jack Gantos sequel "From Norvelt to Nowhere" continues the characters from the first prize winning novel. This work still has the crisp writing and pacing like its predecessor. The story is in a more traditional genre than the more contemplative side shown previously. The road trip to various cities which shows the author's love of history through one of the main characters, Ms. Volker. The dialogue between characters is natural with the first person, Jack, is more perceptive of his friend and mentor in asides in the novel. There is a great affection for what did happen in the history of Eleanor Roosevelt goals to help the down trodden people during the Great Depression as seen through Ms. Volker's voice.
A worthy successor to "Deadend in Norvelt".
A worthy successor to "Deadend in Norvelt".
June 20, 2021
Not as entertaining as the first one. The sequence of events in this story is a little more far-fetched.
Spoiler: Mr. Huffer, the funeral director, was actually responsible for the old ladies’ deaths. He was feeding them poison cookies, then moving their homes to Florida, where he planned to relocate his family with a prosperous business. His wife had sold false life insurance policies to the old ladies to make more money. Miss Volker decided to settle down with Spiz, and Jack Gantos’ family moved to Florida.
Spoiler: Mr. Huffer, the funeral director, was actually responsible for the old ladies’ deaths. He was feeding them poison cookies, then moving their homes to Florida, where he planned to relocate his family with a prosperous business. His wife had sold false life insurance policies to the old ladies to make more money. Miss Volker decided to settle down with Spiz, and Jack Gantos’ family moved to Florida.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2025
I've got to give the author credit--this is one of the most convoluted plots I've ever read in a youth book (and if you like action--and history--there's plenty of it). It's one of the very few Who Dunnit books I've ever read where I did not ascertain who the killer was mid-story. Actually, I was never sure who the guilty part was, though I had my suspicions near the end. They should make this into a movie--it would be hysterical with the right actors. A shame Katherine Hepburn is no longer with us. She would have been perfect in the role of the spitfire, elderly-yet-feisty Miss Volker.
December 31, 2013
Jack Gantos is a terrific storyteller, entertainer, and teacher. He came to our school captivating students from ages 5-18 years old adjusting his lessons and zany stories for each age. Some stories were doozers that left us with side stitches and tears of laughter such as dropping a cockroach into the sleeping mouth of his sister who got him back by locking him naked out of the house. Or skateboarding off a roof into a pool. Or maybe it was a toboggan. Or bike. After meeting Mr. Gantos it is easy to see the blending of character trait's in the fictional Gantos and the real Gantos. He's a hoot. And an amazing writer. I started to keep a writer's notebook after Gantos visited our school because he talked about the importance of writing everyday and basically inspired me to get back to writing. Six years later I have more notebooks full than I can count and I've rediscovered the fun of writing, something I lost after years of schooling. You need to read the first Norvelt book, "Dead End in Norvelt," in order to understand this story. Don't read beyond this paragraph because my review gives away an important plot twist from book one.
This story picks up with Jack tactlessly dressing up as Spizz Jr. for Halloween. Bunny, his friend, talked him into it and Jack is pretty good at following people versus thinking on his own. Spizz was accused of murdering old women and the town is still recovering from the murders where he poisoned people with Girl Scout Cookies. Spizz has not been caught and it looks like he is back in town wanting to marry Miss Volker. Jack flees with Miss Volker to New York to write an obituary about Eleanor Roosevelt who just died and founded the town. Jack is Miss Volker's apprentice and typer because her hands are crippled from arthritis. Once in New York, they discover Miss Volker's sister died and they have to go to Florida for her funeral. Mayhem and adventure happens on their trip south. Nothing is what it seems in this twisted mystery.
The unreliable narrator, Jack, disappoints his mother in the first book and it continues in this sequel. Except she's disappointed in him reading comic books instead of classic novels. The author weaves this throughout the story with Miss Volker calling him an idiot for reading his comics and not learning the classic story in its entirety. This poking fun at a genre that has always gotten a bad wrap for not being "literary" is funny because it is obvious that Jack does get most of it and he acts more level-headed than Miss Volker who is acting crazy in this sequel.
Miss Volker's over the top behavior is supposed to mirror the split personality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or the vengeance-driven Captain Ahab, except she calls herself Mrs. Captain Ahab. She's determined to kill Spizz at the cost of her human side and at times she scares Jack with her crazy talk. Jack thinks about how Jekyll and Hyde exist in all of us throughout the story; he determines that there is good and bad in everyone and it comes down to the choices made that are important and being true to oneself. He's a doofus though. He falls into a septic tank that he thinks is a bomb shelter. He gives his shoes to a person because they are dirty and runs around in his stockings, and on it goes. Jack is a great unreliable narrator who is missing a common sense gene, but who means well. He's endearing and real.
Gantos loves history and incorporates these aspects into his carefully crafted stories. He also inspires me to improve my writing, especially writing metaphors. I started copying them down, quickly realizing I'd be copying the whole book after the first few chapters. Miss Volker gives history lessons that tie in with famous people who changed their minds for the better and as a result changed the course of history. Lincoln changed his mind about slaves, but he enforced Indian reservations. Jack thinks of this as a Jekyll and Hyde trait in Lincoln. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when the black woman, Marion Anderson, was banned from singing at their headquarters. Eleanor arranged for her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial and more people heard her than if she had sung at the DAR convention. These two people worked for equality and made the United States a better place. They made themselves better people. Jack decides that this is what is important in life.
The reader sees Jack become a better person as he travels with Miss Volker. He worries about her obsession over solving the Norvelt murders and bloodthirsty ways. Jack changes in that he stops following and slowly speaks his mind and ironically shows a maturity in his thinking. He cares about Miss Volker and looks out for her. He still has his unquestioning moments like digging a grave when she asks him to. While he doesn't figure out much of the mystery, he does think about being a better person and he feels more responsible toward her.
The author poignantly shows the Jack's parents as two people who obviously love each other but are very different. His mom is level-headed while his dad is a dreamer, pulling pranks with his plane or dropping roses from it for his mom. Jack's dad can't stay put in one place and the mom is sometimes irritated by it but for the most part understands that this is who he is and accepts his eccentricity. This book has bloody noses and death, just like the first book. Bring your tissue box. Enjoy.
This story picks up with Jack tactlessly dressing up as Spizz Jr. for Halloween. Bunny, his friend, talked him into it and Jack is pretty good at following people versus thinking on his own. Spizz was accused of murdering old women and the town is still recovering from the murders where he poisoned people with Girl Scout Cookies. Spizz has not been caught and it looks like he is back in town wanting to marry Miss Volker. Jack flees with Miss Volker to New York to write an obituary about Eleanor Roosevelt who just died and founded the town. Jack is Miss Volker's apprentice and typer because her hands are crippled from arthritis. Once in New York, they discover Miss Volker's sister died and they have to go to Florida for her funeral. Mayhem and adventure happens on their trip south. Nothing is what it seems in this twisted mystery.
The unreliable narrator, Jack, disappoints his mother in the first book and it continues in this sequel. Except she's disappointed in him reading comic books instead of classic novels. The author weaves this throughout the story with Miss Volker calling him an idiot for reading his comics and not learning the classic story in its entirety. This poking fun at a genre that has always gotten a bad wrap for not being "literary" is funny because it is obvious that Jack does get most of it and he acts more level-headed than Miss Volker who is acting crazy in this sequel.
Miss Volker's over the top behavior is supposed to mirror the split personality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or the vengeance-driven Captain Ahab, except she calls herself Mrs. Captain Ahab. She's determined to kill Spizz at the cost of her human side and at times she scares Jack with her crazy talk. Jack thinks about how Jekyll and Hyde exist in all of us throughout the story; he determines that there is good and bad in everyone and it comes down to the choices made that are important and being true to oneself. He's a doofus though. He falls into a septic tank that he thinks is a bomb shelter. He gives his shoes to a person because they are dirty and runs around in his stockings, and on it goes. Jack is a great unreliable narrator who is missing a common sense gene, but who means well. He's endearing and real.
Gantos loves history and incorporates these aspects into his carefully crafted stories. He also inspires me to improve my writing, especially writing metaphors. I started copying them down, quickly realizing I'd be copying the whole book after the first few chapters. Miss Volker gives history lessons that tie in with famous people who changed their minds for the better and as a result changed the course of history. Lincoln changed his mind about slaves, but he enforced Indian reservations. Jack thinks of this as a Jekyll and Hyde trait in Lincoln. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when the black woman, Marion Anderson, was banned from singing at their headquarters. Eleanor arranged for her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial and more people heard her than if she had sung at the DAR convention. These two people worked for equality and made the United States a better place. They made themselves better people. Jack decides that this is what is important in life.
The reader sees Jack become a better person as he travels with Miss Volker. He worries about her obsession over solving the Norvelt murders and bloodthirsty ways. Jack changes in that he stops following and slowly speaks his mind and ironically shows a maturity in his thinking. He cares about Miss Volker and looks out for her. He still has his unquestioning moments like digging a grave when she asks him to. While he doesn't figure out much of the mystery, he does think about being a better person and he feels more responsible toward her.
The author poignantly shows the Jack's parents as two people who obviously love each other but are very different. His mom is level-headed while his dad is a dreamer, pulling pranks with his plane or dropping roses from it for his mom. Jack's dad can't stay put in one place and the mom is sometimes irritated by it but for the most part understands that this is who he is and accepts his eccentricity. This book has bloody noses and death, just like the first book. Bring your tissue box. Enjoy.
June 18, 2018
I read the first book in the series after going to a PenOhio event at the college of Wooster in which Gantos was the guest speaker. I loved his creative use of detail with a spoonful of adventure and humor in the pages. Even though he adds the same in this book and he is the narrator during a time when he grew up, this is definitely a fictional read. Given that, it is still fast pace and worth a fun read for a kid:)
August 9, 2023
I enjoyed the prior book- which a small town coming of age story. To me, felt like an authentic story of a grown man looking back on his childhood and is full of slightly exaggerated big characters that made an impression on him.
This book picks up from there and things get more and more fantastical. It was good on its own- but compared to my expectations from reading book 1- it fell flat for me.
This book picks up from there and things get more and more fantastical. It was good on its own- but compared to my expectations from reading book 1- it fell flat for me.
January 19, 2017
I really loved the first book, Dead End in Norvelt, (gave it four stars). This sequel seemed a little too far-fetched for me. It didn't capture me in the heart-warming, witty way the first book did. It seemed a bit flat.
However, I still enjoyed the relationship between Jack and Mrs. Volker. The "who dunnit" aspect was fun as well.
I also love her interspersed history lessons to Jack.
However, I still enjoyed the relationship between Jack and Mrs. Volker. The "who dunnit" aspect was fun as well.
I also love her interspersed history lessons to Jack.
April 14, 2018
This picks up up right where the last book leaves off. Just as hilarious with a dark comical backdrop. This book had more of a typical story map. I liked how the back story of Mrs. Volker and Mr. Spitz was explained. This authors' use of figurative language is masterful. For those of you who think it is far fetched and silly- remember it is written for a middle school audience.
May 19, 2018
It wasn't quite as good as the first book, and it required a little too much suspension of disbelief , but nonetheless a good fun read. As much of the book takes place away from Norvelt, I felt the book is missing a little of its charm.
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