by Jack Gantos

This lively, funny book is a combination of autobiography of Jack Gantos, fiction, and history. Twelve year old Jack spends the summer of 1962 helping Miss. Volker in a small town in Pennsylvania, named Norvelt. Charming Miss Volker writes the town obituaries and she and Jack form a deep friendship. While we are reading about the town’s past, Hells Angels,  Jacks’ nose bleeds, a murder mystery, and life in the 1960’s, we also encounter Jack’s history remarks. His heroine is Eleanor Roosevelt and his respect goes to Ann Frank, Geronimo, Emma Goldman, Aztecs, Underground Railroad, Magna Carta, Houdini and others. He does not stop remarking on the world’s evils such as the Spanish Explorers, the Spanish Inquisition, the Atomic Bomb, the Nazis, racist people and more. It is not only  Jack’s observations that are so intriguing but also the older people in the story as they see their town fade away. Very touching and full of humor.




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