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protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
This was an entertaining romp, but ultimately a rather forgettable one. I listening to the audiobook and finished in a day, and now I struggle to remember any specific details. The follow-up to the Newbery award winner has less heart and relies more on silliness piled on more silliness. Silliness isn't always a bad thing, but I feel like this is the wrong combination of a series story and goofy happenings. It is hard to know who the target audience is for this book.
gmamartha's review against another edition
3.0
A continuous romp of adventure that only a middle school boy and the oldest lady living in Norvelt could ever have.
nearly_empty_nesting's review against another edition
3.0
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.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
2.0
Jack and Miss Volker are back. And so is Mr. Spizz-at least that is what everyone thinks when on Halloween the second to the last original Norvelt lady is killed by eating a poisoned thin mint.
Then Eleanor Roosevelt, the beloved founder of Norvelt, dies and Miss Volker takes Jack on a mission to mourn Ms. Roosevelt and track down Spizz to exact revenge. Unfortunately, this novel is schizophrenic. There are some really funny parts reminiscent of Dead End in Norvelt, but there are also some weird parts that lost me. Too bad. I was really looking forward to this book. 2.5 stars.
Middle school
Then Eleanor Roosevelt, the beloved founder of Norvelt, dies and Miss Volker takes Jack on a mission to mourn Ms. Roosevelt and track down Spizz to exact revenge. Unfortunately, this novel is schizophrenic. There are some really funny parts reminiscent of Dead End in Norvelt, but there are also some weird parts that lost me. Too bad. I was really looking forward to this book. 2.5 stars.
Middle school
nearly_empty_nesting's review
3.0
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.
barbarianlibarian's review against another edition
2.0
liked the first one better. this took a little time to get into. I think partially because I was listening to the audio and it takes some time to get used to Jack Ganto's voice, and perhaps also just because it was a little slow. the rest of the plot was meh, and I found myself spacing out often.
beths0103's review
3.0
Jack Gantos narrating the audiobook certainly makes this one, along with the first book, worth a listen.
librariandest's review against another edition
3.0
Young Jack Gantos returns to the page in this sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning [b:Dead End in Norvelt|9858488|Dead End in Norvelt|Jack Gantos|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1371074276s/9858488.jpg|14749689]. The mystery from the first book continues: Who is the real old lady killer? Is it Spizz? Could it be Ms. Volker?! What about Bunny's creepy funeral director father?
As wacky, deranged, and funny as the original, but more twisty and head-spinning. I listened to the audiobook and sometimes found myself a little lost in the tangle of plot. As someone who's interested in history, I liked Ms. Volker's mini-lectures, but they may feel didactic to some readers.
If you liked the first one, you'll like this.
As wacky, deranged, and funny as the original, but more twisty and head-spinning. I listened to the audiobook and sometimes found myself a little lost in the tangle of plot. As someone who's interested in history, I liked Ms. Volker's mini-lectures, but they may feel didactic to some readers.
If you liked the first one, you'll like this.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
3.0
I laughed my way through Dead End in Norvelt multiple times, so I had expectations of some humor. They were certainly satisfied. Once again, Jack Gantos manages to pull together bizarre and amazingly funny situations throughout the novel. I would recommend that people read Dead End in Norvelt first, but Gantos does provide a bit of review in the beginning in case readers have forgotten some of the first book or haven't read it.
I was disappointed that Jack's best friend dresses up as an Indian for Halloween. It is something that children do, but with all of the many costumes that could be chosen, I just wished that a different choice had been made. That was a negative for me, but Gantos did win points when the topic of Abraham Lincoln came up. Miss Volker spews history and she doesn't only tell the boring, sanitized textbook type of information. She brings up some of the aspects of people's lives that people may typically ignore or gloss over so that hero status is maintained. Lincoln ordered thirty-eight Sioux men hanged in 1862. That isn't something that elementary students or even older students always get taught, but Jack learns about it from Miss Volker. Reading this book could really turn students on to history because Miss Volker tells about people with their warts and all. She even shares about FDR cheating on his wife.
Seeing two sides of people is a major theme that comes up over and over along the way. Jack sees many examples of this starting with the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde classic comic he reads near the beginning of their road trip. Jack notices that he himself seems to bounce back and forth and the adults around him, especially Miss Volker, are also fighting this type of battle inside.
The mystery that began in the first novel continues in From Norvelt to Nowhere kept me reading. I still wanted to know for sure who killed all those ladies back in Norvelt. Before the crime is solved, Jack gets naked, harpoons are launched, and all kinds of mayhem ensues. The humor and the juicy bits of history make this book a lot of fun. It seemed a bit more complex and more of a middle school book than the first, so I am not sure how many of my elementary students are going to rip through this one though many fifth graders enjoyed Dead End in Norvelt. I really appreciate that Gantos is able to write historical fiction that can bring a smile to your face since so many are about war and serious subjects. Books like these from Gantos can help to show students a more lively view of history.
I am looking forward to book talking From Norvelt to Nowhere and hearing back from my students.
Originally posted at http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-from-norvelt-to-nowhere.html
I was disappointed that Jack's best friend dresses up as an Indian for Halloween. It is something that children do, but with all of the many costumes that could be chosen, I just wished that a different choice had been made. That was a negative for me, but Gantos did win points when the topic of Abraham Lincoln came up. Miss Volker spews history and she doesn't only tell the boring, sanitized textbook type of information. She brings up some of the aspects of people's lives that people may typically ignore or gloss over so that hero status is maintained. Lincoln ordered thirty-eight Sioux men hanged in 1862. That isn't something that elementary students or even older students always get taught, but Jack learns about it from Miss Volker. Reading this book could really turn students on to history because Miss Volker tells about people with their warts and all. She even shares about FDR cheating on his wife.
Seeing two sides of people is a major theme that comes up over and over along the way. Jack sees many examples of this starting with the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde classic comic he reads near the beginning of their road trip. Jack notices that he himself seems to bounce back and forth and the adults around him, especially Miss Volker, are also fighting this type of battle inside.
The mystery that began in the first novel continues in From Norvelt to Nowhere kept me reading. I still wanted to know for sure who killed all those ladies back in Norvelt. Before the crime is solved, Jack gets naked, harpoons are launched, and all kinds of mayhem ensues. The humor and the juicy bits of history make this book a lot of fun. It seemed a bit more complex and more of a middle school book than the first, so I am not sure how many of my elementary students are going to rip through this one though many fifth graders enjoyed Dead End in Norvelt. I really appreciate that Gantos is able to write historical fiction that can bring a smile to your face since so many are about war and serious subjects. Books like these from Gantos can help to show students a more lively view of history.
I am looking forward to book talking From Norvelt to Nowhere and hearing back from my students.
Originally posted at http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-from-norvelt-to-nowhere.html
jay2351's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could say I loved the second book as much or even more than the first, but I can't. I found it very flat and it seemed to drag on and on with no action what so ever. I made it a little over halfway through the book before I had to stop reading and I still haven't finished.