Hunger Games Opens Today and Dead End in Norvelt Now Available in Audiobook

Today is an exciting day for book lovers, especially fans of HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games movie opens today--actually it opened at midnight if you want to get technical.

The teens in my grandson's seventh-grade class are abuzz about the Hunger Games books, but especially the movie. One of his teachers told the class she was going to attend the midnight showing.

Yesterday Michael came home excited to see the movie. We drove to the movie theater and I bought a ticket so he could watch Hunger Games this afternoon. He and some friends are walking from school to the movie theater to watch Hunger Games as soon as school gets out. He also brought home an order sheet so I can order all three HUNGER GAMES series books from Scholastic Books. Here's a link to the book trailer. Gotta love it when kids get excited about books and books made into movies!

Here's some more news about a popular book for teens. DEAD END IN NORVELT, winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, is available as an audiobook from Macmillan Audio. I reviewed the Jack Gantos novel some time ago on my blog and on Kidsreads. I recommend it, especially for boys who like quirky adventure stories.

Technical wizard that I am -- no wait, I'm not one of those --- I tried to download an MP3 audio excerpt here, but I was not able to master that skill. At any rate, here's a link if you want to listen for yourself.

Happy reading and movie watching to all young readers--and readers of all ages who love good books!

My Review of Newbery Medal Winner "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

Last week I was excited to learn that DEAD END IN NORVELT by Jack Gantos was selected to receive the John Newbery Medal from the American Library Association (ALA) for the "most outstanding contribution to children's literature."

Back in the fall I read and reviewed DEAD END IN NORVELT  for Kidsreads.com and gave it five stars--the highest rating I can give for a book.

Gantos' novel has so much going for it, I don't know where to begin, so I'll summarize my review.

DEAD END IN NORVELT is part autobiography and part historical fiction, with some mystery and suspense thrown in for good measure. The setting is 1962 in Norvelt, Pennsylvania. The main character is twelve-year-old Jack Gantos, who has a problem. When he gets startled, excited or scared, his nose bleeds. And during the summer of 1962, there are lots of exciting and frightening events happening in Jack’s hometown. After he accidentally fires a live bullet from his dad's Japanese sniper's rifle, he gets in big trouble. To redeem himself he agrees to help Miss Volker, an elderly neighbor, with a special project.

Because of his Miss Volker's arthritis--and her promise to Eleanor Roosevelt--Jack helps type obituaries of the original residents of the town, which was established during the New Deal. During the summer an increasing number of original residents die, and Jack wonders if something sinister is going on in his home town.

While typing the obituaries, he also learns about how each resident has impacted the town. Besides Jack and Miss Volker, there are some strange residents in Norvelt, including his own parents, who are a study in contrasts of the era. His dad is a World War II vet who wants to leave Norvelt, while at the same time preparing for a Russian invasion from the Commies. His mom loves her community and wants to stay.

Without giving too much away, I'll add that Gantos uses a gentle touch to weave twentieth century American history into the story line along with wonderfully wacky scenes, delightfully memorable characters, and a mystery to boot.

You can read my entire review on the Kidsreads.com website.