Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. 
 
His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jack Gantos

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Jack's summer has hit a dead end . . . 
 
After being 'grounded for life', Jack is facing a summer of doing nothing. But who's got time to die of boredom when there are so many more interesting ways to die in this town? 
 
He might crash in his dad's homemade plane, or catch the disease that makes you dance yourself to death, or fall foul of the motorcycle gang that wants to burn the town to the ground. Old people seem to be dying faster than Miss Volker can write their obituaries, and Jack is starting to worry that it might not just be the rats that are eating the rat poison . . . 
 
Dead End in Norvelt is Jack Gantos's hilarious blend of the entirely true and the wildly fictional, from one of the most darkly amusing imaginations writing today.

Dead End in Norvelt

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 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.

From Norvelt to Nowhere

David Tazzyman

Joey is a good kid, maybe even a great kid, but his teachers never know what he's going to do next. He sharpens his finger in the pencil-sharpener and swallows his house key. He can't sit still for more than a minute - Joey is buzzing! 
 
Told from Joey's own unique viewpoint by acclaimed American author Jack Gantos, this is an exceptionally funny and touching story about a boy with severe attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key

Sixteen-year-old Walker has accidentally discvered that two female classmates are lovers. When a rabid evangelical preacher arrives in their town, a witch-hunt is launched against gay students and Walker, for some reason, is the prime target. Walker knows the quickest way to divert the attention would be to give away the girls' secret - but should he sacrifice their peace of mind for his? A powerful, unusual and thought-provoking read from an award-winning author.

Desire Lines

Everything changes for Joey when his crazy, long-lost dad returns home after a lucky lottery win. Now they're rich, Carter Pigza truly believes that his family can start a whole new life and that means embarking on a brand new career running a busy diner - and changing their family name from Pigza to Heinz. Can Joey handle becoming Freddy? And how does he really feel about the fact that he's going to become a big brother?

I Am Not Joey Pigza

Joey's dad is well and truly wired! 
 
After months of nagging, Joey Pigza is finally allowed to spend the summer holidays with his dad. But he soon finds out why Mom was so worried. If people think Joey has problems, they should meet his dad! 
 
Joey's dad insists he can cope without medication and that Joey can too. Joey so wants to believe his dad is right - but Joey remembers just how manic he felt before he got help. Can Joey live life his dad's way - or will the chaos take over?

Joey Pigza Loses Control

Joey Pigza is back in his fifth hilarious adventure, with illustrations by David Tazzyman.

The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza

'Joey Pigza, you need a life!' 
 
Grandma wants Joey to find a friend, stop running around after his NUTTY parents, and start looking after himself. But Joey's got other plans - he's going to be MR HELPFUL. 
 
Can Joey the secret superhero suceed in his mission to keey everybody SMILING?

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