false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178826008m/842087.jpg 842087 9 "I find myself moving like a knife, carving my way around people, cutting myself out of their picture and leaving nothing of myself behind but a hole." A gaping hole of misery is what popular young adult author Jack Gantos remembers when he thinks back to 1972, "the bleakest year of my life." Just 20 years old, Gantos was in a medium security prison for his participation in a get-rich-quick drug scam. Scared silly by the violence he saw around him daily, Gantos's only lifeline was a battered copy of <I>The Brothers Karamazov</I>, which he painstakingly turned into an impromptu journal by scratching his own thoughts into the tiny spaces between the lines. There, he recorded both his fears and his dream of someday writing a book of his own. Before prison, Gantos had penned a scattered myriad of journals, but had never been able to pull them together into a cohesive narrative. It was during his time behind bars that he found himself growing into a focused, diligent writer who eschewed drugs for the bigger high of watching his words fill the hole once and for all. <p> Gantos, best known for his award-winning Joey Pigza titles, mines darker material here that is as deeply compelling as his lighter fare. Using short, meaty sentences, Gantos manages to write in a way that dismisses the dubious "romance" of prison, drugs, and "life on the edge" without ever sounding didactic or heavy-handed. Older teens will appreciate his candor and sheer willingness to give them the straight story. Vigorously recommended. <I>--Jennifer Hubert</I> 80002 book 8 9 2004 Hole in My Life total:627|5:148|4:238|3:178|2:55|1:8| 627 2344 889 164 5 4 false false Wed Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 24 10:51:10 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 22:18:55 -0700 2008 ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 23:56:59 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 15:50:30 -0700 2009
Jack Gantos recounts his struggle ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 20:02:46 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 28 16:09:00 -0700 2009 While I think the book was well written and not an apology for his mistakes, I would not recomm...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Feb 23 10:43:49 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 10:43:49 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 16 13:10:54 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 10:57:35 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 12:04:25 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 12:04:25 -0800 2009
Warning: Content may contain some spoilers

The book, “Hole in my Life” is a decent autobiography that I enjoyed reading. This novel has a darker theme than the past books that I have read since it talks about the life of the author, Jack...more...]]> 3 0 false true Tue Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 15 07:07:20 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 07:13:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 05 18:34:14 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 18:54:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 06 01:56:07 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 02:31:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 10:51:47 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 11:47:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 07:46:24 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 08:01:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 31 11:49:27 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 11:50:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 28 12:23:11 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 12:23:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 09:29:10 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 08:50:36 -0700 2009
Jack Gantos was arrested in 1972 at the medium-security federal correctional institution Ashland, Kentucky. Gantos was twenty-one years old and had been locked up and ready for the bleakest year of his life. During Gantos high school junior year they moved from For...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 15:44:21 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 16:25:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 01 15:40:12 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 18:59:06 -0700 2009
VOYA Book Review Codes ~ Quality 3Q; Popularity 4P; Grade Level Interest S

Developmental Assets: 2, 25

The title of this book is appropriate as it tells the story of a "hole" in this author's life. The "hole" is the app...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Feb 23 17:03:53 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 12:54:15 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 17:03:53 -0800 2009
I felt sorrow and remorse for Jack because he is such an idiot, and yet, I can understand why he takes the risks he doe...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 13:47:09 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 07:33:12 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 18:07:49 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 18:24:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 23 07:51:15 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 08:14:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=842087