Karen Kline

Karen Kline asked Jack Gantos:

I love the scene in Dead End from Norvelt where Miss Volker boils her hands. I play your recording of this scene when I booktalk your book in the library where I work. Very over-the-top. Did you know this scene was going to be a winner when you were writing it? Did you rewrite it much or did it just flow?

Jack Gantos That is one of those scenes where you know you have a tiger by the tail. But, I rewrite everything so much and that scene got at least a hundred passes. The dialog has to be spot on and the timing of the action and the reverberations of the emotions ...all come together. And it had to be stretched out to just the right length--like the deer hunting scene. You just want to take these good moments and almost turn them into small, suspenseful short stories within the novel. Glad you like it. I love that scene. I know that kitchen inside and out. Thanks, Jack

More Answered Questions

Sandy Safford

Sandy Safford asked Jack Gantos:

I have a student who is a struggling reader who is currently reading your " Whole In My Life" book. It would be wonderful for him if you answered his question: What do you regret most in life? His name is Ricky and he is really enjoying your book. This is one of the first books he has read in all of high school for enjoyment!

Tracey

Tracey asked Jack Gantos:

Hole in my Life is one of my favorite memoirs. It is a very honest account of the circumstances that led to your transformation into the writer you are today. In your newest novel, what one person, from your adolescence, impacted the choices that you made that eventually escalated to your stay in the pen? And, now looking back, how would you change their influence on you or would you?

Don Williams

Don Williams asked Jack Gantos:

Hi Jack- Our English 11 classes all read Hole In My Life last year as part of our reader response theory, social class theory, and narrative writing units. Your memoir was a great hit among our students. When you wrote that, what were you hoping young adults would take from it and has that expectation changed since you've become a bit more chronologically gifted? Thanks! Don Williams, Ames High School, Ames, Iowa

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