From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos (review)

In Dead End in Norvelt (BCCB 9/11), young Jack Gantos became the sidekick of elderly Miss Volker, the firebrand who was the town's chronicler, and who investigated the mystery of the old-lady fatalities plaguing the town. Now they're taking their show on the road: a journey that begins as a trip to New York, to pay respects to the grave of Miss Volker's recently passed idol, Eleanor Roosevelt, explodes into a madcap jaunt. Incensed by the escape of Mr. Spizz, Miss V's quondam suitor and the murderer of multiple old ladies, Miss Volker decides that taking him down is her mission, and she and Jack head to Florida by train and Volkswagen to exact her revenge. In classic Gantos fashion, this is a joyously bizarre romp, with twelve-year-old Jack diligently obeying his mother's dictate to assist Miss Volker as he drives the VW across the pre-interstate countryside, helps her ready her harpoon (she's taken her role as "Mrs. Captain Ahab," chasing her white whale Spizz, very literally), and attempts to dodge detectives. There are twists aplenty in the story, including some questions as to Spizz's actual guilt, but the mayhem is even more magnificent than the mystery. Underneath the chaos, however, is some offhand acknowledgement of the duo's odd but warm friendship and some low-key yet legitimate exploration of the morality of the situation (mostly inspired by Jack's familiarity with the Classic Comics version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). While readers of Dead End will have the advantage of backstory, this offers both independent pleasures and clearer genre cues than its predecessor, and many newcomers will relish this hilarious havoc-ridden road trip.