Dead End in Norvelt

Fun!  Gantos has introduced me to the real/fictitious residents of Norvelt, PA during the summer of 1962 and I love them.  No, wait.  I don't love them, but I love how Gantos, as usual, removed all the facades and quickly revealed the quirky; bold;  misguided; sweet; hesitant; heroic; proud; self-depricating; impulsive; adventurous; noble; and vulnerable personalities that totally make this laugh-out-loud novel a winner.  I was reminded of Richard Peck's Long Way From Chicago (which did not win the Newbery, but its sequel did) because Peck, too, hooked his readers to his stories by way of his wonderful, quirky characters.  You will especially love Dead End in Norvelt if you listen to it on audio as Gantos is the narrator and his delivery is perfect.