Title: A Hole in My Life.
Author: Jack Gantos
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Date: August 26, 2004
ISBN: 0374430896
Critical Analysis:
This is a moving story of Jack Gantos through his own personal narration of how his life’s path went drastically out of control by a series of events involving drug trafficking that ultimately changed his life.
Gantos provided a heart wrenching story of how a split decision of becoming a one time drug trafficker to raise money for his college tuition threw him into the harsh realities of prison life. His story is presented in a sort of conversational style that helps the reader connect to him and gives you the “fly on the wall” perspective. His story is dark and is full of the harshness of prison life such as rape, violence and drug use. Judy Silverman of Children’s Literature wrote, “The book is well put together, and is written in a conversational style that is easy to read without talking down to the reader. Prison life is presented as the horror that it is.” This story will definitely bring home the seriousness of the consequences a youth can experience by making bad decisions. The setting takes place along the eastern seaboard aboard a ship, in the prison and in the judicial system of the state of New York. Gantos remarkably never lost sight of his dreams to attend college and become a writer. Michael Cart from Booklist wrote, “Gantos' spare narrative style and straightforward revelation of the truth have, together, a cumulative power that will capture not only a reader's attention but also empathy and imagination. This is great for every aspiring writer and also a wonderful biography for teens struggling to discover their deepest, truest selves” (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15)).
Review Excerpts:
Michael Cart (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15)):
This is a moving story of Jack Gantos through his own personal narration of how his life’s path went drastically out of control by a series of events involving drug trafficking that ultimately changed his life.
Gantos provided a heart wrenching story of how a split decision of becoming a one time drug trafficker to raise money for his college tuition threw him into the harsh realities of prison life. His story is presented in a sort of conversational style that helps the reader connect to him and gives you the “fly on the wall” perspective. His story is dark and is full of the harshness of prison life such as rape, violence and drug use. Judy Silverman of Children’s Literature wrote, “The book is well put together, and is written in a conversational style that is easy to read without talking down to the reader. Prison life is presented as the horror that it is.” This story will definitely bring home the seriousness of the consequences a youth can experience by making bad decisions. The setting takes place along the eastern seaboard aboard a ship, in the prison and in the judicial system of the state of New York. Gantos remarkably never lost sight of his dreams to attend college and become a writer. Michael Cart from Booklist wrote, “Gantos' spare narrative style and straightforward revelation of the truth have, together, a cumulative power that will capture not only a reader's attention but also empathy and imagination. This is great for every aspiring writer and also a wonderful biography for teens struggling to discover their deepest, truest selves” (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15)).
Review Excerpts:
Michael Cart (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15)):
"Jack Gantos' riveting memoir of the 15 months he spent as a young man in federal prison for drug smuggling is more than a harrowing, scared-straight confession: it is a beautifully realized story about the making of a writer. As Gantos himself notes: 'It [prison] is where I went from thinking about becoming a writer, to writing.' His examination of the process--including his unsparing portrayal of his fears, failings, and false starts--is brilliant and breathtaking in its candor and authenticity. Particularly fascinating is his generous use of literary allusions to everything from Baudelaire to Billy Budd, which subtly yet richly dramatize how he evolved from a reader who became a character in the books he was reading to a writer and a character in his own life story. Gantos' spare narrative style and straightforward revelation of the truth have, together, a cumulative power that will capture not only a reader's attention but also empathy and imagination. This is great for every aspiring writer and also a wonderful biography for teens struggling to discover their deepest, truest selves. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Nonfiction. 2002, Farrar, $16. Gr. 8-up. Starred Review" Retrieved from the Children's Literature Database (accessed on November 09, 2009).
Judy Silverman (Children's Literature):
Judy Silverman (Children's Literature):
"Jack Gantos, widely read author of the 'Rotten Ralph' series of picture books and the Joey Pigza books, among others, did not become an author easily. He feels that he always wanted to write, and that he would become a famous author, but as a young man he never quite got around to putting his words on paper. His family moved around a lot, he didn't feel connected to anyone, and he didn't really care for school. Everything changed in 1971, when he made a really bad choice. For $10,000 (what seemed like a fortune) he agreed to help sail a ship from the Virgin Islands to New York City. An easy job, but the ship was loaded with hashish. Gantos didn't realize that Federal agents had been tracking them nearly all the way. At the age of twenty, he was sent to prison for six years. At first he didn't see any way to change his ways or his life-style, nor did he see anything that would give him reason to change. But he did want to finish high school, and was fortunate in finding a teacher who encouraged him and convinced him that the only way one becomes a writer is by writing, and the only way for a writer to get his work published is to write well. It was not an easy life that Gantos had chosen, but he was determined to succeed, and eventually he did. The book is well put together, and is written in a conversational style that is easy to read without talking down to the reader. Prison life is presented as the horror that it is. An encouraging look at a terrible part of life, and how this remarkable young man was capable of overcoming disadvantages and becoming what he had always wanted to be--a writer. 2002, Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 12 to 16." Retrieved from the Children's Literature Database (accessed on November 09, 2009).
Awards:
Michael L Printz Award, 2003.
Awards:
Michael L Printz Award, 2003.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2003.
Thumbs Up! Award, 2003.
Connections:
You can access this author's website by clicking on: http://www.jackgantos.com/ (accessed on November 9, 2009). At this website you will be able to access a teacher's guide for this book that includes good discussion activities.
Connections:
You can access this author's website by clicking on: http://www.jackgantos.com/ (accessed on November 9, 2009). At this website you will be able to access a teacher's guide for this book that includes good discussion activities.
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