Gantos trots out one disgusting and dangerous event after another
to give his morose protagonist material for jokes, but the fun and
games are edging over the top in this companion to Jack's New Power
(1995). Jack wants to become a writer, but his family - unique but
functioning in previous episodes and mere cartoons here - is united
in a belief in his worthlessness. When the dog, BeauBeau III,
breaks its neck and dies, Jack's sister, Betsy, is all wisecracks;
on the trip to the vet, Jack's father suggests tying the dog to the
car, like a dead deer, in case its bladder lets go (it's not the
first time the dog's bodily functions are discussed). The parents
are on vacation when Betsy, at home, sets a kitchen fire: "We were
screaming and laughing, but . . . we just managed to get the baby
out [of the bassinet] before the blanket burst into flames." Away
from home, the situation's no better: School is a former prison;
the volunteer librarian bolts down books and accuses the boy of
stealing; the cafeteria serves creamed chicken gizzards weekly.
Crammed in are descriptions of digging up the dog Jack buries
(twice), spit, broken teeth, head lumps, and more. With a
mean-spirited reliance on shock and cheap laughs, the book gets
some tacked-on introspection at the end: "It was all about . . .
what you wanted to become, and how much you love being yourself."
(Kirkus Reviews)
From the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Dead End in Norvelt,"
the uproarious final volume of Jack Henry stories
According to his new motto--A WRITER'S JOB IS TO TURN HIS WORST
EXPERIENCES INTO MONEY--Jack Gantos's alter ego Jack Henry is going
to be filty rich even before he gets out of junior high, for his
life is filled with the worst experiences imaginable. For instance,
in the course of the few months covered in this closing cycle of
interlinked stories, Jack is humiliated by a gorgeous syncronized
swimmer, gets a tattoo the size of an ant on his big toe, flubs an
IQ test and nearly fails wood shop, and has to dig up his dead dog
not once but twice. And that's not the half of it
At the close of this final book of semi-autobiographical
stories, Jack may not end up rolling in dough, but he will prove
once again "a survivor, an 'everyboy' whose world may be wacko but
whose heart and spirit are eminently sane" ("School Library
Journal").
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