{"product_id":"hole-in-my-life","title":"Hole in My Life","description":"From the Newbery Award–winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, this is a memoir about becoming a writer the hard way. A Printz Honor and Sibert Honor book.\n\nIn the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until federal agents caught up with them. For his part in the conspiracy, Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison.\n\nIn Hole in My Life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth. On the surface, the narrative tumbles from one crazed moment to the next as Gantos pieces together the story of his restless final year of high school, his short-lived career as a criminal, and his time in prison.\n\nBut running just beneath the action is the story of how Gantos―once he was locked up in a small, yellow-walled cell―moved from wanting to be a writer to writing, and how dedicating himself more fully to the thing he most wanted to do helped him endure and ultimately overcome the worst experience of his life.\n\nThis title has Common Core connections.\n\nJack Gantos is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for readers of all ages, including Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist, and Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book. His book The Trouble in Me is an autobiographical novel about a fourteen-year-old Jack Gantos, and his book Dead End in Novelt won the Newbery Medal, the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction.\n\nPraise for Hole in My Life:\n\n“A memoir, by turns harrowing and hilarious, about a huge mistake.” ―Miami Herald\n\n“His account is remarkably free of both self-pity and self-censorship. . . . This is a tale of courage and redemption, proving that a bad start in life does not have to lead to a bad life story.” ―The New York Times Book Review\n\n“Gantos really is Everyman, but an Everyman who has landed himself into a deeper pit than most. What separates Gantos is the determination that took him out of his dreams and into a successful life as a writer. Those writerly skills are in full evidence here, in this thoughtful and provocative memoir as valuable to those who have never heard of Gantos as to those who have read all of his books.” ―Hyde Park Review of Books\n\n“The ultimate cautionary tale.” ―Smithsonian\n\n“This true tale of the worst year in the author's life will be a big surprise for his many fans. . . .This is a story of mistakes, dues, redemption, and finally success at what he always wanted to do: write books.” ―Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review\n\nAwards for Hole in My Life:\nSchool Library Best Books of the Year\nBooks for the Teen Age, New York Public Library\nBank Street Best Children's Book of the Year\nMichael L. Printz Award - Honor\nALA Best Books for Young Adults\nNYPL Books for the Teen Age\nALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults\nAmerican Library Association Best Books for Young Adults\nBulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Award\nMassachusetts Children's Book Award\nAmerican Library Association Notable Children's Books\nHorn Book Magazine Fanfare List\nAmerican Library Association Popular Paperbacks for Young Readers\nParents' Choice Award Winner\nRobert F. Sibert Award - Honor\nSchool Library Journal Best Books of the Year\nALA Notable Children's Books\nBooklist Editors' Choice\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0312641575\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: DBV.0312641575.A\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Acceptable\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Gantos, Jack\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: This copy has clearly been enjoyed—expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong, and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dream Books Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41403950858298,"sku":"DBV.0312641575.A","price":4.36,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/6011\/0138\/files\/0312641575-0.jpg?v=1778433911","url":"https:\/\/shop.dreambooksco.com\/products\/hole-in-my-life","provider":"Dream Books Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}