The book hole in my life was the book i read and it was good. Its sequels my life as a stuntboy and my life as a cartoonist have also been translated into several languages. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Jan 01, 2010 my life as a book, fictitious text by janet tashjian and jake tashjian, was published in 2010 by scholastic inc. Instead, what he does so wonderfully in this book is to confront the. Hole in my life by jack gantos the prisoner in the photograph is me. There are, however, two stories told in this riveting narrative. 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 shortlived career. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixtyfoot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the virgin islands pdf to new york city, where he. The book is about the time gantos sailed a boat that was full of hashish from st. Dec 12, 2011 mix the police hole in my life youtube. 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. I was twentyone years old and had been locked up for a year already the. Fort lauderdale is a city in florida where gantos finishes high school.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that. A lot of the characters in holes have many traits that my students might be able to make connections with. Hole in my life offers teachers the chance to utilize a text that is non. In hole in my life, jack gantos recounts an experience from his own life that many. His parents had moved to st croix in the virgin islands, but he was. This study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of hole in my life. In hole in my life, jack gantos recounts the story of his time as an idle teenager turned drug smuggler, including his eventual capture by the government and his. The book hole in my life is an autobiography of jack gantos life in prison and what lead up to it. His second novel for children, joey pigza swallowed the key, was a national book award finalist, and the sequel, joey pigza loses control, was a newbery honor book.
Printz award and the same year became a winner of the robert f. It is a guided reading level s, a lexile level 880, and appropriate for grades 46. Most of the story is set in contemporary time, around the end of the 1990s. Hole in my life is a 2003 bank street best childrens book of the year. Destined to be a classic on the subject of dizziness, the book deftly guides the reader through fascinating and valuable information about all inner ear and balance disorders, information that has been. About the author jack gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middlegrade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Additionally, several standards in social studies may. Jack gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middlegrade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. I was born on april 21, 2004, in san francisco, st.
The answer that changed my life and might just change the world by richard stearns and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. As a way to learn his vocabulary words, he illustrates them in the margins of the book. Hole in my life by jack gantos is a story of one young mans struggle to become a writer. Feb 11, 2005 hole in my life by jack gantos 224pp, red fox. My name is paola valdivia, and im going to tell you my wonderful story. Setting there are several important locations in this book. A memoir, by turns harrowing and hilarious, about a huge mistake. In the summer of 1971, jack gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a deadend job.
For his part in the conspiracy, gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison. Since i was trying so hard to make books lead my life, i didnt want to read them and then just put them back on the shelf and say, good book, as if i was patting a. Becoming a writer the hard wayin the summer of 1971, jack gant. Becoming a writer the hard way in the summer of 1971, jack gantos was an. They had came to a stopping point and it was restricted waters so they had to leave and they didnt so they just got on land and ran away from them. These folks zigged when the rest of the world zagged. In hole in my life, jack gantos recounts an experience from his own life that many other writers would rather keep hidden from public view. May have been a little boring at times when he was in prison and on the boat but an overall good book with meaning. Hole in my life is an autobiography of jack gantos life leading up to, and life in jail. The photo was taken in 1972 at the mediumsecurity federal correctional institution in ashland, kentucky. My life as a book follows derek fallon, a young man who wishes to spend the summer engaging in mischievous activities. This 40page guide for hole in my life by jack gantos includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 16 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis.
Plot summary when the garretts move into the house beside samantha reeds, samantha is fascinated by the family of sevens hectic lifestyle, which is so different from her scheduled and carefully planned singleparent home. My life as a book, my life as a stuntboy, and my life as a cartoonist were written for reluctant middlereaders, especially those needing extra visual support. Sibert honors, joey pigza swallowed the key, a national book award finalist, and joey pigza loses control, a newbery honor book. Maybe the book is suggesting that life is like that too. However, this well written chronicle is not a dissertation on how to cook roast pig writers style. The novel tells the story of derek fallon, a twelveyearold boy who finds reading difficult. They had to carry drugs and they had ran into some casualties and they had to get around them. Setting the novel takes place at a boys juvenile detention center situated in the dried up bed of a fictional lake in texas.
I had already found my passion to help others to grow, but decided to work in the corporate world first rather than pursue it right away. Conflict man vs man man vs self another person he is always having. The following is an excerpt from the book hole in my life by jack gantos. Mar 26, 2002 jack gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middlegrade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. Jack gantos conclussion i think that hole in my life was a good book. This book gets students excited about reading just by hearing the title. My life as a book, fictitious text by janet tashjian and jake tashjian, was published in 2010 by scholastic inc. Like a mystery of sorts, holes is always giving us little bits of information that dont seem particularly relevant, only for us to find out much later that some of those bits were the keys to the puzzle all along. Part two reckless, untamed, immature tone part three remorse, cautious, sorrow tone forcing himself through difficult situations to become a writer justify actions all to become a writer turns to admitting mistakes. In 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. For ten thousand dollars, he agreed to help crew a boat loaded with drugs from the virgin islands to new york city.
The story does switch back and forth between time periods its really three. This was a life quite unlike those of many other children. I feel like mainly everything about the book was good and interesting. He was born in pennsylvania and him and his family moved around a lot during his childhood up to his near adulthood. His works include hole in my life, a memoir that won the michael l. So how can you bring your storys setting to life for your readers. First of all, puerto rico is where gantos first begins drinking, as he goes to work as an electrician instead of heading to school for his second half of his junior year. Jack was in prison for smuggling marijuana from st. Sibert honors, joey pigza swallowed the key, a national book award finalist, joey pigza loses control, a newbery honor book, and dead end in norvelt, winner of the. Gantos was a young man with little supervision who led a life that involved many moves and opportunities. The setting in a book refers to both the time and place in which it takes place. So gantos describes himself as a 20yearold about to be arrested and imprisoned for smuggling two thousand pounds of hashish from st. In hole in my life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young. The first is of a gallant british woman struggling to make sense of a world turned upside down by symptoms that she cannot understand in her case scds.
Hole in my life is the autobiographical story of jack gantos during his younger years. Embedded in both books are techniques from lindamood bells visualizing and verbalizing as well as reading specialist maryanne wolfs raveo. Hole in my life is an american autobiography of jack gantos and was published by macmillan publishers in 2002. Hole in my life summary and study guide supersummary. In 1971 jack gantos was scraping through his final year of high school. The desire for lived experience in order to write perhaps the greatest ongoing thread in the story is that of gantos obsession with becoming a great writer. Embedded in both books are techniques from lindamood bells visualizing and verbalizing as well as reading specialist maryanne wolfs raveo program. My students need 30 copies of the book holes along with 4 copies of the unabridged book holes on compact disk.
Holes is set mostly in present day camp green lake, a detention camp for boys. Miami herald his account is remarkably free of both selfpity and selfcensorship. Hole in my life by jack gantos n the summer of 1971, jack gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a deadend job. Gantos is an awardwinning childrens author, but his compelling autobiography will appeal to readers of all ages. Although holes is full of big questions about fate and justice and stuff like that, there really isnt anything in the book that makes reading it too tricky or difficult. A hole in my life battling chronic dizziness, by philippa thomson is a must read for anyone with unexplained dizziness. May 26, 2016 a hole in my life battling chronic dizziness, by philippa thomson is a must read for anyone with unexplained dizziness. Setting work cited the reason why i chose the book hole in my life by jack gantos because it is a true story and shows the life choices that will screw your life over and the life choices that you should take so you stay on the right track and dont screw yourself over when you choose wrong. Croix to new york city, and the time he spent in prison after being busted. Mar 26, 2002 the book i just finished reading is hole in my life by jack gantos i liked the book because it was interesting. We didnt so much arrive at our destinations as aim and crash into them like kamikaze yachtsmen. Gantos has written a courageous and compelling autobiographical book. The setting became a character in and of itself, and was so detailed that it made me want to visit south carolina which i eventually did. Dead end in norvelt, winner of the newbery medal and the.