{"product_id":"hole-in-my-life-9780312641573","title":"Hole in My Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Newbery Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eDead End in Norvel\u003c\/i\u003et, this is a memoir about becoming a writer the hard way. A Printz Honor and Sibert Honor book.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eHole in My Life\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis title has Common Core connections. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJack Gantos is an award-winning and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of books for readers of all ages, including \u003ci\u003eJoey Pigza Swallowed the Key\u003c\/i\u003e, a National Book Award Finalist, and \u003ci\u003eJoey Pigza Loses Control\u003c\/i\u003e, a Newbery Honor book. His book \u003ci\u003eThe Trouble in Me\u003c\/i\u003e is an autobiographical novel about a fourteen-year-old Jack Gantos, and his book \u003ci\u003eDead End in Novelt\u003c\/i\u003e won the Newbery Medal, the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eHole in My Life\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A memoir, by turns harrowing and hilarious, about a huge mistake.\" --\u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" --\u003ci\u003eHyde Park Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The ultimate cautionary tale.\" --\u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" --\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eStarred Review\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAwards for \u003ci\u003eHole in My Life\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSchool Library Best Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003eBooks for the Teen Age, New York Public Library\u003cbr\u003eBank Street Best Children's Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003eMichael L. Printz Award - Honor\u003cbr\u003eALA Best Books for Young Adults\u003cbr\u003eNYPL Books for the Teen Age\u003cbr\u003eALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults\u003cbr\u003eAmerican Library Association Best Books for Young Adults\u003cbr\u003eBulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Award\u003cbr\u003eMassachusetts Children's Book Award\u003cbr\u003eAmerican Library Association Notable Children's Books\u003cbr\u003eHorn Book Magazine Fanfare List\u003cbr\u003eAmerican Library Association Popular Paperbacks for Young Readers\u003cbr\u003eParents' Choice Award Winner\u003cbr\u003eRobert F. Sibert Award - Honor\u003cbr\u003eSchool Library Journal Best Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003eALA Notable Children's Books\u003cbr\u003eBooklist Editors' Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJack Gantos\u003c\/b\u003e has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include \u003ci\u003eHole in My Life\u003c\/i\u003e, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honors; the Joey Pigza series, which include a Newbery Honor book and a National Book Award Finalist; \u003ci\u003eDead End in Norvelt\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; and the Rotten Ralph series.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Square Fish","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50645384462610,"sku":"9780312641573","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3cc87e52-5e17-4377-b424-c5dbaa4d05cd.jpg?v=1733150878","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/hole-in-my-life-9780312641573","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}