Hole in My Life Audio book

Gantos, Jack. Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004.

Annotation: An honest memoir of life in and out of prison by a young man who is caught up an unbelievable drug bust.

Justification for Nomination: Jack Gantos writes a thoughtful biography of mistakes, redemption and success. He uses a humorous approach to tell his story of growing up with the itch to write, but thinks he does not have any good experiences to write about. He seems to fall into bad decisions without giving any thought to the ultimate consequences. This resonates with what teens are going through as their brains continue to develop. This audio book is read by the author, which, gives light to the intended voicing that a reader can not get from the written word. The literary pauses, accents, and pitch make the words come alive. This can be invaluable to the efferent reader. The author uses flashback and summary to tell his story with lots of action that will be riveting to teens. He references literary greats like Williams and Hemmingway and introduces the teen reader to the canon. The themes he discusses are crime and punishment, drugs, alcohol, who am I, and hope. While some of these themes are intense and some may think teens are too young to be exposed, the book allows for the opportunity to discuss healthy and healthy risks and decision making. These type of discussions are exactly what the young adult needs at this crucial time in their lives.

Genre: Audio book/ memoir, biography, coming of age, edge, non-fiction

Printz award
Newberry award