{{short description|2002 autobiography by Jack Gantos}} {{Infobox book |name = Hole in My Life |image = Hole in My Life.jpg |caption = First edition |author = [[Jack Gantos]] |cover_artist = |genre = [[Autobiography]] |publisher = [[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]]/[[Macmillan Publishers]] |pub_date = 2002 |pages = 224 |isbn = 0312641575 |congress = 2001040957 |oclc = 60416727 }}
'''''Hole in My Life''''' is an American autobiography of [[Jack Gantos]] and was published by [[Macmillan Publishers]] in 2002. In 2003 the book was honored with the [[Michael L. Printz Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners |title=Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books |date=15 March 2007 |publisher=[[Young Adult Library Services Association]] |accessdate=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006164201/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners |url-status=live |archive-date=October 6, 2014 }}</ref> and the same year became a winner of the [[Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal|Robert F. Sibert Medal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal/sibertpast/sibertmedalpast |title=Robert F. Sibert Medal and Honor Books, 2001-present |publisher=[[Association for Library Service to Children]] |accessdate=November 24, 2014 |archive-date=July 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722184028/http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal/sibertpast/sibertmedalpast |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Plot== The book is set in 1971 and discusses the author’s life behind bars. Before prison, Gantos dreamed of becoming a writer and was inspired by [[William S. Burroughs]], who used drugs to get through his life as a writer. After dropping out of university in [[Saint Croix]], Gantos began using [[hashish]] and later joined the sail team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/feb/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview27 |title=Review: Hole in My Life |last=Gray |first=Keith |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 12, 2005 |accessdate=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917183612/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/feb/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview27 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 17, 2014 }}</ref> There, he became friends with two other men named Hamilton and Rik, the latter of whom promised Gantos $10,000 to sail with him from the [[Virgin Islands]] to [[New York City]] to sell hash. Gantos accepted the offer and, upon arriving to New York and settling into a hotel, he and his friends were captured by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]. Gantos and his co-conspirators all received prison sentences that varied in length from 5 to 20 years for [[drug trafficking]]. Gantos was originally sentenced to five years, but was released on good behavior after only serving 15 months of his sentence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/books/children-s-books-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-convict.html |title=Children'S Books; Portrait of the Artist as a Young Convict |last=Bodett|first=Tom |author-link=Tom Bodett |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 19, 2002 |accessdate=November 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124041333/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/books/children-s-books-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-convict.html }}</ref> While in prison, he worked as an X-ray technician and wrote his thoughts in a journal on a copy of ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]''. Before leaving prison, Gantos applied to a university creative writing program, and he would later begin a new life by selling [[Christmas tree]]s.
==Reception== The book received positive reviews from ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jack-gantos/hole-in-my-life/ |title=Hole in My Life|magazine=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=May 20, 2010|accessdate=November 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124041550/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jack-gantos/hole-in-my-life/ }}</ref> and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-39988-7 |title=Hole in My Life |magazine=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=February 25, 2002|accessdate=November 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124041650/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-39988-7 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.jackgantos.com/books/hole-in-my-life Official website]
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[[Category:2002 non-fiction books]] [[Category:American autobiographies]] [[Category:English-language non-fiction books]] [[Category:Memoirs about drugs]] [[Category:Michael L. Printz Award–winning works]]
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