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 Joey
Pigza Loses Control (2000)
by Jack Gantos
When Joey Pigza meets his dad, Carter, for the first time in years, he meets a grownup version of his old hyperactive self -- the way he was before his stint in special ed, the way he was before he got his new meds. " He was wired, No doubt about it
... Now I knew what Mom meant when she said he was like me, only bigger."
During their summer visit together, Carter is eager to make up to his son for past wrongs. He wants to teach Joey how to be a winner. He wants to show Joey how to take control of his own life. And Joey is willing to do whatever his dad says, even though -- in this high-energy sequel to the acclaimed
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key -- he fears it will do him more harm than good.
"All I could imagine was the worst part of me getting or a train a long ways off. That old Joey was coming to get me and I couldn't do anything about it . . . There was nothing to do but wait, and worry."
"Gantos has created a remarkably vivid and
human personality in Joey Pigza ... [He}
portrays [Joey} with dead-eye accuracy ... This
isn't a mere message book, though. Skilled
pacing, sly humor, and in-depth characterization
make it a truly memorable read." --Starred,
Booklist
"Gantos lifts this account of a kid with a
lot of problems well above the stock problem
novel: Joey's view of the world is compelling
regardless of what he's dealing with, and it's
realistic in both its perceptions and their
limitations." --Starred, The Bulletin of
the Center for Children's Books
"Like its predecessor, this high-voltage,
honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear and courage
with deceptive ease. Struggling to please
everyone even as he sees himself hurtling toward
disaster, Joey emerges as a sympathetic hero,
and his heart of gold never loses its
shine." --Starred, Publishers Weekly
"The tension and sadness of the story are
tempered by Joey's often humorous, sometimes
hilarious, narrative." --Starred, The
Horn Book
"Readers will be drawn immediately to the
boy's gripping first-person narrative and be
pulled pell-mell through episodes that are at
once hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately
heartening." --Starred, School Library
Journal
"As if Joey didn't get into enough trouble
in his unforgettable debut, Gantos has him wig
out again in this sad, scary, blackly funny
sequel." --Starred, Kirkus Reviews
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