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 Joey
Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998)
by Jack Gantos
A
National Book Award Finalist
An
ALA Notable Children's Book
An
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An
NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the
Field of Social Studies
"They say I'm wired bad, or wired sad, but there's no doubt about it - I'm
wired."
Joey Pigza's got heart, he's got a mom who loves him, and he's got "dud
meds," which is what he calls the Ritalin pills that are supposed to even
out his wild mood swings. Sometimes Joey makes bad choices. He learns the
hard way that he shouldn't swallow his house key or run with scissors. As
Joey knows, if he keeps making bad choices, he could just fall between the
cracks. But he is determined not to let that happen.
In this antic yet poignant novel, Jack Gantos has perfect pitch in capturing
the humor, the off-the-wall intensity, and the serious challenges that life
presents to a kid dealing with hyperactivity and related disorders.
"Jack Gantos
gives a rarely considered glimpse at what it
must feel like to be a kid with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder ... What Joey
Pigza offers young readers is a quick-paced
and thoughtful first-person story with a
riveting plot that will hold the interest of all
kids. What's better, though, may be what Joey
Pigza can offer grown-up readers: an
understanding that despite the discussions and
debating and headlines and studies, there is,
after all, a single child at the center of this
controversial issue. And he's not deaf."
--Deirdre Donahue, USA Today
"In Joey
Pigza, Mr. Gantos has meticulously crafted the
voice of a troubled kid with a solid center of
goodness. Joey tells his own story, and it reads
like a ride in a car without brakes -- a
breathless, warts-and-all view of life with ADD
... Despite the grittiness of Joey's situation,
that's an upbeat message -- and one children who
suffer from ADD need to hear." --Sue
Corbett, Knight Ridder News Service
"It is Jack
Gantos's amazing gift with character and
language that keeps this novel spinning
heartbreakingly and beautifully forward ... [It]
is the most absorbing novel for children that I
have read in a long time. Joey himself is an
impossible, contradictory, glorious
creation." --Liz Rosenberg, The Boston
Sunday Globe
"Authentic-sounding first-person narration
by a hyperactive boy gives readers an inside
view of attention-deficit disorders ... In
addition to offering an accurate, compassionate
and humorous appraisal of Joey's condition,
Gantos humanely examines nature versus nurture
as factors in Joey's problems. Joey's hard-won
triumph will reassure children fighting his same
battle and offer insight to their peers."
--Starred, Publishers Weekly
"From
the powerful opening lines and fast-moving plot
to the thoughtful inner dialogue and satisfying
conclusion, readers will cheer for Joey."
--Starred, School Library Journal |
