Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Jack Gantos's brilliant middle-grade novel about one child's attention deficit affliction is read by the author with perfect emotional pitch. Joey Pigza is wise beyond his years, completely aware of his disability and its ill effects on others. The frantic pace of his breathless narration is juxtaposed with the controlled voices of the generally kind and long-suffering teachers, nurse, and principal who've been trying to manage his behavior for years, one hour at a time. The listener's sympathies are heightened by the heart-wrenching family stories Joey relates of his emotionally abusive grandmother, his absentee father, and his neglectful mother, who tries to make good--and does--in the end. Be prepared! There's no escaping this audio without a belly laugh or a tear. T.B. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 12, 1998
Authentic-sounding first-person narration by a hyperactive boy gives readers an inside view of attention-deficit disorders. Joey Pigza is a "wired-up mess," and he is struggling to get on the right track. But no matter how hard Joey tries to be good, he usually ends up in trouble, sometimes harming himself or others. After an accident in which the tip of a classmate's nose is sliced off, Joey is suspended from school and sent to a special education center. As case worker "Special Ed" predicts, things do get worse before they get better. Joey's fear that "something wrong inside me" escalates before his medications are readjusted and he is finally able to learn how to make "good decisions." Joey's good intentions, off-the-wall antics and their disastrous consequences will ring true to everyone who has had contact with a child suffering from a similar disorder. In addition to offering an accurate, compassionate and humorous appraisal of Joey's condition, Gantos (the Rotten Ralph series; Desire Lines) humanely examines nature (both Joey's father and grandmother are as "wired up" as he) versus nurture (abandonment by Joey's parents, abuse by his grandmother, children's taunts) as factors in Joey's problems. Joey's hard-won triumph will reassure children fighting his same battle and offer insight to their peers. But because the book is so realistic, reading it can be painful and requires patience, just like dealing with a child like Joey. Ages 10-up.