Customer Reviews

What Would Joey Do?

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I first began reading this book, I was immmediately drawn in by the main character, a boy named Joey Pigza. Joey leads what appears to be a complicated childhood -- his parents are divorced & for a time his mother moved out and left him with his aging grandmother. Not only does his grandmother smoke too much, she speaks often of death and dying. Joey's only "friend" besides his dog, is a blind girl named Olivia who is always getting him into trouble. Joey's father doesn't make his life any easier -- he's constantly riding around the neighborhood on his motorcycle starting fights with his mother. Talk about a dysfunctional family! It's a wonder that Joey only needs a med patch for his hyperactivity disorder!*

You would think that this is all too much for a kid to handle -- I do! But throughout the book, Joey manages to maintain strength and perserverance. Joey's qualitites include honesty and living life with a little humor. In his neverending quest to help others, Joey learns to help himself.

MyParenTime.com recommends "What Would Joey Do?" - I couldn't wait to read more of Joey's antics and see how he survived his next crisis. Even if you haven't read the previous two books in this trilogy, you won't want to miss this one.

*Caution: Parents should read up on this book so they can decide whether they feel it is appropriate for their child to read. Includes questionable behaviors, situations and medicating for hyperactivity disorder.

Dad is back in Lancaster, Pennsylvania causing problems for poor Joey Pigza, who worries that his dad Carter returned by roaring motorcycle to abduct him. However, he revises his theory to that of his father using him because he wants to either irritate or get close to Joey's mother. Joey's grandmother knows the world is coming to an end perhaps because of her emphysema, but more likely because Carter, who drives her nuts, is back.

Due to the game of my kid is better, smarter, or whatever than your kid, Joey finds himself, at is mother's insistence, joining Olivia Lapp at home schooling. With the urging of his "dying" grandma, Joey tries to befriend the sight-challenged Olivia, but his bratty teammate just wants to keep him in trouble. Between her and his family, Joey learns why a dog is a boy's best friend and wonders if hyperactivity out of control is better than trying to relate to these normal maniacs.

Apparently WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? is the final novel of the JP trilogy to the dismay of this reviewer because this tale, like its predecessors, is a refreshing look at life from the perspective of a preadolescent child coping with hyperactivity. The support cast is a distressing yet delightful group of lunatics, but the story line belongs to the title character, who makes reading fun. A personal plea to Mr. Gantos: please turn Joey into a teenager with hormones running amok because he is too good an individual to be shelved.

Harriet Klausner

"What Would Joey Do?" is part of the continuing saga of Joey Pigza, a young boy with ADHD. In this book he is ready to try being "Mr. Helpful" and focus his energy is positive manners. The problem is figuring out how he can help everyone while still moving forward with his life. His parents fight regularly and engage in dysfunctional actions, his homeschool partner is a blind girl who is full of mischief, and her fundamentalist mother has a total inability to deal with reality as every contact is focused on "What Would Jesus Do". His Grandma wants him to have a good friend other than his dog and seems to be the only one really concerned about the Joey within. However, she is dying and won't be there for him very long.

A real survivor, Joey's story is one of struggling and perseverance that pays off in the end. A story with several twists and turns it can be humorous reading. The greatest value of this book would be for parents to read the book and use it as a springboard for discussion of kids with ADHD. It teaches some things about children with ADHD as well as some aspects of how to deal with them. However, the book should be used as a catalyst for family discussion to prevent misconceptions. Before writing this review I let two fourth and fifth graders read the book to see what they thought of it. I found that they were getting some wrong impression from the book. It seemed that they thought that Joey's antics were in large part due to his family problems and that kids with ADHD all had dysfunctional families. Joey is a kid who tries as best he can to do the right thing and struggles through his problems to rise above them and that is a good story, just be careful of inappropriate inferences that children can make. It is a great platform for opening up a discussion about children with ADHD.

I have read alot of books, but this is my all-time favorite. This book will make you laugh and cry. Once I started reading this book, I just couldn't put it down. It is both humorous and realistic at the same time. I know some people say that this book is inapropriate, but I don't see how.It is a great read for everyone, not just children. I will recommend this book to everyone! Don't listen to these people that say it sucks. So what are you waiting for? Go buy this book!!!!!

Joey has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He can't focus, can't be understood by most, can't ease his tension, excitement, stress, and anxiety much at all. Joey lives with his alcoholic, trouble-filled mother and dying, smoking-fiend grandmother. Joey's father is out of the picture: his parents are divorced, and his father never was and will probably never be the father every dad should be. Occasionally, when Joey's mother and father do see or even exist in each others presence, conflict and violence break out almost instantaneously. Joey has gone through numerous schools, none ever working for him. Joey has two friends: his Chihuahua, Pablo, and a blind girl named Olivia, who is the only other student in his "school"- a devout Christian woman who teaches Joey and her daughter in her home. To just name a few examples, most can obliviously conclude on the apparent difficulties that lie in Joey Pigza's life, every single day. However, in the final book of the Joey Pigza trilogy, Joey goes up against all odds and shows the world his true character- not the dysfunctional outcast he appears to be, but the kind, positive, humble kid he actually is, with a helping hand and a heart of gold to all.
With a "Mr. Helpful" label taped to his forehead and a smile on his face, Joey Pigza takes you through his last story in What Would Joey Do?. With more pressing issues arising and more problems being solved, Joey discovers real facts of life. In this final book, he tries his best to make himself the best person he can be- less of a problem-starter; more of a problem-solver. Not only does he help others, but he also realizes that he can and is able to make choices on his own; that he is responsible and mature enough, ADHD or no ADHD, to function and live like every other extraordinary person. What Would Joey Do? and the Joey Pigza trilogy is by far one of the best young-adult series I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone of any age who loves a great read on overcoming weaknesses and living life to the fullest.

The story is about a kid (Joey),whose parents are divorced and his dad comes to get his Mom back but she has a boy friend. He goes through a lot to get her back. She didn't go for it. She ends up throwing things at him just to get him to leave. It doesn't work so he keeps trying, which makes him very brave. Joey likes a girl so he takes her to a concert. That is against her religion but her mom lets her go. At the end he kisses her. Also Joey's dad (Carter) gets in a wreck outside their house because Joey's mom was chasing him. Then his grandma dies so he dresses her up so she looks nice when she goes to heaven. At the end he goes back to school instead of being home schooled.

What would Joey Do? is the funniest book I have ever read. Joey named his neighbors lawn gnomes. There was nothing I didnt like about the book. I would recommend what would Joey do? to anyone who finds humor in books.

The Joey Pigza stories are well written and a great way to have a funny look at families sorting themselves out through Joey's ADD school boy eyes.

This book was way sad. I felt like crying by the time I got to the fifth chapter, however, this was a great book. Joey always manages to triumph whenever there is a problem. Although this is the saddest book I have ever read in my lifetime (of nine years), this is an awesome book for any kid over nine years old. My mother got this book for me because it was on a list of humorous books for kids...but that was a mistake!

You'd think a bunch of books about the same kid would eventually become repetitive, and this is what I always expect with each new Joey book. However, the books always surprise me with a new theme wonderfully dealt with. The first book's theme was, of course, ADHD; the second book was about Joey trying to develop a relationship with his nut of a father. This one is about Joey dealing with everyone going crazy around him, and not having time to focus on himself.

The ONE problem I had with this book is that Joey's mother, who in earlier books had been an island of stability, suddenly goes crazy and seems to forget what a good mother she used to be. While this sudden change bothered me at the beginning, I quickly forgot about it and started focusing on how Joey was dealing with the issues. Joey is delightful. one of the greatest features of the book is Joey's label maker, which he uses to stick hilarious (or sometimes serious and troubled) labels on everything - a very funny and original way of expressing himself.

Joey's grandmother is insightful as always. As she says once, she can view all the goings-on as if on a stage, and knows exactly what's going on and what advice to give Joey - in her usual humorously cantankerous voice. New characters Mrs. Lapp and Olivia are nice additions, especially Mrs. Lapp, who is so nice but so oblivious. Joey's daily answers to her "what would jesus do?" and Mrs. Lapps's reactions are sweet and funny.

At the end, not everything gets worked out, but Joey learns to accept this and not sacrifice himself worrying about other people's problems, which is the point of the book. Very insightful, funny, and touching, "What Would Joey Do?" is a wonderful book.