Joey Pigza Loses Control (Hardcover)

by Jack Gantos (Author) "We were on our way to Dad's house and Mom was driving with both hands clamped tightly around the wheel as if she had me..." (more)
Key Phrases: Humpty Dumpty, Storybook Land, Pop Tart (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The loveable, disaster-prone hero of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is back, this time in charge of his attention deficit disorder and ready to greet the world as a normal kid--with the help of his new and improved meds, of course. Now that Joey has a handle on his actions, he feels prepared to face the most mysterious member of his family--his estranged father, Carter Pigza. He convinces his skeptical mom to let him spend part of his summer vacation getting to know his dad again. The only problem is that Joey's dad is just as wired as Joey used to be: "I looked over at his mouth, which never seemed to close--not even the lips touched together--and it made me dizzy to listen to him." Carter believes that Joey can kick his ADD the way he himself kicked alcoholism--cold turkey. But when Carter flushes his meds, Joey has to decide if being friends with his dad is worth losing his hard-won self-control. "That old Joey was coming to get me and I couldn't do anything about it... I closed my eyes and told myself to sleep while I could."

Jack Gantos's second book about Joey Pigza is just as delightful and soulful as his first. Joey's attempts to keep the fragile peace in his life intact are touching, and his intense longing to just be normal will mirror the feelings of most preteens, whether they have ADD or not. Joey Pigza may sometimes lose control, but he never loses his heart. This is an exceptional sequel. (Ages 10 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

From Publishers Weekly
First introduced in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Gantos's hyperactive hero Joey Pigza has not lost any of his liveliness, but after undergoing therapy and a stint in special ed., he now can exercise a reasonable amount of self-controlDprovided he takes his meds. His mother has reluctantly agreed to let him spend the summer three hours from home with his father, an alcoholic who, so he claims, has taken steps to turn his life around. Readers will sight trouble ahead long before Joey's optimistic perception of his father grows blurry. Mr. Pigza is at least as "wired" as the old Joey, and when he resorts to his drinking habits and becomes belligerent, Joey (who still wants to win his father's favor) feels scared. Then Mr. Pigza, telling Joey his medicine patches are a "crutch" that Joey doesn't need, summarily flushes them down the toilet: "You are liberated... You are your own man, in control of your own life," he announces. Joey is torn between wanting to call his mom immediately and sticking with his father. "Even though I knew he was wrong," Joey says, "he was my dad, and I wanted him to be right." 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. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (September 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374399891
• ISBN-13: 978-0439338745
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,333 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deals well with the intergenerational issues of AD/HD, January 2, 2001

By	Carol Watkins "Psychiatrist" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key, and Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos  Joey Pigza is a kind but impulsive, inattentive boy, living with his divorced mother. In the first book, Joey is diagnosed with AD/HD. The author deals humorously and sympathetically with Joey's impulsivity and how it gets him in trouble in school and at home. Eventually Joey and his mother learn how to compensate through humor, educational strategies and medication.  The second book still retains some of the humor of the first, but deals with more serious issues. Joey's estranged father arranges to have Joey stay with him for the summer. The father clearly has ADHD symptoms similar to those of his son. Further, the father struggles with alcoholism and legal problems. During the summer, he makes Joey stop he medication. In his father Joey sees what he might have become. This second story deals with the very serious issues of custody disputes, parental disagreement about medication, alcoholism and its effect on a child with AD/HD. Some parents might want to read this book with their older elementary school and middle school children to explain some of these complex issues.  Carol E, Watkins, M.D. Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mustread for this age group, September 24, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The "good meds" that Joey Pigza takes has calmed down the youngster considerably, but he worries when his mom drives to meet his dad for the first time in several years. His mom is even more nervous because she knows that her son's dad Carter is a bigger version of Joey without the medicine. Joey also is worried because he wants his dad to like him so they can be more like a real father and son.

Over the next six weeks, Carter proves to be much more complex than Joey's wife described or the way the lad dreamed his dad would act. Carter's lessons in life reinforce his behavior leading to the tossing of Joey's medicine down the toilet while insisting real men tough out their problems without external aids. Although Joey knows what happens without the "good meds", he decides to "tough" it out even as his own behavior begins to spin out of control.

JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL, the sequel to the great JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWS HIS KEY, is a tremendous dark tale aimed at middle schoolers, but should be prime reading for grown-ups. The story line cleverly plays at two levels. The interesting plot engages young readers as they cheer for Joey to survive to balance his out of control universe. The tale also targets adults to understand that we serve as role models that our children will one day emulate. Readers of all ages who wire into Jack Gantos will know they have read some of the most poignant drama available.

Harriet KlaUSNER

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LAUGH RIOT WITH HEART AND SOUL, May 9, 2001

By	Sherry S. Korthals (Vermillion, SD United States) - See all my reviews

What are a boy and his dog to do during summer vacation? If you were to ask Joey Pigza, the protagonist in this riotous sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998), my guess is that he'd respond with a vociferous "CAN I GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT?" Joey Pigza's an affable kid with ADHD who's wired, struggling to navigate his way through adolescence. His meds are finally working, but when Joey heads to his father's house for the summer, his self-command unravels. As Joey's father endeavors to rebuild a father-son relationship, he sacrifices what's best for his son. Off his meds and lost in the battle his father wages for custody, Joey loses control. Bouncing off the walls of his young existence, Joey discovers that life with his loving mother is the remedy for his summer chaos. Joey Pigza is a character as appealing, vibrant, and colossal as Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, and Jack Gantos' text explodes with intensity as his terse, manic style creates an urgency that perfectly manifests Joey's audacious disposition. The plot, which follows Joey through his frenzied summer escapades back to the reassuring safety of his mother's arms, is a well-structured and satisfying laugh riot that engages from page one. Few readers will close the cover on this sequel without clamoring for further adventures from Joey. Resonating with humor and poignancy, this novel offers readers an intimate glimpse into the lives of those who struggle with ADHD.