The Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos is so intriguing that once you read one of the books you want to read all of them. The stories are so unusual because Joey has bad ADHD and if he doesn't have something in his hands or on his mind he goes crazy. His medicine helps, but not all the time. And his dad has even worse ADHD. His dad gets ideas, and he just can't stop.
The first book in the series is Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key. In the beginning, Joey's father deserted Joey and his mother. Joey's mother ran after his dad. Joey was left with his grandmother who gave him time-outs, let him run wild in the house, and threatened to lock him in closets and fridges. But she was the best parent he ever had. Finally, after Joey grows up a little bit, his mother comes home. And everything changes. Now, everything has to be neat and tidy and it makes Joey more prone to go crazy. If he doesn't get to do small things wrong, his ADHD builds up and he does big things wrong. He used to weave spider webs with twine when his grandma was there, but once his mom came back, he wasn't allowed to do it any more. Then he started doing worse things at school. For instance, in the first book, Joey puts his finger in a pencil sharpener because he wants to have "Dracula nails." And, like in the title of the book, he would swallow his key, which was on a string, and then pull it up and it would be bloody. In the last book of the series, I Am Not Joey Pigza, his father comes back again after winning the lottery. He makes all of them change their names before the mother and father have a renewal of the vows ceremony. After that, Joey's father moves the family to a barn and rents out their apartment. He is trying to make them into new people. Joey is now called Freddy Heinz. He gets taken out of his school and brought to a new school. But shortly after he gets registered, his father pulls him out of school to work at the diner. Joey's life gets crazier and crazier until his father runs away again. But really his life really never stops getting crazy. What's best about this book is that Joey is not the cool kid or the kid who always does everything right. He's definitely not the perfect kid. But I sympathize with him because he's got a lot of hardships in his life. The last book in the series is hard to read and maybe not for younger kids because near the end, the father commits an act of child abuse to his son. He gets drunk people to pay to shoot paintballs at his son, and Joey is wearing a t-shirt and shorts so it hurts a lot. In conclusion, the Joey Pigza books aren't for young kids. They're painful, funny, and they make you feel a strong sympathy for Joey. He endures a lot of hardships and he doesn't have any special powers or smarts to help him.

Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!