In his Newbery Honor Book Jack Gantos continues the entertaining tale of Joey Pigza, a boy afflicted with ADHD as he visits his estranged father for the summer.
What happens when a kid with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) visits his dad, who also suffers from erratic behavior, for the first time since his parents’ divorce? Total loss of control, which Jack Gantos depicts in humorous and often heart-rending detail in Joey Pigza Loses Control.
The Hyper Hero
Readers who befriended Joey Pigza in Gantos’ first book in the series, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, will be delighted to continue their adventures with him. Joey hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still good-hearted, funny, honest and, of course, hyper! Accompanied by his faithful dog, Pablo, Joey attempts to form a relationship with a dad he barely knows.
Children living in a single-parent world will closely identify with Joey and his struggles during this chapter in his life, when he desperately wants to know his dad, but finds it difficult to relate to what amounts to a perfect stranger.
The Pigza Patch
Joey’s initial loss of control begins when his dad stops medicating him for his ADHD. Carter Pigza does not believe in using drugs to control behavior; rather, he thinks Joey can control himself. When he instructs Joey to stop using the medicated patches carefully packed by his mother, the scene is set for disaster. Joey’s inner turmoil leaves him feeling completely out of control. While he wants to make his dad proud, he also knows how desperately he needs medication to control his disorder.
Medicating children for ADHD and other behavior disorders is a controversial subject. However, Joey’s story illustrates both the benefits of taking medication and the pitfalls of discontinuing it. Again, Joey relates to many children and their families who deal with ADHD and must make a decision regarding medication.
A New Family
The third phase of Joey’s loss of control involves his dad’s new relationship. Although Leezy is kind to Joey the pressure from his dad to view the threesome as a new family leaves Joey feeling confused and helpless. He wants a relationship with his dad, and he likes Leezy, but what about his mom? Joey finds himself pulled apart within. Once more Joey provides children in similar circumstances with an empathetic friend. He understands their struggle to love both mom and dad equally and come to terms with a new definition of family.
Finding Control
Through the course of Joey Pigza Loses Control, Joey learns that taking control first means accepting things that are beyond his control, such a disorder requiring medication and a dad that needs help. Then he sets to work on the things he can control. He slaps on a medicated patch and calls his mom, empowering young readers whose lives seem out of control to act accordingly.
Other books in the Joey Pigza series include Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and What Would Joey Do?
Joey Pigza Loses Control
By Jack Gantos
Copyright 2000 by Jack Gantos
ISBN: 0-439-33898-0
