briarrose1021's review against another edition
4.0
Joey Pigza has ADD, and he has learned that when he's not on his medication, he's an entirely different person - a person that he doesn't necessarily like. For the summer, Joey wants to learn more about his dad, so he's going to Pittsburgh, PA to spend 6 weeks with his dad. Joey's mom tells Joey that his dad can be a lot like Joey and tells him to tell her if his dad starts drinking.
This story, published in 2000 and set during that same time, does a wonderful job of painting a picture of what it's like to be a young boy with ADD. In the beginning, when Joey is on his medication, he's in control of his behavior. That's not to say that he isn't a bit crazy at times. Rather, it's manageable crazy. But, after Joey's dad has the bright idea that Joey doesn't really need his medication and flushes all of Joey's patches, things begin to change. It's slow at first, as the medication that Joey has been on slowly wears off, but cracks begin to show. Joey recognizes this, but he wants to please his dad so he excuses them away.
At the same time, Joey's dad is dealing with his own alcoholism. In his head, he has convinced himself that drinking beer is different from drinking hard liquor, so it's okay for him to drink beer. It's just adult soda, after all! There were several conversations between Joey and his dad that had me cringing. They were realistic, and that's what made them so bad.
Overall, I thought the characters were very well done. While some of them were simplistic, they weren't just stereotypes. In addition, the characters and their interactions, particularly with Joey, were what made this story. This story was also somewhat short, and there was no great mystery to solve. The main problem to be dealt with was made clear pretty early on. What made the story great was in seeing HOW the solution would unfold. While some aspects were resolved, others were not, and I look forward to continuing the series to see how those which weren't resolved will be handled in the future.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author. In general, I do not care for author-narrated audiobooks. Yes, authors understand the story better than some random narrator, and that can sometimes lead to added nuance in the audiobook than the listener would have gotten from someone else narrating. However, narrating is a different skill set than writing, and many authors do not make good narrators. This was one of those cases, and it was also the reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 stars. Let me be clear: the narration isn't bad. It just isn't as good as it could have been, and for that reason, when I continue this series, I will do so by reading them myself instead of listening to the audiobook if the author continues narrating.
This story, published in 2000 and set during that same time, does a wonderful job of painting a picture of what it's like to be a young boy with ADD. In the beginning, when Joey is on his medication, he's in control of his behavior. That's not to say that he isn't a bit crazy at times. Rather, it's manageable crazy. But, after Joey's dad has the bright idea that Joey doesn't really need his medication and flushes all of Joey's patches, things begin to change. It's slow at first, as the medication that Joey has been on slowly wears off, but cracks begin to show. Joey recognizes this, but he wants to please his dad so he excuses them away.
At the same time, Joey's dad is dealing with his own alcoholism. In his head, he has convinced himself that drinking beer is different from drinking hard liquor, so it's okay for him to drink beer. It's just adult soda, after all! There were several conversations between Joey and his dad that had me cringing. They were realistic, and that's what made them so bad.
Overall, I thought the characters were very well done. While some of them were simplistic, they weren't just stereotypes. In addition, the characters and their interactions, particularly with Joey, were what made this story. This story was also somewhat short, and there was no great mystery to solve. The main problem to be dealt with was made clear pretty early on. What made the story great was in seeing HOW the solution would unfold. While some aspects were resolved, others were not, and I look forward to continuing the series to see how those which weren't resolved will be handled in the future.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author. In general, I do not care for author-narrated audiobooks. Yes, authors understand the story better than some random narrator, and that can sometimes lead to added nuance in the audiobook than the listener would have gotten from someone else narrating. However, narrating is a different skill set than writing, and many authors do not make good narrators. This was one of those cases, and it was also the reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 stars. Let me be clear: the narration isn't bad. It just isn't as good as it could have been, and for that reason, when I continue this series, I will do so by reading them myself instead of listening to the audiobook if the author continues narrating.
chandlerleighk's review against another edition
4.0
This sweet little book hit home for me. A child with ADHD, who has divorced parents, Joey knows himself very well and knows how to behave better than his own father does. This is definitely a book I would keep in my classroom library. Its hilarious and heart wrenching all wrapped up in one.
I only gave it four stars because I wasn't too fond of the ending, it can't always be that easy...
I only gave it four stars because I wasn't too fond of the ending, it can't always be that easy...
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
4.0
I could not live in this family. The disfunction and self medicating or not medicating would drive me nuts.
abigailbat's review against another edition
3.0
I "reread' this one on audio and I still don't think it's quite as good as Joey Pigza Swallows the Key, although Jack Gantos still does an admirable job of reading his own work.
jessalynn_librarian's review
3.0
In this sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Joey has a chance to reconnect with his dad. Of course this leads to plenty of disasters, since his dad is a grown-up version of Joey - wired differently, and often a little out of control. Like the first book, this one has plenty of humor and is a fascinating insight into life with ADHD. But this one felt darker than the first one - maybe because Joey is actually better than his dad at keeping things together and making smart decisions. Gantos is not afraid to show us adults who screw up; I don't know how much of that would go over the heads of kids who read this, and maybe it bothered me as an adult more than it would bother a child, because I could see more clearly all the bad choices made by adults in Joey's life. Still, I can imagine for kids like Joey, that it might be a huge relief to see someone like yourself in a book.
dee21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
5.0
munchin's review
4.0
This is realistic fiction alright. Joey Pigza is a very lovable protagonist who suffers from ADHD. He spends the summer with his estranged father who encourages him to quit taking his medication. In a less courageous book, this situation would be played only for laughs, but the book deals with the very serious (though, yes, often funny) consequences of this. I was shocked by the ending. It was very bittersweet. This book is clearly aimed at kids who are capable of handling an ending that doesn't wrap things up in neat package.
crowyhead's review
4.0
This sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is almost as good as the first. The only reason I say "almost" is that it's a bit more disturbing and a bit less funny than the first one. This isn't exactly a fault, since the issues faced by Joey in this installment are very real and are deftly handled, but it just wasn't quite as much fun to read.