Wow.

Really wow.

I just listened to the amazing audiobook of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, read by the author Jack Gantos. I found myself laughing and tearing up at the same time. Joey Pigza, a kid with extreme behavior issues, is so friendly, so dynamic, and so exuberant that I fell in love with him, even while I saw how he disrupted the world around him. The way he tried and the way the world often misjudged him, or didn’t have the time or patience or understanding to give him, broke my heart. But Joey is unstoppable, and infinitely embraceable.

This first-person trip into the mind of Joey, filled with uncontrollable impulses, extreme fears and desires, and a very funny narrative, opened my mind and heart* to kid’s in Joey’s shoes. It gave me a window into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the same way The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon opened a window into autism. Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key is a masterful book, written with a quality and candidness that you don’t always see in stories for this age group.

Plus, Jack Gantos did an amazing job reading this book. He’ll always be Joey Pigza to me.

HaikuReview: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Just sit. Just listen.
Just do the impossible.
Just wishes he could.

*I do realize that I’ve used the word ‘heart’ twice and ‘love’ once in this review. Because I heart heart heart Joey.

Posted in I heart this book, Haiku review, Books

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