Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Read an Excerpt

"I'm a good kid! I just got dud meds!"

Joey Pigza is wired. His prescription "meds" are no match for his mood swings. One minute he's sitting at his desk like any other kid; the next he's out of control and taking a time-out in the hallway. When Joey gets worked up, all the rules set by his mother and his teachers go right out the window.

"My spring was wound so tight that I was more like a rat in a maze, without words, or any feelings, or any ideas about myself and what I should be doing other than go, go, go!"

Joey knows he's a disappointment to the people he cares about. His mom's been warned that if he keeps messing up he could be transferred to the downtown special-ed center for problem kids. This could be the end of the line. As Joey himself would say: 

"Can I get back to you on that?"

Awards and Honors
American Library Association Notable Children's Books
California Young Reader Medal
National Book Awards - Finalist
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Recommendations
Booklist, American Library Association
Boston Globe
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book, Starred Review
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
School Library Journal, Starred Review

Reviews
"In this roller-coaster of a ride, ingenuously and breathlessly narrated by Joey himself, readers are treated to an up-close introduction to life with attention deficit disorder -- or being wired, as Joey puts it . . . Readers of this compelling tragicomedy will know almost from the start that Joey's not just a good kid -- he's a great kid."
--Starred, The Horn Book

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Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
1998
0-374-33664-4