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What Would Joey Do?
Jack Gantos Book Review

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Plot Summary of What Would Joey Do?
"

FSG, Oct 2002, 16.00, 228 pp.
ISBN: 0807209481

Dad is back in Lancaster, Pennsylvania causing problems for poor Joey Pigza, who worries that his dad Carter returned by roaring motorcycle to abduct him. However, he revises his theory to that of his father using him because he wants to either irritate or get close to Joey's mother. Joey's grandmother knows the world is coming to an end perhaps because of her emphysema, but more likely because Carter, who drives her nuts, is back.

Due to the game of my kid is better, smarter, or whatever than your kid, Joey finds himself, at is mother's insistence, joining Olivia Lapp at home schooling. With the urging of his “dying” grandma, Joey tries to befriend the sight-challenged Olivia, but his bratty teammate just wants to keep him in trouble. Between her and his family, Joey learns why a dog is a boy's best friend and wonders if hyperactivity out of control is better than trying to relate to these normal maniacs.

Apparently WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? is the final novel of the JP trilogy to the dismay of this reviewer because this tale, like its predecessors, is a refreshing look at life from the perspective of a preadolescent child coping with hyperactivity. The support cast is a distressing yet delightful group of lunatics, but the story line belongs to the title character, who makes reading fun. A personal plea to Mr. Gantos: please turn Joey into a teenager with hormones running amok because he is too good an individual to be shelved.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of What Would Joey Do?
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - present (2000-2010)
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14
Age group of kid(s) in story: - grade school
Parents/lack of parents problem? - rebelling against parent's expectations

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a kid
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to What Would Joey Do?
I'm Going to Be Famous by Tom Birdseye
The Report Card by Andrew Clements
The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake
What Hearts by Bruce Brooks
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes


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