I Am Not Joey Pigza

Starred review from July 23, 2007
In suitably off-kilter fashion, this fourth installment in what had been previously called a trilogy finds the hyperactive hero reunited with Carter Pigza, his “no-good squinty-eyed bad dad.” Having won a small fortune in the lottery, Carter’s back to reclaim his role as family man. The hilarious “rewedding” vows—his “I forgive you for all the times you called me a lifelong loser” begets wife Fran’s “I forgive you for trying to run me over with your motorcycle”—establish the theme for this episode in Joey’s chaotic childhood: How do you forgive people for being who they are? Especially when who they are is an incredibly lousy parent? Carter, like Joey, is not a man of small gestures; in wiping the slate clean, he changes their names to Charles, Maria and Freddy Heinz, and moves the family to the country where he has bought a roadside diner to renovate and open as The Beehive. Naturally, things do not go according to plan. In one scene, Joey/Freddy plays in traffic in a bee costume to publicize the new restaurant and winds up in police custody. As in the other Joey Pigza books, the plot doesn’t move so much as careen from one over-the-top event to the next, the achievement being that every one of them feels entirely plausible. Gantos exercises complete command of his subject—so thoroughly inside the dented head of his character that readers easily suspend disbelief. Another wild ride–over serious terrain. Ages 10-up.

Starred review from September 1, 2007
Gr 5-7-Irrepressible Joey must draw upon all of his emotional reserves to face his latest challenge. His good-for-nothing dad shows up, having won the lottery and acquired a new identity. Carter Pigza is now Charles Heinz; he's won back Joey's mother, Fran (renamed Maria); and Joey is expected to forgive him his past sins and reinvent himself as Freddy Heinz. Dad has big plans for the family. He's bought a run-down diner and will use his son to drum up business by standing by the roadside in a bee costume. Mom is on a spending spree and pressures Joey to forgive his father and do as he says. But Joey senses how wrong this is, and his struggle is palpable. By the time he concedes, his father has given up on the diner idea and has spent all of his money on losing lottery tickets. As usual, when the chips are down, Carter takes off, just as Fran is about to have a baby. Gantos tells the tale with unfailing humor, delicious wordplay, and many hilarious scenes, but this is the darkest Joey book to date. Carter's unreliability is a given, but Fran Pigza's willingness to buy into the surreal scene is unsettling and underscores the fact that Joey is really on his own. Nevertheless, readers will cheer as his indomitable spirit prevails; he neither rescinds nor regrets his forgiveness, and he is thrilled to have a baby brother. The appearance of Junior Pigza promises a new purpose in Joey's life, the possibility of a future ally in his crazy world, and, perhaps, adventures to come."Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2007
In this fourth installment of the Joey Pigza series, life becomes even more complicated for the wired sixth-grader when bad dad Carter and mom Fran reconcile and, in an attempt to start anew, reinvent themselves as the high-living Charles and Maria Heinz. Aided by a small pool of lottery winnings, hyperactive Charles dreams of success as the owner of a bee-themed diner and enlists the cooking and PR talents of Joey, whose schooling is quickly eschewed for an oversize bee costume and a sign advertising fast food.Joey struggles with forgivingCharles for their rocky past and embracing his new identity as Freddy Heinz, but it is the memory of his grandmother and news of a baby Heinz on the way that prompt himtoaccept his father andrealize that the adults in his life may have just as much difficulty making the right choices as he does. Gantos hilarious storytelling, including accounts of an over-the-top rewedding, an all-out paintball war between father and son, and a thwarted attempt at sneaking into an amusement park help soften the more serious issues at play in the story.Although the ending is heartbreaking, Joey, assuming his old identity, learns to let go of the past and dedicates himself to being a good role modelfor his new baby brother.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2007
What Would Joey Do? (rev. 11/02) was billed as the conclusion to a trilogy, so this fourth book is as unexpected as the events it chronicles. Joey's troubled father is back -- calling himself Charles Heinz, proselytizing about the power of positive thinking, and talking big about his moneymaking dreams (thanks to a modest lottery win). More unbelievable still, Joey's parents have reunited -- despite their toxic track record -- and are determined to drag skeptical, bemused Joey into their deluded plans. Worst of all, his mother (Maria Heinz, a.k.a. Fran Pigza) insists Joey embrace his new identity and, as Freddy Heinz, forgive his father for past wrongs. Joey Pigza would never absolve his father, but what would Freddy Heinz do? Joey, who remains a lovable antihero, struggles with this dilemma while trying to make the best of the doomed situation. This installment, however, relies more on caricature and frantic slapstick than on the nuanced character development and poignantly portrayed chaos that made earlier volumes so satisfying and funny. Readers new to Joey's world will find it more bizarre than tragicomic, but fans of the three previous adventures will forgive the missteps to spend more time with their favorite wired kid.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)