From: Bklst at aol.com <Bklst>
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 12:23:00 EST

Jonathan, Thanks for sending the student reviews. I think it's sometimes hard to get either a non?ademic, or other than visceral reaction if you don't have access to the thoughts of the intended audience. How old are the children who read this?

I was fascinated by Caitlin's paragraph, pasted below. Even though she didn't enjoy Joey, her responses to the scenes mentioned are just what Gantos wanted his readers to feel. We're supposed to be uncomfortable when Joey is actually afraid of his Dad. The reader who can take the Fairyland scene to the next level will discover wonderful and awful ironies, but even Caitlin knows that something is just not right about the whole thing.

In an earlier e-mail, someone mentioned the pitcher's mound. I thought this circle of POWER was absolutely brilliant. Joey was IN control AND controlling while he was on that mound. I ached for Joey and I wanted him to have power over his father but Gantos managed to make me ache for his father, as well. It was fitting that when Joey began to lose control he needed to escape from that one place he'd ALWAYS known control....the mound. See below. Lisa Thalhimer

 From Jonathan's letter: Caitlin Simens

I didn't really care for JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL because it was boring. I liked THE PLAYMAKER better. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL was just about how he takes his medicine and goes to see his dad. My favorite part of the book was when Joey goes into the city and goes looking at his dad's work place, video arcade, and on the bus. The part in the book I didn't like was when Joey gets in a mad mood and thinks his dad is going to kill him. And there's another part in the book I didn't like was when his dad takes him to the fairyland, but if it didn't have those parts it would be an okay book.
Received on Wed 31 Jan 2001 11:23:00 AM CST