Joey Pigza Loses Control / Jack Gantos 195 p.

In Joey Pigza Loses Control, second in the series,  Jack Gantos nails life as a young boy with ADD.  His meds help control his wired and hyperactive state that got him into trouble in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.  When he visits his father, he finds a grownup version of himself.

"He was wired. No doubt about it....Now I knew what Mom meant when she said he was like me, only bigger."

The father really wants to make up to his son for all his wrongs...not being there.  He wants to teach Joey to be a "man" and take control of his own life. And Joey tries to do as his dad says.  As his meds wear off he visualizes what may happen  like this:

"All I could image was the worst part of getting on a train a long ways off.  That old Joey was coming to get me and I couldn't do anything about it....There was nothing to do but wait, and worry."

Readers who enjoy realistic fiction with character-driven, first-person narrative, that is moving and funny may enjoy this work.