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The Pinballs
The Pinballs | Betsy Byars
4 posts | 6 read | 1 to read
You can't always decide where life will take you--especially when you're a kid. Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own Iives. Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her beter judgement, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own lives.
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SaunteringVaguelyDownwards
The Pinballs | Betsy Byars
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The tagged #MiddleGradeMonday pick is one that stuck with me from when I was a kid!

The Pinballs focuses on three children in foster placements with the Masons - distrustful Charlie, sent there because her stepfather hit her so hard she got a concussion; naive Thomas J, whose aunts got too old and infirm to care for him; and Harvey, who arrives with two broken legs and a story about how it happened that keeps changing.

@Karisimo

Karisimo Sounds good but also heavy? Thanks for sharing! 2mo
sblbooks Was that an after-school special? 1mo
SaunteringVaguelyDownwards @sblbooks I only read the book - no idea if it was adapted for tv. 1mo
10 likes3 comments
review
jdiehr
The Pinballs | Betsy Byars
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Pickpick

When I saw one of my childhood favorites at an estate sale, I had to snatch it up and do a re-read.

I still loved it! ❤️

Three foster kids staying in the same home form a lovely bond.

I vividly remembered the part about Carlie's nail decals getting ruined when she made her mayonnaise cake 😄 What a funny detail to carry with me decades after first reading the book.

Fun fact - this was an After School Special

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peaKnit
The Pinballs | Betsy Byars
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Top score on Mandolorian, I may have found another hobby. 🥳

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Aseleener
The Pinballs | Betsy Byars
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The freebies I got today. My husband picked out the two on the left, the rest I got for my kiddos. #bookhaul

CrowCAH Pony Pals! 🐴 I read those. 8y
32 likes1 comment