The fifth and final book in the groundbreaking Joey Pigza series brings the beloved chronicle of this wired, wacky, and wonderful boy to a crescendo of chaos and craziness, as everything goes topsy-turvy for Joey just as he starts to get his feet on the ground. With his dad MIA in the wake of appearance-altering plastic surgery, Joey must give up school to look after his new baby brother and fill in for his mom, who hospitalizes herself to deal with a bad case of postpartum blues. As his challenges mount, Joey discovers a key that could unlock the secrets to his father's whereabouts, a mystery that must be solved before Joey can even hope that his broken family might somehow come back together—if only it doesn't pull him apart first.

This title has Common Core connections.

Jack Gantos was raised in the town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Boston. In addition to Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal, and From Norvelt to Nowhere, he is also the acclaimed author of four other Joey Pigza novels, the Jack Henry story collections, the many Rotten Ralph books, and the Printz Honor memoir Hole in My Life.