The Pinballs by Betsy Byars

Carlie, Thomas J and Harvey have been placed in foster care. Mr and Mrs Mason are beautiful and caring people but the focus of this story is on the three kids. Why have they been sent to foster care? Carlie is a feisty girl but deep in her heart she has a tenderness and a wonderful level of optimism. Harvey has been removed from his dad after a terrible incident where his dad ran over Harvey with his car leaving Harvey with two broken legs. Thomas J has been living with some elderly twins. He was found on their doorstep six years ago. His upbringing has been very strange until the day when the twins, aged eighty-eight had both fallen and broken their hips. Carlie has been placed in other foster homes and slowly over the course of the coming days she reveals her story and gradually lets down her guard. She makes friends with Harvey and Thomas J and is able to accept the kindness of Mrs Mason.

The cover above is for the newest edition (2019) of this book which was written in 1977. I said recently I plan to talk about some older books this year partly to see if they have stood the test of time but also to reintroduce them to you if they are books you remember from long ago. I am happy to say The Pinballs is a very enjoyable read. It has completely stood the test of time except perhaps for minor references to old television shows and I think all readers will be very happy to meet Carlie and walk for a few hours in her shoes. Here is a terrific review with lots more plot details. 

I found many of the previous covers and, to my eye,  nearly all of them are so unappealing which is such a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting The Pinballs (I read it in one session).  I hope the next re-issue will have a better cover.

"Harvey and me and Thomas J are just like pinballs. somebody put a dime and punched a button and out we came, ready or not, and settled in the same groove. That's all. ... And as soon as they get settled, somebody comes along and puts in another dime and off they go again."

Betsy Byars died in 2020. She wrote more than 65 books. I well remember loving so many of them when I first worked in a school library back in 1985 such as Tornado, Wanted Mud Blossom, The Summer of the Swans, The Midnight Fox, A Blossom promise and The 18th Emergency.