Pinballs by Betsy Byars

¶ … Pinballs by Betsy Byars Book Title The book I read was the Pinballs. The author of the book is Betsy Byars. Author information Betsy Byars has written over 50 children's books. She has won many awards including the Newbery Medal in 1971 for The Summer of the Swans and the American Book Award in 1981 for The Night Swimmers. She lives in South Carolina with her husband Ed. The book takes place in the Mason's home during the summer.

Subject of book The Pinballs is about the lives of three kids who meet each other in a foster home. The main characters are Carlie, Harvey, Thomas J. And they all go to live with the Masons. The Masons have had lots of foster children because they cannot have children of their own. F. Conflicts of the story The conflicts of the story are how each child has to deal with the painful ways that their parents treated them.

All three of the children did not experience much love from their parents. The external conflicts of the story are the physical hurts that each child suffers from. Carlie was hit and Harvey was run over. G. Summary In the beginning of the story, Carlie says that the three of them are like pinballs being bounced from bumper to bumper. Carlie is 13 years old and she is the tough one. She was abused by her father and does not think that people can be trusted.

She is also very insulting at times. Harvey is 13 years old, too. Harvey is 13 years old and he wins an essay contest and on what supposed to be his most favorite day, his father accidentally runs over his legs. He believes that his father keeps his mother from talking to him after she ran away to live in a commune. Thomas J. was abandoned. In the story, he is the youngest of the three kids.

He was discovered by two very old twin ladies that took care of him until they had to go to the hospital because of broken hips. Thomas J. has trouble explaining things. The Masons give the kids a home and a place where they can feel safe. They also make the kids realize that they can forget about the past and have lives better than the one s they had before. H.

Conclusion The story does not have a "happily ever after" ending but it does end with the kids being friends and believing that things can be better. This is the best kind of ending because it more like real life. I. Opinion The Pinballs is a great story because it explains what happens when you don't respect others. It sends a message to parents that they should remember that their kids are people, too. The story shows how each child changes, which is a good thing.

They all had fears about going to a foster home but they begin to realize that a foster home isn't as bad as they thought it was going to be. I liked the book because the characters are believable. I enjoyed this book because it was exciting and funny, but it was also sad. This book is good because it made me see how some people have it so hard when it comes to just having a decent life.

That makes it different because it is about things that happen in real life. I really liked the part when Carlie says that they are pathfinders instead of pinballs. This started to happen in Chapter 12 when we could see Carlie begin to change. In Chapter 13, she says that life is not fair, so that shows us that she is beginning to mature and accept the hardships of life. It was like she thought she could be normal even though so many bad things happened.

This was inspiring to me because it means that almost anyone can have a change of heart. I was also inspired by how the kids came to care for each other. This helped me see that people can be friends no matter what their past my be like. I thought Harvey was the saddest part of the book. On the happiest day of his life, he had the worst thing happen to him and it changed his life forever.

He wants to know his mother and he also wants a puppy. He is so quiet and shy it is sad. I thought a great part of the book was in Chapter 24 when Carlie and Thomas cheer Harvey up with the puppy. I thought Thomas J. was sad too because he did not ever know his parents and he didn't know what day his birthday was on. Thomas is worried about where he.