From Newbery-winning author Betsy Byars comes a story full of "poignancy, perception, and humor" ( The Chicago Tribune), about three foster kids who learn what it takes to make a family.  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 lives. “Three unwanted kids, ‘Pinballs,’ as wisecracking Carly dubs them, collide in a warm and caring foster home and learn to pin their hopes on each other.” - School Library Journal “Deftly told with humor, this realistic novel introduces unique individuals who learn to deal with grief by sticking together.” - ALA Booklist 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. Betsy Byars is the author of many award-winning books for children, including The Summer of the Swans , a Newbery Medal winner. The Pinballs was an ALA Notable Book. She is also the author of Goodbye, Chicken Little ; The Two-Thousand-Pound Goldfish ; and the popular Golly Sisters trilogy. Chapter One One summer two boys and a girl went to a foster home to live together. One of the boys was Harvey. He had two broken legs. He got them when he was run over by his father's new Grand Am. The day of his accident was supposed to be one of the happiest of Harvey's life. He had written an essay on "Why I Am Proud to Be, an American," and he had won third prize. Two dollars. His father had promised to drive him to the meeting and watch him get the award. The winners and their parents were going to have their pictures taken for the newspaper. When the time came, to go, Harvey's father said, "What are you doing in the car?" Harvey had been sitting them waiting, for fifteen minutes. He was wearing a tie for the first time in his life. "Get out, Harvey, I'm late as it is." "Get out?" "Yes, get out." Harvey did not move. He sat staring straight ahead. He said, "But this is the night I get my award. You promised you'd take me." "I didn't promise. I said I would if I could." "No, you promised. You said if I'd quit bugging you about it, you'd take me. You promised." He still did not look at his father. "Get out, Harvey." No." "I'm telling you for the last time, Harvey. Get out." "Drive me to the meeting and I'll get out." "You'll get out when I say!" Harvey's father wanted to get to a poker game at the Elks Club, and he was already late. "And I say you get out now." With that, the father leaned over, opened the door and pushed Harvey out of the car. Harvey landed on his knees in the grass. He jumped to his feet. He grabbed for the car door. His father locked it. Now Harvey looked at his father. His father's face was as red as if it had been turned inside out. Quickly Harvey ran around the front of the car to try and open the other door. When he was directly in front of the car, his father accidentally threw the car into drive instead of reverse. In that wrong gear, he stepped on the gas, ran over Harvey and broke both his legs. The court had taken Harvey away from his father and put him in the foster home "until such time as the father can control his drinking and make a safe home for the boy." The second boy was Thomas J. He didn't know whom he belonged to. When he was two years old someone had left him in front of a farmhouse like he was an unwanted puppy. The farmhouse belonged to two old ladies, the Benson twins, who were then eighty-two years old. They were the oldest living twins in the state. Every year on their birthday they got letters of congratulation from the governor. They were exactly alike except that one's eyes, nose and mouth were a little bigger than the other's. They looked like matching salt-and-pepper shakers. Thomas J had stayed with the twin