The Pinballs

"The Pinballs" is a 1976 young adult novel by American author Betsy Byars. The story is about three foster children -- Carlie, Harvey and Thomas J. -- who have been taken in by the Masons, a couple who have cared for many other foster children in the past. Carlie compares the children to pinballs, controlled by external forces and at the mercy of fate. It won the 1977 Josette Frank Award.

Plot summary

Carlie has become tough; she has been abused by her two abusive stepfathers and is convinced that people are not to be trusted. The master of insults, she maintains a hard exterior. Harvey comes to the Mason home with two broken legs, having been run over by an alcoholic father after being abandoned by his mother. He is convinced that his father has kept his mother from communicating with him since she ran away to "find herself" in a commune. Thomas J. was also abandoned; he was found as a toddler by elderly twin sisters whose minimal love and care for him ended abruptly when both of them were hospitalized with broken hips. He is inarticulate and overly anxious to please. The Masons provide a supportive environment in which the children learn to care for each other and begin to experience love and trust.They also learn about friendship.

Pop culture references in the book, which were contemporary when it was first published, have made "The Pinballs" into a literary time capsule of America in the 1970s.

TV movie

The book was adapted as a made-for-TV movie in 1977, starring Kristy McNichol, Johnny Doran and Sparky Marcus as the three children.