Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key- Jack Gantos
Here is the first of two touching stories about a wonderful boy who is "wired wrong" inside. One of them was a Newbery Honor Book, the other a runner-up for the National Book Award, and they both deserve your attention.
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key comes first. Here's a little boy in about fifth grade, who has a problem with hyperactivity combined with a tendency to make bad decisions, though he is basically a nice boy. His grandma and his father were the same way before him, and his mean old grandma is the one who raises him until fifth grade, because his father ran out and his mother went after him, hoping to straighten him out. Turns out the mother and father did a lot of drinking, then the mother decided to clean up her act and go back to the little boy she had left behind. One day she turns up, and the kid doesn't even recognize her. She takes control of the family and the chaos of their household, finally Grandma gets ticked off and leaves, and then the story really gets started.