The Pinballs

The Pinballs is a 1976 young adult novel by American author Betsy Byars.

Carlie compares the children to pinballs, controlled by external forces and at the mercy of fate.

Two other children arrive, Harvey, who has two broken legs, and Thomas J., who grew up living with two elderly twin sisters who found him abandoned in front of their farmhouse when he was two.

When Harvey is in the hospital after his legs became infected, Carlie, and Thomas J. give him a puppy for his birthday, which he always wanted and it helps him get him through the pain.

In 1977, the book was made into an episode of the ABC Afterschool Special series, starring Kristy McNichol as Carlie, Johnny Doran as Harvey and Sparky Marcus as Thomas J.