History Literature / ThePinballs

* GenderBlenderName: The Benson twins (who are female), Thomas and Jefferson.

** Thomas J was abandoned on a stranger's front lawn as a toddler. While he had a relatively happy upbringing (especially in comparison to the other two), he was always struggling with the trauma of being unwanted as well as feeling like he didn't even really know his own identity.

* PinballProtagonist: Discussed. Carlie insists that they are this, thrown around by forces they are powerless against in a world that doesn't care about them. [[spoiler: On the last page of the book she finally admits she's wrong.]]

* IllPretendIDidntSeeThat: After Harvey blatantly shows a nurse the puppy that Carlie and Thomas J had sneaked into the hospital, she gently warns him that ''if'' she had seen a dog in the hospital, she'd have had to kick it out immediately.

* HadTheSillyThingInReverse: A very non-humorous version is how Harvey's legs were broken. While Harvey was walking in front of the car, his father tried to put it in reverse, but [[DrunkDriver because he'd been drinking]], he accidentally put it in drive and ran Harvey over.

* UselessBystanderParent: It's never explicitly mentioned, but if one reads between the lines, it doesn't appear that Carlie's mother was particularly interested in protecting her daughter (Carlie) from her husband (Carlie's stepfather). At the very least, it ''is'' stated outright that Carlie's mother is still together with her stepfather despite the latter having nearly beaten Carlie to death.

** Also Harvey's father.

* MissingMom: Harvey's mom left him and his father some years earlier to live on a commune, and hasn't had a scrap of contact with them since. Harvey initially blamed his father for the lack of contact, but his father then told him that he had tried writing letters to her to keep her up to date on Harvey and encourage her to at least write to him once in a while, but she never replied to any of them.

* MissingMom: Harvey's mom left him and his father some years earlier to live on a commune, and hasn't had a scrap of contact with them since. According to Harvey's father, he's tried writing letters to her to keep her up to date on Harvey and encourage her to at least write to him once in a while, but she never replies.

The Pinballs is a children's' novel by Creator/BetsyByars, telling the story of three foster children who find themselves sharing a home. Carlie, an abuse survivor, Harvey, a cripple who was run over by his drink-driving father and Thomas J, who was abandoned as a baby.

The Pinballs is a children's' novel by Betsy Byars, telling the story of three foster children who find themselves sharing a home. Carlie, an abuse survivor, Harvey, a cripple who was run over by his drink-driving father and Thomas J, who was abandoned as a baby.

* DisappearedDad: Carlie's father apparently abandoned her mother before she was born.

The Pinballs is a childrens' novel by Betsy Byars, telling the story of three foster children who find themselves sharing a home. Carlie, an abuse survivor, Harvey, a cripple who was run over by his drink-driving father and Thomas J, who was abandoned as a baby.

* GoshDangItToHeck: Carlie is described as foul mouthed, but as a book aimed at 8-12 year olds, the worst she gets to say is "Bug off".
* PinballProtagonist: Discussed. Carlie insists that they are this, thrown around by forces they are powerless against in a world that doesn't care about them. [[spoiler: On the last page of the book she finally admits she's wrong.]]

* PinballProtagonist: Discussed. Carlie insists that they are this, thrown around by forces they are powerless against in a world that doesn't care about them. [[spoiler: On the last page of the book she finally admits she's wrong.]]

* DoorstopBaby: Thomas J, as a baby, was left in front of a farmhouse belonging a pair of older twin sisters names Thomas and Jefferson (their father named them after his favorite president). The sisters took him in and didn't report him to the authorities and it isn't until they both break their hips and end up in the hospital that Thomas J is discovered.