Last Chance Joey

After being expelled, Joey is sent to the country to help an old man. Will it turn his life around or will his past follow him?;

Joey is sent to live with his great-aunt in the country where his phone won’t work and he’ll be far away from his mates. But there isn’t any choice—this is the third school he’s been expelled from for fighting. Which is stupid because he doesn’t fight. It’s an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, he disrupts every class he attends—a skill he’s proud of. Or at least pretends to be proud of. But he has to disrupt them to keep everyone from realising he can’t read.

It turns out that Auntie Belle is not so old and not so bad, and when she asks him to help a neighbour, Young Harry, who’s recovering from a bad accident, Joey finds a world he can understand. Young Harry is eighty-five years old. He has horses and dogs and a bull, a garden that produces more food than Joey has seen in the city supermarket. He doesn’t have a phone either—or anything else from the 21st century. But even without electricity and the internet, Joey has never felt more at home. He likes the trust Harry has in him, hopes to join the local AFL team and enjoys going for rides with Emily, the girl who looks after Harry’s horses. Joey and Young Harry become good mates —better than the ones he hung out with on the city streets.

But then the break-ins start. Robbie, jealous of Joey’s relationship with Emily, points the finger at Joey and the locals turn against him. And when one of his old city friends is revealed as the culprit, he tries to rope Joey into his break-and-enters. After all, he can’t change who he is, can he? And the locals will never accept him as one of them. Will they?

Last Chance Joey is a coming-of-age story for every kid who struggles to find acceptance and their place in the world. Joey finds not only somewhere that he belongs, but also the courage to stand up for what’s important to him and the people he cares about. 

After being expelled, Joey is sent to the country to help an old man. Will it turn his life around or will 

his past follow him?   

Joey is sent to the country where his phone won’t work, he’ll be far away from his buddies, and has to 

live with his great-aunt. His mother must be nuts if she thinks he’ll go.  

But there isn’t any choice. This is the third school he’s been asked to leave. For fighting. Which is 

stupid because he doesn’t fight. It’s an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Sure, he disrupts every class he attends—a skill he’s proud of. Or at least he pretends to be proud of. 

He has to disrupt them to keep everyone from realizing he can’t read.  

But it turns out that Auntie Belle is not so old and not so bad, and when she asks him to help out a 

neighbor who’s recovering from a bad accident, Joey finds a world he can understand.  

Young Harry has horses and dogs and a bull. And he has a garden that produces more food than Joey  

has seen in the city supermarket. It looks like Young Harry will become his new best friend—better  

than the ones he hung out with on the streets in the city.  

Young Harry is eighty-five years old. He doesn’t have a phone either—or anything else from the  

21st century. But even without electricity and the internet, Joey has never felt more at home. He likes 

the trust Harry has in him, hopes to join the local football team and he enjoys going for rides with 

Emily, the girl who looks after Harry’s horses. 

But that’s until the break-ins start. Robbie, who thinks Emily is his girl, points the finger of blame at 

Joey and the locals turn against him. And when one of his friends from the city is revealed as the 

culprit, he wants to recruit Joey in his break and enters.   

After all, he can’t change who he is, can he? And the locals will never accept him as one of them.  

Or will they? And will Joey betray Young Harry?  

Last Chance Joey is a great read for every kid who struggles to find acceptance and their place in the 

world. Joey finds not only somewhere that he belongs, but also the courage to stand up for what’s 

important to him and the people he cares about.