Maniac Magee (Newbery Medal Winner)

I read this book for my adolescent literature course the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. Many people told me it was a good book including my professor, and various other students in the class. I took their word for it and decided to dive into the book to see what was so exciting about Jerry Spinelli's "Maniac Magee."The book begins with a young boy, Jefferey Lionel Magee, running into a town in which no one recognizes him. Orphaned after his parents deaths, Maniac has no place to live. The town is a racially divided town with the blacks living on the East end and the whites living on the West end. "Maniac" comes into town and begins to make his mark. He can do everything from hit multiple homeruns off the the best little league pitcher in town, to intercept passes to the best receiver on the football team. After Maniac is rescued by from "Mars Bar" Thompson by Amanda Beale, she takes him to her house to live with her. After he hurts Amanda's feelings, he does not want to cause her anymore pain so he runs away to the zoo where he meets a former minor league baseball pitcher, Earl Grayson, who takes him in and allows Maniac to teach him to read. Just when it seems like Maniac has found a place to stay, Grayson dies, and Maniac is forced to leave. Maniac starts to run again, but runs into John McNab's (the best little league pitcher in town) two younger brothers, who are running away to Mexico. Maniac takes them home to the West end and begins to live with them; however, when Maniac beats Mars Bar in a race, and crashes a birthday party at the McNab's, he is forced into homelessness again. Maniac's final chance comes when one of the McNab kids is facing death in the same place where Maniac's parents died. Maniac and Mars Bar go to save him, but Maniac is too afraid and he leaves. Amanda Beale tracks Maniac down and finally invites him to come live with her and her family for as long as he wants to, and this is how the story ends.While there are many ups and downs in the story, it is a story that truly teaches all about friendship and love. Jerry Spinelli does a fantastic job of creating a story that can be seen as true in all minds and hearts. While it may not satisfy everyone's wants and needs for a good book, I can honestly say this is one of the greatest if not the greatest book I have ever read. SEVEN THUMBS UP!!!

I'll admit that I didn't think much of this book when I started reading it. The voice of the book in the opening chapters, were not appealing to me. I think that the vocabulary and the style of the book just didn't resonate with me. For whatever reason I didn't like it, and I almost put the book down.But I'm glad I didn't, because I found that whatever bothered me in the beginning quickly faded away as the plot of the book began to unfold.Maniac Magee is set in the north-eastern United States sometime after World War II, the exact date is not specified. It's the story of a boy that struggles through the many losses in his life, all while being educated about the reality of racism in our world. The young man also does this without losing the spark of his personality that really shines in this book.What I liked:1. I loved the characters: The children were all very interesting, I especially liked Maniac and Mars Bar. I also found the adult characters very interesting especially the old man Grayson who befriends Maniac. His story is so interesting and heart-breaking you could almost write a whole book about this one character(and I wish Spinelli would).2. The setting: I loved the places Maniac went and how they were described, very creative.3. The writing: I didn't like the writing at the first, but I found the imagery created by the writing towards the end were some of the best I've read in any newbery book.Maniac Magee won the Newbery Medal in 1991, and Jerry Spinelli went on a Newbery Honor medal with his book Wringer a few years later. It was a great read, I highly recommend it.

Just plain fun!

When he was just a baby, Jeffrey Magee's parents were killed in a tragic accident. He was sent off to be raised by his uncle and aunt, who had decided to stop speaking to each other. Frustrated and unhappy, Jeffrey ran away. Miles and weeks later, he ended up in the East End, the black section of town. He didn't fit in at first, but he was so amazing that he became a legend -- the kid who could outrun anyone, the kid who wasn't afraid of anything. He was the first kid in the world to ever bunt a fastFROG. The only one who could untie a legendary knot. But no matter where he went, bad luck and death seemed to follow him.Jerry Spinelli is an award-winning author of several books for children. Maniac Magee is arguably his best novel so far. He takes an unflinching look at the worlds kids grow up in.Maniac Magee, with death seeming to follow his footsteps no matter where he goes, is one of the best hardluck heroes you'll ever read about. This is a great book to read to your 3rd and 4th graders -- and even beyond if your family enjoys sharing books. I've read this to all my children, and I've constantly had to buy new copies (I've sinced picked up copies of the book at every used book store I ever find them in) because I'm habitually putting the previous copies into the hands of other people. Spinelli's prose hits the page simple and direct, and the emotions are raw and honest.Grab a copy of MANIAC MAGEE. Find a kid in your family who hasn't read the story (and you may even find some who simply want to hear the tale again), and read it out loud. This book is meant to be read out loud. Bite-size chapters, imaginative action and thrilling encounters keep kids totally locked into the story.