Maniac Magee

Star and a half. I liked Amanda's family a lot, and the Pick-people (sorry, I thought the name was cute). (sighs) Fellow lovers of reading, I was so excited to hopefully rate this book five stars and explain the roots of my hoped-for adoration of this book, and delve briefly into a fond childhood memory. I hoped to remember most of the book, and draw praise, and sniffle a little. None of that happened. We read this book in fifth grade, in 1999. My widely-adored teacher read parts of this out loud to us on Fridays as a treat. This was during the fierce rivalry between the LA Lakers and the Pacers, and our homework was to go home and watch the games, or watch with friends if we didn't own a TV. Our class split into two competitive groups, show more driven not by the love of basketball, but of our teacher, who was born and raised in Indiana, but came to Seattle anyway. We placed bets fit for ten-year-olds and sniped at one another before school. R, a friend, slipped a note into one of my schoolbooks that read, "A loves the Pacers." I snickered and kept the note for decades, right in its original position. I was a Pacers fan but liked insults like that. So, I do have some normal childhood memories kind of.

This book was unquestionably written for children, and in a way that celebrates childhood in some ways, and it doesn't make children feel stupid. Spinelli doesn't talk down to children at all, which can be common in some kid lit. I thought for decades that this book took place in upstate New York and nope, small town. That's--got unfortunate implications, as does most of this book. In a sentence: this is about a white savior who's a young homeless kid. When I think of small towns that have a sizeable white population that's low-income, I think of sundown towns. I am still learning about it, so this may not be accurate at all. But for a town so deeply divided--sundown town. The racial dynamics are so weird. It's a white savior fantasy, so that's to be expected, but it was weird. When does this take place? How is Maniac continually able to literally outrun social service people? He's a ward of the state. How is he able to cut school constantly? How did he fall through the cracks? How on earth did he break into the zoo constantly, -climb into animal enclosures-, and do so -without getting attacked-? The world-building left a lot to be desired, but it's also magical realism that wasn't properly introduced or developed.

His aunt and uncle in the beginning, with their strict views on how they should live separately--um, until 1996, divorce and separation were illegal in Ireland, and even after a new law was passed, it was still hard to get. So, Mum often lived upstairs, with Dad downstairs, and kids did eat with different parents at different times. That was totally a thing. But here, Spinelli's twisting it and making it seem bizarre and stressful in unrealistic ways, and adding a strange American twist. I did not approve. I also frowned at chapter transitions and passages of time so frequently being marked with Maniac running away, performing a fantastical feat, or character introductions of yet another person who would be changed by a young, homeless boy who was new in town. Months and seasons were anthromorphized in ways they didn't need to be, the Sledgehammer of Symbology (thanks to Das Mervin for the term) was wielded with alarming regularity, and wow, there's lots of broad caricatures and stereotypes in this book.

But--it's helped kids read. But I didn't like what it had to say, to be honest. And what makes my childhood memories viewed through such a filter--what a strange choice of book to read to fifth graders. Our class was over half Latinx kids, with the rest white kids. And -this- was the cherished and adored book? A white savior magical realism with cliche and unrealistic messages about race relations? By the time my younger brother entered the class two years later, this book was no longer assigned. I'm glad I reread it now, though, and with more life experience and social knowledge.. show less

[b: Maniac Magee|139463|Maniac Magee|Jerry Spinelli|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395884800s/139463.jpg|3264295] is a book that stuck with me long after I read it in fifth grade for the first time. It stuck with me more than in just a life-long love of Butterscotch Krumpets, but also in the sweetness of the main character and the good that he finds in - well, everyone. Everyone wants to belong in some way, and often all it takes is a listening ear and sincerity to find the way to that person's heart. This book shows that in a way that is accessible to a kid, touching to an adult, and just... soulful. Little is as pure and wonderful as this book.

[b: Maniac Magee|139463|Maniac Magee|Jerry show more Spinelli|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395884800s/139463.jpg|3264295] is a legend. As a young boy he runs away from home from his fighting aunt and uncle, and finds himself in a series of houses, deer pens, bison pens, and baseball shells. He meets people along the way - white, black, old, and young. He meets people in poverty, people with strange perspectives. He proves himself on the streets, but with honor - never stealing, never cheating. He's a good kid, and he's cool. The best part is - this never comes off as preachy, never comes off as forced or insincere. This is a compelling book, with all the gasped excitement of gossip on a schoolyard. [a: Jerry Spinelli|12696|Jerry Spinelli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201118632p2/12696.jpg] is a wonderful writer, and he gets what makes kids tick.

This book lived up to my expectations, and even surpassed them. I loved every second of it, an am glad to hear it's still on school's reading lists. This is a fun book to read, and I'm sure kids are liking it now as much as my class did when I read it. Who wouldn't love Maniac, Mars Bar, Amanda, and Earl? I don't know how anyone could actively dislike this book. show less

This was an interesting book to read even though there were parts that were unrealistic and others that were rather brief such as "in a few days he was dead". Otherwise with the messages that it carries I would suggest at least a one-time reading for older students since of its contents but truthfully I think an even more mature audience would get even more out the book since of our actual experiences with life.

Jeffrey, who becomes the legendary Maniac, is basically a child who meets tragedy throughout his younger years. Whoever he seems to love or cares about gets hurt, harassed or dies so the child keeps to himself thus becoming a feral creature just trying to survive where he can. And it is like so many other real people in this show more situation that he learns to judge people by hearts and not by other "stereotypes".

Maniac is a bit on the unrealistic side and has some issues but I can relate to him having had a rough childhood. I know what it is like to live on the streets and not have a place to call home while when you are least expecting it you will find angels to help out on the path.

This book has so many beautiful messages of living within it that won me over from the unrealistic surroundings and young adult presentation. Definitely a jewel in the rough.... show less

An orphaned boy runs away from the cold aunt and uncle he's been sent to live with. When he reaches a town just across the river from his old home, he gets entangled in the lives of multiple families and becomes a legend to future generations of kids.

Jerry Spinelli's works are hit or miss with me, and this one was a miss. It wanders through some heavy-handed messaging about race that probably went down a lot better when the book first came out, and I also struggled with the suspension of disbelief necessary to believe that nobody got the authorities involved in this kid's life. The intended readership might enjoy it more than I did, but I think they'd find it dated at this point.

Maniac Magee was, for me, an unexpected story. A young boy loses both his parents, runs away from his aunt's home to seek a life on his own. It was an incredible story, full of heart and soul, love and giving, fear and pain. For a kid's book, it held and immense breadth of experience, particularly for a gentle kid.

The story moves about as quickly as Maniac can run, which is to say it moves at a good clip. One of those tales where the protagonist remains the same - has very little character arc - while everyone around him is changed by being around him. In this way, the story suffers from a bit of a white savior problem. Maniac bridges a racial divide in a city that has always had an us/them mentality. Still, there's a lot of hope and celebration in the story, and it truly is a compelling read.

“…the history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball.”

Homelessness = sad. Allergic to pizza? Devastating! 😆 But in all seriousness, this is a pretty decent read, that touches on issues of homelessness and race. Maybe 'lightly' touches is a more accurate description, as someone as famous as Maniac would probably not be allowed to be unhoused and not in school in a 'real' town, East End or West End. And the really uninformed things some of the white people 'say' in this book seem otherworldly ignorant, and I wondered several times what year this was supposed to be occurring in? (yes, I do know how ignorant some folks are, but many of the questions that Grayson asks are just... come on!)

At the end of show more the book, I just hoped Maniac would end up in school and using his physical gifts to his benefit! As a baseball nut myself, I hope he ended up on the diamond! show less