Unable to put up with it, he abruptly runs away and keeps running for miles and miles and finds himself in the town of Two Mills, which is divided by Eastenders and Westenders. Aug 07, Aj Sterkel rated it really liked it Shelves: middle-grade. A teacher read it to our class when I was 9 or 10 years old. All I remembered about it was that the main character could run really fast. My nine-year-old self completely missed the point of most literature, but I remember enjoying the story.
Maniac Magee stars a homeless kid who can run really fast. He finds himself in a racially segregated town and impresses both the black kids and the white kids with his extraordinary athletic abilities. One of his challenges works out better than the other. I can see why I liked this book as a child: It sucks the reader in right away. The story is told with hindsight. Maniac is an endearing character. The characters are where this novel shines. The audiobook narrator, S. Epatha Merkerson, does an excellent job of injecting personality into the dialogue.
And if you want to know what it was like back when Maniac Magee roamed these parts, well, just run your hand under your movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the facts get mixed up with the truth. For a while, Maniac lives in the buffalo enclosure at the zoo. Everybody just shrugs about it. Buffalos are dangerous! As a child reader, I probably overlooked the irresponsible behavior of the adult characters, but as an adult, it freaked me out. What is wrong with you, people?
Maniac becomes the target of abuse from both sides when he a white kid moves in with a black family. Racism is a bigger issue than one child can fix. Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense?
I have a blog for that. Jan 05, Patti Richards rated it it was amazing. Maniac Magee has to be one of the best middle grade novels I have ever read. The storyline is fascinating, but the mixture of reality, conjecture and legend is what kept me turning pages. They way they pour love into his lost little soul is amazing and very believable. I also really liked the way the author removed him from that home and gave him the ability to love the old man. Had he gone t Wow!
The final place he stops for a while is the classic idea of someone trying to do for the two little boys what no one had done for Maniac when he was a young child. The reader senses his frustration and genuine fear for their safety and well-being. Mar 27, Daniel Clausen rated it it was amazing Shelves: top-books. I still can't find the words to express what this book means to me.
When I was in fifth grade reading this book, I felt like Magee. This book is as deep and soulful as any book that has ever been written for adults. I hope it remains on elementary school reading lists for years to come.
But it was pretty good. Young boys would probably like it a lot. It was sweet to see through the eyes of a child. My favorite part was when Amanda finally stirs Maniac to action, literally kicking him in the right direction.
Amanda is great ;. First of all, the writing is peppy and the kids are fun- I'd like to try another Spinelli book. This one isn't a recommended read for modern children though because of the inadequate way that race is handled. If you loved this book, you may want to skip the rest of my review below. This book is supposedly about a kid name Maniac Magee but is really just a cringefest of race relations in a segregated town.
I wasn't able to catch on to whether or not this book actually takes place dur First of all, the writing is peppy and the kids are fun- I'd like to try another Spinelli book. I wasn't able to catch on to whether or not this book actually takes place during segregation or if it was just one of those towns that is still mostly segregated on the old lines despite the decades that have passed.
This could have been an alright book except for a couple of things. First of all, kids absolutely do see color. Give me a break. Prejudice is a natural human tendency that you ward off in your kids by actually taking the time to teach them not to be bigots. I'm sure there's some naturally outgoing kids who see differences a bit less, but, everybody sees it.
Another issue I had with the book was that this kid Maniac Magee is just naturally good at everything despite his poor upbringing in a dysfunctional household. So despite a poor home life and poor nutrition he is just automatically the best at everything, even sports he hasn't played before?
This is where the book gets a serious 'white savior' complex. Guess what? I've worked around kids that have been raised in households that are dysfunctional, you know that they can't do? Untie a knot that no one else could untie. I promise you, those kids can barely tie their own shoelaces or use scissors to cut out more than basic shapes; they aren't untangling a knot no one else could do.
Can a kid who has grown up like Maniac Magee have a special talent? Sure, what would have been believable is if he was just fast, winning races and stuff. That makes sense, kid's been a runaway for a year with nothing to do but runaround town.
That checks out. How would he hit a fastball no one on the team could hit having never touched a baseball bat before? That doesn't make sense. So, who do I recommend this book to? I could see rereading this if it was a favorite childhood book. I have enjoyed some really cringe-y books in my younger days, I get that.
You could read it because you are reading all of the Newbery winners; that's why I read it. Other than that, I don't see too much point in picking this one up. Spinelli's writing style is interesting, but, I think I'll stick to books where he hasn't tried to tackle race. Jan 14, serprex added it. I stayed up all night reading this one. Finished it the next day, as it was a Friday PD day.
I was given the topic of the knot, some little plot device in the middle of the book. Nov 14, Mrs. Rogers rated it it was amazing. This is my ultime favorite book! I love the determination and survival techniques that Maniac Magee displays and the positive evolution of the character. This novel will warm your heart and you will read that everyone can and should be loved. Your eyes will play magic tricks on you as you read and can visualize the line of racial tension start to fade away.
View all 4 comments. Apr 04, Elysa rated it it was amazing. Really good book! I read it more than once! Feb 21, Janie Lee rated it it was amazing. I forgot I read this until now, I loved this book!!!
The story of Magee is do interesting. Apr 03, Andrew Munroe rated it it was ok. The ending of the book wasn't as I would think the writer would've ended it. Some parts of the book were confusing and hard to understand. Spinelli, J. New York: Little, Brown and Company. She brings Maniac into her home where he is introduced to the Beale family.
After a run in with a bitter old gentleman and a racial slur being painted on the Beale home, Maniac decides he must move out. In the middle of the celebration, Amanda realizes the falling confetti is made from one of her precious books.
With no place to go, Maniac begins living in the buffalo pen at the zoo. A maintenance worker named Grayson discovers Maniac one evening while making his rounds.
Grayson, a former minor league baseball player, looks after Maniac and helps him find an empty baseball closet to live in. In return, Maniac provides companionship and helps Grayson learn to read.
The two develop a very close bond, but after celebrating the holidays together Grayson dies. Depressed and freezing, Maniac goes to a Valley Forge historical site to wither away. One morning, he discovers two children are also living at the site. The two boys, Piper and Russell, have run away to escape school and their chaotic home life. Maniac, sensing someone must be looking for the boys, tricks them into going back home. The McNab home is dirty and in a state of utter chaos.
In addition, the family is preparing for what they believe to be an impending East End rebellion. All the while, Maniac attempts to keep the two young boys under control and keep them in school. After the party debacle, Maniac moves back to the zoo and continues to live his typical nomadic lifestyle.
While running one morning, he realizes that Mars is following him. This continues until one day an hysterical Piper McNab approaches the two boys. Maniac and Mars follow Piper to a train trestle where Russell is trapped and fearful of an approaching train. Maniac doesn't know it yet, but Two Mills is a divided town.
Okay, well, maybe the name should have been a clue. Maniac's first stop is the East End, where he meets Amanda Beale and her suitcase of books. Maniac goes back and forth between the East and West End, making a few friends, but mostly enemies, and for some reason never really noticing that the West End is entirely white and the East End is entirely black.
When the Beales realizes that Maniac is homeless, they take him in as a member of their family. Life is great for a while, but eventually the East Enders start getting him down.
See, not everyone loves the idea of a white kid living with a black family in a black neighborhood. So Maniac after a quick detour solving Cobble's Knot takes off.
Long story short, he moves in with a buffalo family and then meets Earl Grayson, a washed-up former minor leaguer. We learn how Maniac Magee has all the makings of a legend. One sentence isn't adequate to sum up an introductory chapter. Maniac Magee study guide contains a biography of Jerry Spinelli, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
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