Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli- Book Review

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli- Book Review

Title: Maniac Magee

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Publisher: Little Brown

Publish Date: 1990

Rating: 5/5

Summary(blurb): A Newbery Medal winning modern classic about a racially divided small town and a boy who runs. Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.

**This book review may contain spoilers**

After first reading and loving this book in sixth grade as part of a Newbery Medal Reading Challenge, I completely forgot about it until this morning, where I came across it online and realized I could remember nearly nothing about the book save that it featured a very athletic kid. Upon rereading I realized that this book was much more nuanced than I remembered, masterfully integrating themes of racial inequality through the lens of a young maturing boy who simply doesn't understand why race should be anything more than a color difference. This absolutely deserves its Newbery Medal. 

The plot is relatively straightforward but has a lot of parts-- Jeffrey Magee, an ultra-athletic orphan who ran away from his uncle and aunt's home at age 11, comes to a town called Two Mills where the West End is for whites and the East End is for blacks. His extreme skill at sports and athleticism, coupled with his indifference to the supposedly scary old house occupied by the scary old man, make him a growing legend (hence the name Maniac). But somehow he doesn't realize that everyone in the East End is black and everyone in the West End is white, and keeps going between the two sides. Maniac does a lot of things in the years that follow, staying with a great black family (the Beales) and with a baby buffalo (in the zoo) and with an old ex-minor league baseball pitcher (in a baseball-equipment room) and with a honestly pretty terrible white family (the McNabs). But through it all Maniac develops as a mature person, getting the family and the home that he oh-so-desperately needs. 

Through Maniac's special eyes that see race as nothing beyond simply skin color difference readers are effortlessly introduced to racial equality, and through Maniac's special situation staying in various homes and shelters readers are prompted to muse on what family actually means. This book is in essence a deep dive into the meaning of family and just how much race matters within that, and Spinelli achieves that masterfully within a simply written, easy-to-follow children's book. The symbolism and thought-provokings were profound and deep, but the best part of the book was undoubtedly the characters. 

Oh, the characters-- from Maniac to Amanda to Mars Bar, Grayson, and the little McNabs, everyone has a distinct identity and role in the story which really make the small divided town come alive. 

Amanda is the bossy book-loving Hermione who cares enough about Maniac to come yell at him in a buffalo pen, which is "all that he ever wanted"-- a caring friend and companion. Her entire family, the Beales, are nothing less than wonderful, with Hester and Lester being delightful minihuman monstrosities and Mrs. Beale really being a mom, disciplining Maniac when he needs it. Maniac loves this family, because they love him back-- they're his final home. 

The rest of the east end holds Mars Bar Thompson, a legend in his own right: as the book puts him, "There wasn't an eleven- year-old in the East End who could stand up to Mars Bar's glare. In the West End, even high-schoolers were known to crumble under the glare. To old ladies on both sides of Hector Street, it was all but fatal. And when Mars Bar stepped off a curb and combined the glare with his super-slow dip-stride slumpshuffle, well, it was said he could back up traffic all the way to Bridgeport while he took ten minutes to cross the street." But later on in the story, as Mars Bar tries bravely to take on a pack of big white kids alone and later runs silently with Maniac in the early hours, he and Maniac start to build a friendship, with Mars even inviting Maniac over. 

In the west end is the McNabs, Big John and Piper and Russell and their dad. Their home is literally breaking down, with fecal matter on the floor and a gaping hole directly linking the second and first floors. With no mother, uncaring drunk father, and bully gang leader Big John for an older brother, little kids Piper and Russell are becoming worse and worse-- but Maniac keeps them in school any way he can, believing these kids can get back their innocence and grow up right. 

And we can't forget old Grayson, the ex-baseball player who is now a parkinghand. He sees himself in Maniac, the abandoned kid running away at a young age. With Maniac, both his and Maniac's lives are brightened, Grayson sharing stories (and a stopball) and learning how to read. His death was very sudden, making Maniac go back to living with the baby buffalo.

These characters make the town come alive, their interactions with Maniac help him experiment with different families, and come to a better understanding of life, love, family, and friendship. The racial issues were smoothly added into the story, giving the book a second layer beneath the family-seeking. And as with all children's books, it ends with a happy ending. 

To wrap up, this was an amazing book and wonderful story of one kid finding his true family, and becoming a legend in the process. The characters are each unique in their own right, and the underlying themes are deep. I would recommend this book for grade 4 and up, it's got a simple enough storyline but holds much more.

Rating: I would give this a 5/5 - a lighthearted, simple story bursting with characters each distinctive in their own way, but also smoothly integrating deep themes of family and race. Maniac Magee really does deserve its Newbery Medal.