Maniac+Mcgee

Colleen Emonds Maniac Magee Author: Jerry Spinelli Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Newbery Medal Winner 1991 ISBN: 0-316-80722-2


 * Book Review:** The boy in this book Jeffrey is an orphan. He lost his parents when he was really young, they died in a trolley accident. Jeffrey then goes to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan in Pennsylvania. His aunt and uncle always fight and never talk to each other but they refuse to get divorced. One day during a school play Jeffrey calls out his aunt and uncle by saying " talk, talk, talk!" He then runs away because he wants to find a new home. When he reaches Two Mills he is starting to learn about segregation. There is an East and West side, one for blacks and one for whites. He does amazing things in the book like catching a football and returning it to the field, and bunting a baseball that is meant to be a home run. He is known for his characteristics of being great. This is the town he receives his nickname Maniac. When he meets Amanda Beale, he starts to live with her family. The only problem is that Two Mills is segregated and he is white living with a black family. After lots of harassment from people in the town he realizes he is doing more harm than good. He leaves the Beale house and is homeless again. Maniac is living on the streets and is homeless, poor and hungry. An old man named Grayson finds him and takes him to the school to feed him and give him a place to stay. Grayson is actually a retired baseball player and is now a groundskeeper for a baseball field. Maniac and Grayson develop a relationship and then Grayson dies, leaving Maniac alone again. Maniac is then reunited with the McNabs, who are very racist. This infuriates Maniac because he had a good relationship with the Beales and thinks that blacks are equal to whites. When the McNabs invite Maniac to their house for a party he brings one of his friends, Mars Bar who is black. This causes an uproar with the McNab boys and Mars Bar, making Mars mad with Maniac. Eventually Maniac finds his way back to the Beales house, the one place he really felt like he had a home.


 * Review:** This book is a great way to show how far we have come since the civil rights movements, and segregation. I think this book teaches kids that we are all equal and that everyone should be treated the same way. This would be great for middle school kids because that is around the age where kids are accepting one another, and where they are understanding other people's views of the world.


 * Analysis of Literary Element:** This book has two underlying themes in it. The most obvious one is the race issue. The segregation between the East side and the West side. Maniac works hard to discourage this difference between the blacks and the whites and eventually gets people to come around to it. Maniac also stands up for what he thinks is right. He did not like that people would talk bad about blacks and would try to convince people otherwise. Maniac also deals with being accepted. When he was young he lost his parents and was forced to live with his aunt and uncle. Since their relationship was so rocky it forced Maniac in the middle and it was a constant fight for him. Finally he met a family that loved him and he loved them back. he was finally accepted in life. These themes are perfect for middle school kids because that is around the time where they are finding themselves.