Customer Reviews
This book is the greatest!! 
2008-02-08
Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee was a white kid who had lost a lot. His parents were killed when he was three. Then he went to live with his aunt and uncle. His aunt and uncle didn't like each other and didn't share anything. They had two of everything, and they didn't talk to each other. They tried to split him right down the middle, too. He finally couldn't take it any more and he ran away.
He got his nickname because he became a legend. When I said he ran away, I meant it. He ran 200 miles to Two Mills, PA. This is when the story really gets interesting.
Two Mills had two parts. There was East Mill, where all of the black people lived, and West Mill, where all the white people lived. It was divided by one street right down the middle. Manic didn't know that and when he ran into town, he ran into East Mill. To him, people were just people and the color of their skin didn't matter.
Most of us worry about fitting in with other people. Manic didn't worry about that. He just tried to do what he thought was right and to help other people. He had one very special talent that made all of the little kids love him and he helped them all. His talent was part of what made him a legend and he even did something that nobody else had ever been able to do and won a big prize. He couldn't even use the prize for himself, but he used it to do good anyway.
The main things that Manic didn't have and wanted were a home and a family. He had a lot of different places that he stayed, but this book helped me to understand more about the difference between just a place to stay and a home. You'll see how he got what he wanted, then gave it up because he thought he was hurting the people he loved.
This book has a lot of lessons. It made me see how we can be better people and why people are not all the same. And, it made me see that people aren't always what we think they are. But, even when the book is really giving us a lesson, it is funny. I think the main reason I paid attention to what the book was saying was because it put things in ways I could understand and relate to. The ending is great. It may be a kid's book, but I think everybody should read it.
Excellent read 2008-02-05
I read this book in an accelerated elementary class and simply fell in love. It has wonderful, somewhat fantastical story development and an absolutely wonderful progression.
The shipping service was as well superb and my childhood memory arrived with little more than a coat of shelf dust. It is a shame that a wonderful book like this was ever out of someone's hands. Books like these are what inspire us to continue dreaming and reaching for the stars. That or twisted ankles on railroad tracks. Take your pick.
Maniac Magee 
2008-01-28
I liked Maniac Magee because he had different families. He ran away from his aunt and uncle's house. Maniac was white and he went to live with Amanda's family. They were black. He helped people because he got black people and white people together. The book had a slow beginning, and the middle was boring. I liked the part where Amanda is yelling at Maniac. When Maniac lost his parents he met Amanda and they become friends. I think this book should be on every kid's reading list because they can learn how to get along with other people.
Some Great Lessons for Kids.... 2008-01-20
My 4/5grade class has been reading this book - they have struggled with some of the vocabulary and "jargon", but the message has definitely come through! I can't remember the last time I cried while reading a book, but the chapter after "Grayson" had me grabbing for tissues....As a teacher, I can't recommend it enough - especially when trying to teach students about figurative language and author techniques, of which Spinelli is a genuis!
Maniac Magee worth a prize? You must be joking! 
2007-12-20
In suffering through another reading of the abysmal "Maniac Magee" given to my child by his school, I was motivated to warn other parents. The constant repetition in a children's book of words like "turds," "fart" and "pisshole" is not only tedious, it is far from educational. These are but three drops in the effluence of vulgarities that is the book that many children are required to read.
Some schools were won over after the publisher pushed for the book to win an ALA prize. Many school districts order books because they are staffed by indifferent people who are momentarily roused from a habitual lethargy by the spark of novelty, or worse, by the inducement of publisher-paid junkets. The self-styled "educational" publishing houses are run not by scholars but by those with a sharp mercantile sense who know that crass is catchy: it stops the purchasing manager's eye as he runs down a list of offerings. Some misguided people at the ALA awarded a prize imagining this book to be what it is not; they are the same sort who think themselves original and eloquent in describing each of hundreds of books like this as "fresh" and "relevant" and "written in a new voice."
The book is none of those things. It is obvious and contrived. The author's effort to express a mood, to communicate a certain tone and carry his narrative--that "new voice"--is inconsistent throughout the book, breaking down even within the space of a single paragraph or sentence. His attempts to mimic dialect are so inaccurate as to betray complete ignorance of the people he wants to show us he knows how to describe. You can see him huffing and puffing and failing. Often aware he is seen floundering, he tries to hide behind a screen of bombastically atrocious metaphors or gross imagery. "I really meant to look awkward and unpolished," you can hear him say, "Really I did." Artifices such as the disjointed vignettes of the initial chapters have all been seen before and he dabbles at them maladroitly. Even his pandering to what he imagines to be children's cruder reflexes is sophomorically executed. Children are better than his own faculties allow him to imagine.
The worst offense the book commits is to be the opposite of what the prize-givers thought they were celebrating. A central focus is the racial tension in Magee's town. I was offended by the crude caricatures of poor people on both sides of the divide. Too often they are held up for mockery with a scarcely disguised, smug sniggering at the less fortunate. A serious topic is trivialized as it is distastefully exploited as a commercial gimmick.
With books like this informing young minds, it is no wonder the world sees Americans as increasingly uncultivated boors. Maniac McGee should be cast in the rubbish with Scholastic Publishing's Captain Underpants and Professor Poopypants, other "prize winning" tripe foisted on hapless students.
Maniacs are good friends 2008-05-18
After reading Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, I have learned a lot about what it takes to be a good friend. I thought I had good friends before I read it. Friends are supposed to be people you can laugh with, remember forever, and trust enough to ask for a payday loan without any threat of interest. Spinelli produced in Jeffrey Magee a completely different kind of friend.
Maniac, as he came to be known by other characters in the book was homeless, needy, untrusting of most others, independent, and reclusive. He preferred running through town and sleeping with animals at the zoo to staying with his stiff, staunch, and insensitive foster parents. When he does run away, he finds himself in the same town his parents died. He discovers there the racial hate, socio-economic oppression, and disbelief in people he thought he had run away from. But he also discovered that the people there revered him as a legend.
Spinelli wastes no time complicating Magee's life. Soon after he runs away, Maniac is sought after by a neighborhood bully, ousted by racist adults, hunted by arrogant unsupervised white kids, and indebted to the first kind person he meets. Spinelli creates a lovelable boy, with many of the same characteristics as Tom Sawyer, and a lot of the same plights many of his readers recognize from experience. Only one thing makes Magee stand out from all the rest.
Magee is blessed with a shroud of heroism. In his own meandering and misanthropic way, Maniac saves a retired minor league pitcher from his lonliness, restores the legend of a fallen big brother, returns courage to a fearful bully and reaffirms a girls faith in humanity. He also teaches a town to accept differences on both sides of the track...in spite of color differences.
The novel is colored with humor, charm and sincerity. Spinelli seems to be unfolding real events on a neon canvas. So bright and amusing they can't possibly be real, these moments resonate with whispers of reality. Parts of Spinelli's childhood seep from the pages, touching the lives of all readers and embracing the childhood some have yet to leave behind.
Readability is enhanced by short fast paced chapters, a subtle thread of suspense and a genuine curiosity about what Maniac Magee will do next. No matter who reads this book, Magee is sure to run them down leaving their minds stamped with Jerry Spinelli's gifted writing.
Run to this Book! 2008-05-13
Run to this Book!
The Best of Juvenile Fiction
The story of Maniac Magee is a folk tale for today's kids. Jeffrey
Lionel Magee--known as Maniac Magee--runs away from home. His parents
died while he was only a baby and he had been living with his aunt and
uncle. One day when he couldn't deal with his caretakers any more, he
ran away from home and just kept running. That is where the legend of
Maniac Magee begins.
Maniac is a true folk hero, right up there with John Henry, Davy
Crocket, and Johnny Appleseed. Jerry Spinelli writes at the beginning
of the book, "The history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend,
and three parts snowball." All through the book, the reader has to
figure out which parts of Maniac's story are fact and which parts are
legend.
The first day Maniac arrives in town, he runs into Amanda on the
street. Amanda pulls a book from the suitcase full of books that she
carries with her at all times and gives it to Maniac. This is the
beginning of Maniac's friendship with Amanda. On that first day in
town, Maniac also beats the high school football team in football and
saves a boy from a group of bullies. Already, Maniac has made quite a
reputation for himself.
Throughout this exciting book, Maniac has to deal with issues that
affect real kids today. The town where Maniac stays is segregated.
Most of the white families live on one side of the train tracks and
most of the black families live on the other side. Maniac makes many
people unhappy when he makes friends that are both black and white.
Also in the story, one of the characters in the story never learned
how to read. As readers, we learn a lot about education and illiteracy
in the United States. There are many connections young readers can
make to their own lives at school.
While the beginning of the book might seem a little confusing, stick
with it! This book really becomes excellent after the first couple
chapters. It takes that long for the reader to get used to Jerry
Spinelli's style of writing. Spinelli writes clearly and mixes in
beautiful and poetic sentences to keep the writing interesting: "The
old man gave himself up willingly to his exhaustion and drifted off
like a lazy, sky-high fly ball."
Once you read this book, you will definitely want to read other books
by Jerry Spinelly.
Maniac about Maniac Magee 
2008-05-11
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers 1991
Reading Level: 5.4
194 Pages
Genre: Fiction
Maniac Magee is the story of a young boy whose parents die in a tragic accident. He is left in the care of his argumentative and unpleasant aunt and uncle. He runs away and the book tells about his travels as a homeless boy in search of a home.
Maniac seems to become attached to a town divided in two: the blacks and the whites. Maniac, however, is a young man before his time and cannot understand why the two sides are so opposed to each other. As he journeys back and forth across a line that all others are unwilling to cross, he realizes that they are much more alike than any of them can imagine.
On both sides he finds families that take him in, and show him how compassionate people can be, regardless of their skin color. He also finds people on each side who represent the ugliness that people can often show. There are also individuals who represent all different facets of people in the world. But through it all, Maniac's adventures teach a few lessons incredibly pertinent to today's society.
While the voice of the book is confusing at times, the book is exciting to read and as mentioned before, addresses several issues that are at the front of society today. As an inner city school teacher the issues are particularly real. I read this book as a student and loved it then, and now as a teacher, can even more understand how important it is for students to read this book. I would recommend it for either individual students looking for a good book to read. However, I feel this book is particularly suited for whole class readings, as I feel it lends itself to many class discussions about topics that students will find relevant and most likely have opinions to share.
*Teacher Review of Maniac Magee* 2008-05-09
Title: Maniac Magee
Author: Maniac Magee
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co. Young Readers
Publication Date: 9/1/199
Reading Level: Accelerated Reader Level: 4.9 Appropriate for children ages 9-13.
Number of pages: 184
Genre: Fiction (Young Adult)
Jerry Spinelli's classic book Maniac Magee is still read and enjoyed by thousands of young adults every year. A Newberry Award winner, Spinelli's story of a young orphan named Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee provides its readers with both an exciting and moving plot. Maniac becomes a legend in the town of Two Mills for numerous feats, among them running along train rails, untying an enormous knot and beating the fastest kid in town running backwards. At the same time, the book addresses the important issues of racism, segregation and ignorance. This review will provide potential readers with a brief synopsis of the plot, some negative aspects of the book and the reviewer's opinion of the book as an elementary school teacher.
The plot of Maniac Magee revolves around the story's main character, Jeffrey Lionel Magee. Known simply as "Maniac," Magee appears suddenly in Two Mills, a segregated town divided racially into East and West Ends. Maniac's parents were killed in a trolley accident, and he arrives in Two Mills after running away from his aunt and uncle. Magee first meets Amanda Beale, a young black girl who loves her books so much that she carries them around in a suitcase at all times. Well-developed characters like Amanda are found throughout Spinelli's story, providing readers with a variety of personalities to interact with Maniac. The more time Maniac spends in Two Mills, the more his legend grows. He takes on John McNabb, the town bully, in a baseball game and hits home-run after home-run off of him. He races Mars Bar Thompson, the self-anointed fastest kid in Two Mills, and backpedals the last part of their race to victory. He unties Cobble's Knot, a prolific knot outside of a pizza parlor, earning himself free pizza for a year. As the story progresses, Maniac lives in a variety of locations: first with the African-American Beale family, for a time with racist and white McNabb family and even in the Two Mills Zoo in the buffalo enclosure. Throughout the story the reader is introduced to real-world issue of segregation between the town's East and West Ends. Maniac experiences the ignorance and racism that exist between the town's African-American and white communities that have simmered below the surface for years. Maniac is thrust into the middle of this issue because of his comfort with both groups of people, and the author Spinelli does an excellent job of illustrating to his young audience the danger and outright silliness of such close-minded ideas.
If there is a negative aspect to Spinelli's story, it might be the book's ending. As a caution to potential readers, after following such an engaging plot the book's conclusion is a bit of a letdown. As to avoid being a spoiler, this review will not detail the ending, but will ensure potential readers that the conclusion is short and the book remains thrilling up to this point.
As a fourth grade teacher, I have read this book aloud to my class and they would beg me to continue every time we had to stop. My students and I thoroughly enjoy the great characters and the thrilling adventures that Maniac has throughout the story. Not only is Maniac Magee incredibly fun to read, it also provides its readers with important real-world issues such as racism and close-mindedness. I would highly recommend this book to any student in fourth through eighth grade, but even as an adult I enjoy reading Maniac Magee every time!
Finding a place in the world 2008-02-24
Maniac Magee is a young boy who lost his parents and was forced to move in with his aunt and uncle. Not liking them he one day decide to run away. Now on his own Magee was trying to find a place to stay. Later on he meets a girl who lives on the black east side and befriends her because they share the same interest in books. She later invites him home and he stays with her for a while. But since he was white, people had started to have issues with him so he decided to leave. Then after being on his own again he met a man by the name of Greyson, and he stayed with Greyson for a while at a gym in a janitor's closet. One day Greyson passed away, and not knowing where to go or whether to stay Magee left and went out for his daily run. He decided to go on the east side again and he once again ran into his old friend. They talked and he decided he was going to go back to where he used to stay. Finally Mars who was a bully towards Magee ran into him one day and made fun of him and somehow they talked for a while and began to not hate each other. He also become friends with some of the other people in town and decided that that was his place and he finally had a place where he belonged.
