Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Review by Nathan:

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is about a boy named Jeffery Lionel Magee whose parents died in a trolley accident in Bridgeport PA and was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Hollidaysburg PA.  He soon runs away and travels over two hundred miles to Two Mills (across the Schuylkill River from Bridgeport.)  He becomes friends with some blacks (he is white) breaking the dividing line between blacks and whites in Two Mills.  There are some who don't like this and he hopes to untie Cobble's Knot to gain complete acceptance.  Will he succeed? 

This book is extremely funny which I liked.  It had its share of tense moments between whites and blacks but nothing bad happened.  This book had a theme of equality.   I would recommend this book to most people over the age of ten especially if they were studying racial segregation in history.

Review by Grace:

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is a hilarious story. Maniac Magee wants a home where he would be loved, but he is an orphan.  So he ran, not really settling down. Then Maniac Magee found out that

home was where he was loved and wanted. The message of this book is that blacks and whites can live together. I like how funny this book was. We were begging our mom to read more.