Maniac Magee

Jeffrey Magee's parents wre killed in a train accident when he was just a child, so he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who hated each other. He couldn't stand the tension between them, so he ran away. And boy could Jeffrey run. After a year of running, he ends up in a town he really likes. His first day there, he meets a black girl who reluctantly lends him a book from her vast collection. He amazes people all day in both the white and black sections of town, and he decides to stay. He spends his nights in one of the animal pens of the zoo, where he can eat some of their food and have their companionship. Soon he is famous in town and is given the name Maniac.

Maniac spends his time in town befriending a wide variety of people, and trying to confront and stop the racism he observes all around him.

This book is a nice story of innocence . Jeffrey is always trying to do the right thing, and the people in town take him in very openly. However, it seems that someone in this story should have tried to find Jeffrey's guardians and should have made him go to school instead of just letting him wander. I didn't like that the book didn't really have any conclusion; it was just a series of events.

I read this book at 10, and it's been with me ever since. The themes on racism and courage still resonate when I stumble upon similar experiences. It is deeply moving--so what if some questions are never answered! (A fact I honestly don't recall...) It's in my children's library.

Jeffrey Magee is an orphan who is about 12 years old. He is funny, kind, and very daring. He lives in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, which has an east end for blacks and a west end for whites. Bridgeport is a very urban city with many people in it. The story takes place in the 1960's.

The plot begins when Jeffery is introduced as the main character. The central problem in the book is that Jeffery is an orphan and he cannot find a home. Throughout the story, Jeffery meets many people. Some of these people take him in to live with their families. But in the end, he always finds himself without a home.

The author, Jerry Spinelli, gives outstanding descriptions of his characters, which I think makes him a great writer. In this book, Jerry wants the reader to know how important it is to keep trying, even during times of great difficulty. If a person does not give up, something good will happen.

Maniac Magee


Maniac Magee was not the book for me. It wasn't my favorite because in some parts of the story it wasn't exciting. My favorite part was the beginning because it talked about all the theories that people had about Maniac Magee that weren't really true. In the end the author didn't answer all of my questions, like at the end I wanted to know if every one would be nice to each other, but even though it wasn't my favorite book I think Jerry Spinelli did a great job on it. I would recommend this book to anyone

Maniac Magee is one of those books that has a lot of mixed reviews. People will either love it or don't get it.I loved it. I think that everyone should read this book because it has a lot of great morals, such as the fact that no matter what race you are you should get along. Also, it is just a great read. Jerry Spinelli did a great job with this book and it encourages me to read more of his books.