Maniac Magee
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| Maniac Magee | |
 1992 cover with Newbery seal |
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| Author | Jerry Spinelli |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Alyssa Morris |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date | 1990 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 184 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0316807222 |
Maniac Magee is a novel written by popular young adult author Jerry Spinelli. It was published in 1990 and won the Newbery Medal in 1991.
[edit] Plot summary
Jeffrey Lionel Magee is orphaned at age three when his parents are killed in a P&W trolley accident. After eight intolerable years with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan, Jeffrey runs away to Two Mills, Pennsylvania. There, he amazes the townspeople with his athletic feats, his ability to untie knots, and his fearlessness, earning the nickname "Maniac."
Jeffrey is out of place as he moves back and forth between the (primarily black) East End and (primarily white) West End, something no one else in Two Mills does because of racial prejudice. During his time in Two Mills, he makes friends and enemies on both sides of town, living with the accepting Beale family on the East End and the prejudiced McNabs on the West End. He also spends time in the bison pen at the zoo with a retired baseball player named Earl Grayson. Grayson shares his minor league stories, and Jeffrey teaches him how to read but 5 days after Christmas, Grayson dies. He makes friends with a previous-enemy named Mars Bar Thompson on the East End.
As Jeffrey grows, he begins to understand the racial tensions dividing the city and joins with rivals John McNab and Mars Bar to bring both sides together. In the end, he goes to the Beales' house to stay, after being homeless for so long.
[edit] Location
Many of the locations in the story correspond to locations in author Spinelli's home town of Norrsitown, Pennsylvania. For instance, the Band Shell and Equipment Room where Magee uses for shelter does exist directly next to the Elmwood Park Zoo, another location in the story.
[edit] References
Spinelli, Jerry (1990). Maniac Magee.
| Preceded by Number the Stars |
Newberry Medal recipient 1991 |
Succeeded by Shiloh |
