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107th out of 362 books
—
1,514 voters
Stoner & Spaz (Stoner & Spaz #1)
by
Ron Koertge
For sixteen-year-old Ben Bancroft — a kid with cerebral palsy, no parents, and an overprotective grandmother — the closest thing to happiness is hunkering alone in the back of the Rialto Theatre and watching Bride of Frankenstein for the umpteenth time. The last person he wants to run into is drugged-up Colleen Minou, resplendent in ripped tights, neon miniskirt, and an im...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
January 5th 2004
by Candlewick Press
(first published May 1st 2002)
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Stoner & Spaz is a wonderfully unapologetic and brash contemporary study about well... two self-explanatory characters. Spaz is Ben Bancroft, an uptight, Grandmother-raised boy who is nicknamed so because of his cerebral palsy. Stoner is Collen Minou, the high school bad girl who is perpetually drugged out, hence the nickname.
Told from Ben's point of view, the novel is primarily driven almost entirely via dialogue, which in this case, works really well because the dialogue is a joy to read -...more
Told from Ben's point of view, the novel is primarily driven almost entirely via dialogue, which in this case, works really well because the dialogue is a joy to read -...more
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As the title implies, two sixteen year old American high school students, colleen, a drug addict and Ben who has cerebral palsy (CP) are the central characters of this story narrated in the present tense by Ben. It’s been a long time since Eleanor Spence and Ivan Southall created characters with CP and these two are memorable for the witty repartee of their ‘telling it like it is’ dialog.. Ben: “you throw up a lot”. Colleen: ‘I’m practicing for the Olympics.’
Ben has retreated into his private wo...more
Ben has retreated into his private wo...more
This review in on the book Stoner and Spaz, by Ron Koertge. It's about this 16 year old kid with CP, or cerebral palsy. He doesn't have any parents, so he lives with his elderly grandmother. She picks his clothes for him, he's pretty much got a bed time. She's overprotective, that's really all I can say. Ben doesn't do anything but go to the theater and watch the same movies over and over again by himself. He has about no friends, he doesn't go out with people, he's a loner in school. He meets...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Love can be such a game of chance. Who knows who you’ll meet, or why you’ll connect. If you’re 16-year-old Ben Bancroft, with cerebral palsy, you wonder if you’ll ever connect with anyone. And then it happens. And if it happens with a drugged out stoner like Colleen, well, who cares.
Life without Colleen was a waking death in comparison. Ben's previous response to CP had been to shrink away from any contact. As for his family, his dad committed suicide, his mom walked out, and his grandmother st...more
Life without Colleen was a waking death in comparison. Ben's previous response to CP had been to shrink away from any contact. As for his family, his dad committed suicide, his mom walked out, and his grandmother st...more
This book is about a boy who is pretty much an outcast. He doesn’t have too many friends, has an over protected grandmother, and has cerebral palsy. He has an obsession with movies. He is a spaz in our society. He was at the movies once and while he was coming out he saw a fellow classmate named Colleen. She is a drugged up teen with a jock boyfriend that wears ripped rights, neon miniskirts and has a very broad range of tattoos over her body. They talk a little and his grandmother ends up givin...more
“Stoner & Spaz” is a story about two possibly-but-not-likely average teens living in the L.A. suburbs. It is a great story, and Ron Koertge has terrific timing. Ben is sixteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who one day holds an extended conversation with one of his classmates, a girl who loves drugs. They have almost nothing in common, but become interesting events in each other’s lives. Despite, or perhaps because of, his grandmother’s disapproval, Ben falls for Colleen. But can he handle...more
“Stoner & Spaz” is a realistic fiction written by Ron Koertge. The story follows from the perspective of Ben Bancroft, a 16 year old with cerebral palsy. His father having committed suicide and his mother simply leaving, Ben has spent almost his entire life under his strict and up-tight grandmother. Though being basically a loner inside and out of school, Ben has a few hobbies he enjoys. His favorite thing to do is go to the movie theater and watch his favorite films by himself, just to obse...more
Mar 05, 2012
Dawn
added it
Dawn States
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Stoner and Spaz is exactly that, a story about a girl who is on drugs and a boy who has cerebral palsy, the spastic kind. This book gives a slice of what it is like to go to a modern day high school, especially with something as difficult to deal with as cerebral palsy. It portrays this issue realistically and without any softening of the issue, but also without using stereotypes or being desensitized. This book seems like something young adults could c...more
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Stoner and Spaz is exactly that, a story about a girl who is on drugs and a boy who has cerebral palsy, the spastic kind. This book gives a slice of what it is like to go to a modern day high school, especially with something as difficult to deal with as cerebral palsy. It portrays this issue realistically and without any softening of the issue, but also without using stereotypes or being desensitized. This book seems like something young adults could c...more
I decided to read the book The Stoner and the Spaz by Ron Koretage. The Stoner and the Spaz is a book about two very different people. Ben spent a lot of time watching movies before he met Colleen, so when Colleen and Ben met, Ben was sitting my himself in a movie theater. After they met they started hanging out a lot, and starting developing feelings for eachother. Ben's neighbor helped him make a movie about the other kids in his high school, he would get frustrated because nobody would rips t...more
Aug 16, 2011
Kristen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
youngadult,
realistic-fiction
First Impression:
I've read some of Ron's books before, so when I was asked to do another tour for a different set of books, I jumped at the opportunity. I, of course, had to read the first one first. The title reveals a bit, but I never thought spaz would mean a kid with cerebral palsy.
While Reading:
Ben struck me right off as a bit stand-offish. And not just because he has CP. He tends to hang with himself at an old movie theatre and his voice instantly shows how much he hates his limp and the w...more
I've read some of Ron's books before, so when I was asked to do another tour for a different set of books, I jumped at the opportunity. I, of course, had to read the first one first. The title reveals a bit, but I never thought spaz would mean a kid with cerebral palsy.
While Reading:
Ben struck me right off as a bit stand-offish. And not just because he has CP. He tends to hang with himself at an old movie theatre and his voice instantly shows how much he hates his limp and the w...more
The book I decided to read: Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge is about a boy with cerebal palsy named Ben Bancroft who has no parents and is raised by his grandma. He is in own little protective world, until he runs into drugged-out Colleen Minou. Colleen changes his life around and upside and shows him the world from a completley different perspective. I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars because I thought the book was very enjoyable to read and parts were extremley funny. "she sits down, rummages thr...more
I gotta say...while not really having a whole lot of time to do this right now. I used to call this book my favorite. And I mean it still is one of my favorites. I love this book for so many reasons. 1. it has this amazing way of showing you that you really have to look at people and look at yourself before you make a judgement in anyway. 2. Sometimes you just can't get it in your head that you have to face your own shit, Though when you feel you have to save and be strong for someone else...you...more
This book is sort of a hate&love relationship between a girl and a guy who are completely different; the book really epitomizes the phrase opposites attract. The main girl, Colleen, is a drug addict& lives to get high basically. While Ben is considered a preppy guy yet he becomes obsessed with her, he just doesn't become obsessed with her ideals. For instance, he wants to help cure her from her obsession with drugs. I think this book is an unconventional love story as the two characters...more
Told from the perspective of Ben comes a story about love, Courage, and trying to find yourself and what you love. This book is an okay kind of read. The beginning starts off great with characters that make me laugh and pay attention to their lives. But everything changes and the things that really stands out disappear.
Colleen is a very disorganized character. I understand that she's crazy and confusing but the way Ron Koertge writes her is odd and rushed. I love the beginning of this book, it r...more
Colleen is a very disorganized character. I understand that she's crazy and confusing but the way Ron Koertge writes her is odd and rushed. I love the beginning of this book, it r...more
Books like this paved the way for guy girl all night in New York random adventure alternative lifestyle push past comfort zone books like the Levithan/Cohen creations.
What I like most about Koertge is his treatment of characters. Spaz has CP, but his biggest problem is his uptight grandma and his starched shirt collars. Colleen is a drug addict who unapologetically makes the wrong choices over and over again. And that’s the book, all 160 pages of it. They meet without preamble, they part ways wi...more
What I like most about Koertge is his treatment of characters. Spaz has CP, but his biggest problem is his uptight grandma and his starched shirt collars. Colleen is a drug addict who unapologetically makes the wrong choices over and over again. And that’s the book, all 160 pages of it. They meet without preamble, they part ways wi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Ben is a teenage boy who has cerebral palsy. He is addicted to movies and doesn’t get out all that much. He spends much of his time at the Rialto theatre; this is where he meets Colleen for the first time. Colleen is a drugged up girl who doesn’t care for much of anything. After meeting and watching a movie Colleen asks Ben to do her homework. This is when they start hanging out.
Ben is a movie fanatic and loves seeing how different directors make their movies. Throughout the book he is learnin...more
Ben is a movie fanatic and loves seeing how different directors make their movies. Throughout the book he is learnin...more
it was merely ok. i really liked ben's character, but found colleen to be both irritating and unrealistic. some of her "drug problems" come across as particularly unrealistic and might make anyone who knows more about the topic than the author snicker just a bit. for instance: colleen winds up in the hospital and hooked up to an i.v. because of all the marijuana she smoked (not the cocaine she's been snorting throughout). really? any kid who's been around these drugs will likely be turned off at...more
A very short and often humorous book about two lost teens, one with the cerebral palsy and the other a drug addict. Koertge definitely created memorable characters and I did like the dry and edgy humor used throughout the story. His realistic portrayal of these two odd friends and the paths they choose was believable. Liberal use of dialog, though some of it was a bit too snappy to feel real. Almost like an indie movie rather than a portrayal of high school. Ben's journey from being a loner to s...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
You have to love Ben Bancroft. He is 16 years old with cerebral palsy, his mother abandoned him, his father may have committed suicide, and his grandmother dresses him in preppy clothes. But he has a killer sense of humor, honed in the last dark rows of the Rialto Theatre in Los Angeles, and refers to himself as “spaz.” By page four, he has bumped into Colleen Mintou; “Everybody at King High School knows Colleen. At least, everybody who wants weed.” Plus, she looks like Helena Bonham Carter in F...more
Apr 08, 2009
Ashley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
All highschool students and their teachers
Shelves:
young-adult-lit,
read-because-of-cover-art
Stoner & Spaz
Ron Koertge
Candlewick Press, 2004, 174, $6.99
Handicaps, Drugs, Teenagers, Relationships, Family Dynamics
ISBN: 9780763621506
Stoner&Spaz is a fast-paced story about a young man, Ben, with cerebral palsy who meets and interacts with a girl, Colleen, who is trapped in the world of drugs and loneliness. Ben, who has always been a loner, finds a comfort and excitement in Colleen. Ben uses her to break out of his shell just as much as Colleen uses Ben to find love and sobriety....more
Ron Koertge
Candlewick Press, 2004, 174, $6.99
Handicaps, Drugs, Teenagers, Relationships, Family Dynamics
ISBN: 9780763621506
Stoner&Spaz is a fast-paced story about a young man, Ben, with cerebral palsy who meets and interacts with a girl, Colleen, who is trapped in the world of drugs and loneliness. Ben, who has always been a loner, finds a comfort and excitement in Colleen. Ben uses her to break out of his shell just as much as Colleen uses Ben to find love and sobriety....more
This awkwardly-covered book follows a teenager with cerebral palsy around while he attempts to break free a bit from the strict rules his grandmother enforces. He befriends a popular girl at school who exposes him to the wonderful worlds of dance clubs, drugs, and making out. I liked the book as a character study and I wasn't expecting more to happen but the author adds in a storyline about Ben's interest in filmmaking that overwhelms the second half of the book and changed the flow for me. (tho...more
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This definitely felt like a three star book. The premise was interesting... boy with cerebral palsy befriends stoner girl, and the meaning was clear at the end... but it just definitely could have been better. What's it like living with CP? I couldn't tell you, but I should have some sense of it after reading a book where the main character has it. The author really should have gone more in-depth with the characters and expanded the amount of time they're together. I feel like the book just brus...more
Lindsey Decker
Period 7
Book report
The book Stoner and Spaz is an amazing book. The true meaning behind the book is very touching. You should never judge a book by its cover. Like any other book, Stoner and Spaz follows the "Hero's Journey". Three out of twelve steps that this book follows is uncomfortable home, denial, and reward.
First is the uncomfortable home. Colleen is a young girl with a drug addiction. Her home life is not the greatest. Colleen is basically the boss of herself and doesn't f...more
Period 7
Book report
The book Stoner and Spaz is an amazing book. The true meaning behind the book is very touching. You should never judge a book by its cover. Like any other book, Stoner and Spaz follows the "Hero's Journey". Three out of twelve steps that this book follows is uncomfortable home, denial, and reward.
First is the uncomfortable home. Colleen is a young girl with a drug addiction. Her home life is not the greatest. Colleen is basically the boss of herself and doesn't f...more
I liked this book quite a bit. The story is about a high school girl who is a stoner and a high school boy who has cerebral palsy. I love both of these character's "voice", and although I'm not happy about some of the drug use in the book, there are some winning moments for both of these characters. The boy's grandma so very much reminds me of my proper and prim grandma that some of the things she said made me laugh out loud. Too much more will give away more than I want.
This is an easy realisti...more
This is an easy realisti...more
I thought this book was a good quick read. I did feel like the storyline moved a bit fast during the last bit of the book, so I honestly wish it had been longer, but I'm glad there's a sequel, and plan to try and read it when I can.
I think the characters were all very believable, not like some stereotypical fiction book about high school.
The only thing I didn't like was that Ben kept saying how most kids didn't speak to him, although through most parts of the book, it didn't seem that way. Some...more
I think the characters were all very believable, not like some stereotypical fiction book about high school.
The only thing I didn't like was that Ben kept saying how most kids didn't speak to him, although through most parts of the book, it didn't seem that way. Some...more
Plot Summary
Benjamin has Cerebral Palsy, lives with his grandmother, has no friends, and absent parents. He has never talked to a girl on the phone, let alone brushed elbows with a girl, and he spends most of his time studying or watching movies. He is polite, sensitive and caring. Colleen wears tall silver boots, is on the edge of the music scene, sells drugs, and lives in a world revolving mostly around drugs. Her family is dysfunctional, she admits to doing anything with any guy when she is f...more
Benjamin has Cerebral Palsy, lives with his grandmother, has no friends, and absent parents. He has never talked to a girl on the phone, let alone brushed elbows with a girl, and he spends most of his time studying or watching movies. He is polite, sensitive and caring. Colleen wears tall silver boots, is on the edge of the music scene, sells drugs, and lives in a world revolving mostly around drugs. Her family is dysfunctional, she admits to doing anything with any guy when she is f...more
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| Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Valeska's Book Review | 1 | 7 | 17. November, 19:49 Uhr |
Ask Ron Koertge what he brings to the realm of young adult fiction, and the seasoned author responds matter-of-factly. "I write dialogue well, and I'm funny," he says--an assessment few would argue with. "I like iconoclasm and practice it in my fiction. I don't like pretense or hypocrisy. I'm almost always irreverent."
A faculty member for more than 35 years at Pasadena City College, where he has...more
More about Ron Koertge...
A faculty member for more than 35 years at Pasadena City College, where he has...more
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