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Maniac Magee

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 55,433 ratings · 2,276 reviews

Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.

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Paperback, 184 pages

Published April 2nd 1990 by Little, Brown and Company (first published January 1st 1990)

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Mar 06, 2007 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

He wasn't born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. Maniac Magee took to the streets.

And Maniac Magee became a legend.

Even today kids talk about how fast he could run; about how he hit an inside-the-park "frog" homer; how no knot, no matter how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. Little girls jumping rope chant:
"Ma-niac, Ma-niac
He's so cool
Ma-niac, Ma-niac
Don't go t...more

21 likes · like · see review

Sep 21, 2007 Liz rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really didn't enjoy this book. I feel like the story didn't really go anywhere. Spinelli tried to touch on issues of racial prejudice and poverty, and let the exsistance of those issues carry his story. It didn't work. However because there are touchy issues, it becomes a story that isn't easy to complain about. However I'll be brave enough to say, "I didn't like it!".

As a personal note, I do not find this novel appropriate for children still in gradeschool.

10 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2011, magical-realism

This WOULD have been a childhood favorite. If it had been written 30 years earlier. As it is, it's a wonderful, light-hearted, good spirited book that deserves to be read by children of all ages (including those in their 50's)

Yes, it's a kid's book, but it's a fast fun read and adults would be well advised to give it a read as well. While it has much the same allegorical feel as Holes, in some ways it avoids a few of the pitfalls of that book.

As with any good fiction, there's some truth hidden...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Nelson B. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jerry spinelli is one of the best witers ever. Maniac Magee is a realistic fictionbook because maniac is invented but it could happen in real life.The perents of Maniac Magee died in a trolley crash.Maniac Magee was an orphan so his aunt and uncle adoped him.Maniac did"t like their house because they cant share.One day Maniac ran away because the hated in his aunt and uncle house.When he left he went to Two mills.In TWO MILLS it is white V.S black.I have schema with this book because maniac put...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Rodolfo A. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love this book because is telling me the time
when black people and white people were seperted.

This book is realistic fiction because there and
made up characters but,this happend real that black people
and white people were seperted.

Maniac parents died from a trolly crash.Maniac didn't have any
were to live so,he is an orphan.He met a girl name Amanda.Maniac
wentto amanda's house and lived with her.Later he met a boy name
mar bars.Some people from the west side and east side haet him so,
he went to...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2009 Shel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

0316809063

As an orphan, Jeffrey Magee is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who live separately within their house and refuse to share anything. At the age of eleven, Jeffrey, unable to deal with his aunt and uncle’s refusal to interact or communicate, runs away. A year later, he appears in a strictly racially segregated town, doing amazing feats and running like a mad man, earning him the nickname, Maniac. Quick to make...more

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Oct 18, 2009 Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A really neat book. Excellent! Definitely deserving of its Newbery Award. I think I have to give it a 5! I find myself asking, "Why didn't I ever read this before?" I've certainly heard of it for years. My fourth grade daughter just read it at school and loved it. I really enjoyed the narrative voice and style. It starts out almost like a tall tale, but what Maniac really accomplished is better than a legend. So it's a meaningful story that teaches an important lesson without being preachy. The...more

6 likes · like · see review

May 01, 2012 Patti Richards rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow! Maniac Magee has to be one of the best middle grade novels I have ever read. The storyline is fascinating, but the mixture of reality, conjecture and legend is what kept me turning pages. I loved the hero, and I especially love the family from the “other side of town” that takes him in. They way they pour love into his lost little soul is amazing and very believable. I also really liked the way the author removed him from that home and gave him the ability to love the old man. Had he gone t...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 23, 2011 Beyounc'e.h. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maniac magee was the book I would tell everyone about! I love book! I recommend his book to my friend sarah because this book is just good enough. I wander why mars helped rushll and piper I remember that maniac

1 like · like · see review

Mar 27, 2008 Becky Bishop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My absolute favorite book. Yes it is a children's book, but it is so amazing. You will not want to put it down. I read it to my class every year. I have only known about it for 4 years now. I wanted to read a book to my class and let everyone have a copy. We have literature sets at our school for checkout and Maniac Magee had the most copies, so I chose it. I didn't know anything about the book, but we read it as a class and I absolutely would recommend that everyone read it even if you are out...more

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May 09, 2013 Troy Vencil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Maniac Magee,” by Jerry Spinelli is a story of Jeffrey Magee, a Bridgeport boy whose parents died in a train crash, leaving him orphaned when he was only three years old. After this tragic event however, his aunt and uncle, who hated each other but stayed married for religious reasons, took him in. Eight years later, after having enough of his new parents hating each other, he began his famous “run-away”, in which he ran away from home. Jeffrey was on this “run-away” for a whole year, before ar...more “Maniac Magee,” by Jerry Spinelli is a story of Jeffrey Magee, a Bridgeport boy whose parents died in a train crash, leaving him orphaned when he was only three years old. After this tragic event however, his aunt and uncle, who hated each other but stayed married for religious reasons, took him in. Eight years later, after having enough of his new parents hating each other, he began his famous “run-away”, in which he ran away from home. Jeffrey was on this “run-away” for a whole year, before arriving at Two Mills, a racially-divided town. Two Mills was split up into the West End, where all the white people lived, and the East End, where the black people lived. Jeffrey arrived in the East End, where he met Amanda, the girl that would later take Jeffrey into her family. In Two Mills, Jeffrey also challenged two neighborhood bullies whom all the kids in East End were afraid of: John McNab, the pitcher from whom no one could return shots, and Finsterwald, a bully who was said to turn your life around if you went into his backyard. Of course, Jeffrey returned John’s pitch, and retrieved a lost ball from Finsterwald’s yard. It was from these feats that Jeffrey became known as Maniac Magee. From then on, all the kids on the East End knew Maniac, and would bring him knots to untie, and various other problems to solve. After a while living with Amanda, Maniac was approached by a man living in the East End who told him to leave, simply because he was white. Maniac began to understand the racism going on and soon moved into the band shell at the baseball park. One day, Maniac was awoken by a man named Grayson, who was the ballpark keeper. Grayson soon became good friends with Maniac. They celebrated holidays together and Grayson brought various gifts to Maniac to make the band shell more homey for him. But, suddenly their friendship was ended when Grayson died in his sleep. Out of anger and sorrow, Maniac ran away back to East End to find Amanda, who then convinced him to stay, and ignore anything anyone tries to tell him about skin color. Jeffrey became the first white boy to live in East End. I would recommend this book to a younger audience that enjoys an interesting read about a younger child, and to anyone who enjoyed his other book, “Milkweed.”(less)

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May 07, 2013 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tween-lit-libr-264, fantasy, tall-tales

Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York, New Tork : Little, Brown and Company.

Maniac Magee’s real name is Jeffrey Magee, but everyone knows him as Maniac Magee because of all the crazy things he’s done. The story starts out with him losing his parents to a train accident and him having to live with his unhappy aunt and uncle. He detests their hatred so much that he runs away from home and lives homeless. He runs all around Pennsylvania, but finally settles in and around a place called Two Mi...more Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York, New Tork : Little, Brown and Company.

Maniac Magee’s real name is Jeffrey Magee, but everyone knows him as Maniac Magee because of all the crazy things he’s done. The story starts out with him losing his parents to a train accident and him having to live with his unhappy aunt and uncle. He detests their hatred so much that he runs away from home and lives homeless. He runs all around Pennsylvania, but finally settles in and around a place called Two Mills. It’s racially divided: the East Side has primarily black residents and the West Side has white residents. In the first part of the story, he lives with the Beale family, who are black and live on the East Side. Maniac Magee didn’t realize what skin color or racism was until he spent time on the East Side and some racists spewed words at him, like “get back to your own kind.” Between living with the Beales and the next “family” to have him, Maniac Magee lived in the zoo with buffaloes. He never feels like he belongs. In the middle part of the story he lives with Grayson, a white custodian at the Y. Grayson asks of Jeffrey some ignorant, but some well-intended questions about black people. Grayson dies, so then Jeffrey takes off to live on his own again. Then he lives with the McNabs, a very poor white family. The family of boys are basically raising themselves, but learning the hatred toward black people that their father and others passed on. Jeffrey only feels so attached to the two young boys, Piper and Russell, because their father is relatively absent and non-paternal. At the end of the story, Jeffrey brings Mars Bar, a black kid from the East Side, to Piper McNab’s birthday party, and this conflict came to a hilt, though no one got physically hurt. At the very very end of the story, Amanda Beale gets summoned by Mars Bar, who becomes a close friend to Jeffrey, to wake Jeffrey and bring him home to live with her family.

Maniac Magee was a pretty entertaining read. I think tweens will really get into the tall tales about Maniac Magee. I think tweens will also like the themes of trying to belong and racism. The tone of the novel is pretty light-hearted, but it does have its dark moments, like when Jeffrey’s parents and Grayson dies. Spinelli keeps the characters interesting and dynamic. It was nice to see Jeffrey learn about race and race relations among the residents of Two Mills- who better to try to desegregate the town than idealistic Jeffrey?

Genre: fiction, tall tales

Reading level/interest level: Tween

Similar books/materials:

Reader’s advisory notes:

* i. personal thoughts: I think tweens would enjoy reading the tall tales about Maniac Magee, and get into the more serious theme of racism.
* ii. subjects/themes: race, racism, friendship, fitting in, family, homelessness, death
* iii. awards: Newbery Award
* iv. series information:
* v. character names/description: Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee, protagonist, parents died, ran away from aunt and uncle, homeless, unaware of race/racism; Amanda Beale, black girl who loves to read, befriends Jeffrey, brings him home to live with her family on the East Side; Grayson, custodian at the zoo who lives at the Y, takes in Jeffrey and lets him earn his keep; Mars Bar, black kid who has a conflict with Jeffrey, just because he’s white, eventually he and Jeffrey become friends; The McNabs, family of boys from the West Side, poor and racist, they build a “pill box” or a little fort to play race wars; the Pickwells, a huge family, white, they take in anybody and everybody who needs a warm plate of food.
* vi. annotation: Maniac Magee is always on the run, never feeling satisfied with how things are. The death of his parents have a big part to play in why Jeffrey Magee is so nomadic- he feels too confined when people get too close because he’s not used to being loved. In his travels in and around Two Mills, he learns how to trust people and humanity.
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May 01, 2013 Priscilla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: newberry-award-winners

This is a charming and delightful book! I loved it all the way through!

It is a story of a kid named Jeffrey Magee. When he was three, his parents were killed in a trolley accident and he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He hated living there because his aunt and uncle hated each other but refused to divorce, so at eight, he ran away. He literally ran to a racially divided town called Two Mills.

When he gets there, he meets Amanda Beale, who carries her books around so her siblings don't...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Jen Ferguson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a beautiful story about a boy running from his aunt and uncles after he becomes and orphan who is left to their care. He runs away and ends up in a new town that is racially divided. At first he is not aware of this, so he tries to hang out with people from both sides. He quickly learns that he is not welcome on the black side of town.

He struggles to fit in on the white side too. Since he doesn't go to school, he stops in and out briefly here in there. While doing so, he shocks the peop...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: newbery-books

Review for: MANIAC MAGEE
“Running--Living in Tandem”

Bridgeport, in the 1990’s: raised for 8 years by emotionally- stunted relatives after the tragic death from a trolley car over a bridge, Jeffrey Magee runs away from the callous adults in his joyless life. The lonely 11-year-old strikes out on his own, literally running on streets and railroad rails--but avoiding bridges, seeking escape from his isolated past and dubious future. Jeffrey remains painfully haunted by the memory of his parents’ d...more Review for: MANIAC MAGEE
“Running--Living in Tandem”

Bridgeport, in the 1990’s: raised for 8 years by emotionally- stunted relatives after the tragic death from a trolley car over a bridge, Jeffrey Magee runs away from the callous adults in his joyless life. The lonely 11-year-old strikes out on his own, literally running on streets and railroad rails--but avoiding bridges, seeking escape from his isolated past and dubious future. Jeffrey remains painfully haunted by the memory of his parents’ death plunge. It
seems to him that the world has abandoned him, but he accepts the poignant situation with adolescent grace and amazing athleticism.

With humor, compassion and clever plotting Spinelli weaves a story of unbelievable street survival—a tale which proves compelling to read, with surprise twists around every other city block. Would it be possible in this modern era for a boy to avoid school, truancy officers and live by sleeping in parks, zoos and backyards, without adult aid? Hated by Black kids on sight, yet challenged by cocky White big shots this poor boy finds only two true friends at first: Amanda Beale, a Black girl who loves her barely-portable library and Grayson, an aged, failed baseball player.

The plucky lad gradually acquires a reputation as a maniac (hence his nickname) for running, sports and for bravely going where wiser kids fear to tread. His unique skill at untying knots
makes him famous in one neighborhood, but there are tough street hoodlums on both sides of Hector Street—Two Mills’ dividing line between the racially segregated East and West districts. Can a homeless kid promote interracial cooperation and amity in the face of centuries of bigotry, ignorance, fear and violence?

Maniac Magee touches the lives of several families, such as the Beales (Black) and the McNabs (white trash), by daring to hole up in their respective houses during his strange social odyssey. But where does he ultimately belong? Will this wander ever find a home that fits him, where the neighborhood accepts him as he is? Having experienced the best Thanksgiving and Christmas of his young life with Grayson, Jeffrey Magee gives and receives gifts of inestimable value, for treasures of the heart remain intact even over time. A fun and fascinating read, this short book is not for kids only.

June 17, 2012

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Jan 31, 2013 Erik This Kid Reviews Books rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jeffrey Magee hated living with his aunt and uncle who hated each other, but he had no choice because his parents died in a trolley accident and he was an orphan. After putting up with his aunt and uncle for years, Jeffrey finally snaps and runs… and runs… and runs. He runs away and keeps running. He ends up in Two Mills, Pennsylvania. Jeffrey soon gets a reputation of being that “Maniac” kid because he is so fast no one can beat him and he is an expert at all kinds of sports. Jeffrey is homeles...more Jeffrey Magee hated living with his aunt and uncle who hated each other, but he had no choice because his parents died in a trolley accident and he was an orphan. After putting up with his aunt and uncle for years, Jeffrey finally snaps and runs… and runs… and runs. He runs away and keeps running. He ends up in Two Mills, Pennsylvania. Jeffrey soon gets a reputation of being that “Maniac” kid because he is so fast no one can beat him and he is an expert at all kinds of sports. Jeffrey is homeless and wants more than anything to have a home and a family. He meets a girl, Amanda Beale and they become friends. The Beales know that Jeffrey doesn’t have a home and they asks him to come and stay with their family. Jeffrey is happy with the Beales and they like having him as part of their family but not everyone in this part of Two Mills was happy Jeffrey was there. You see, Jeffrey is white and the Beales are black and the East side of Two Mills is where black people live. Jeffrey didn’t understand why someone would not like him just because he was not black. The Beales didn’t care and they treated Jeffrey like their own family, but some of the East-siders chase him away. Maniac continues to run from place to place in and out of Two Mills trying to find a place to call home and a family of his own. Will he ever realize where his true home is?

This is a moving book about racism. It teaches that racism is something taught. Jeffrey didn’t think about the different colors of people. He never knew that white and black people could not like each other because of the way they looked. I really love how Mr. Spinelli has Jeffrey describes black people’s skin;

“he couldn’t figure why these East Enders called themselves black. He kept looking and looking, and the colors he found were gingersnap and light fudge and dark fudge and acorn and butter rum and cinnamon and burnt orange. But never licorice, which, to him, was real black.”

Mr. Spinelli mixed the right amount of humor with an awesome story that not only kept me reading but also gave an important message about a tough subject. I loved reading about the feats that Maniac did in the book (the scene where he hits an in-the-park home run with a frog as the ball is hysterical…Oh and the frog was not hurt). I like how he was a good big brother to the Beale’s kids. This is just an awesome book! I can see why this book won the 1991 Newbery Medal!
**NOTE I reviewed my own copy of this book(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Phil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee is the pinnacle of young adult literature for me. The story is incredibly engaging with the many fantastic feats Jeffrey Magee completes throughout the story, and the way in which Spinelli makes difficult issues of prejudice and misconception incredibly approachable without sugarcoating the issues. With the book’s value as both entertaining and enriching, I feel that it is the ideal book for middle grades students. The same criteria gives the book a great deal of va...more Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee is the pinnacle of young adult literature for me. The story is incredibly engaging with the many fantastic feats Jeffrey Magee completes throughout the story, and the way in which Spinelli makes difficult issues of prejudice and misconception incredibly approachable without sugarcoating the issues. With the book’s value as both entertaining and enriching, I feel that it is the ideal book for middle grades students. The same criteria gives the book a great deal of value for instructors as it provides them with material they can be sure will captivate a great deal of interest while also ensuring that the students will have an excellent opportunity to gain greater awareness of the books difficult issues. The book gains even further merit and favor with its Newbery Medal, and I would be sure to flaunt this to any parent or administrator who resisted the teaching of such an amazing book. When I teach this book to my future classroom, I will prefer to go through the book somewhat slowly although it is very readable and likely will be hard for many students to put down. I just would really want to give this book all the credit it deserves, and I would definitely like to shift a lot of focus toward discussion on the way Magee feels about others in the sense that he never really meets someone who he doesn’t see as a friend. The drastically dynamic nature of both John McNab and Mars Bar Thompson is also an incredibly intriguing discussion point. I would obviously facilitate discussion on the misconceptions between the East and West End and the segregation these misconceptions promoted, but this is a book I would really dig deep into. I would like to look at the many details Spinelli provides that are often overshadowed by some of Magee’s grander feats. Grayson’s part of the story, for one, is a triumph in itself as Magee takes on the role of English teacher while simultaneously assuming the role of son or grandson, and yet there are so many other incredibly important points and characters in the book that many events in Magee’s stint with Grayson is unlikely to even scratch of the story’s top ten most meaningful moments.(less)

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Nov 21, 2012 Kenya Chase rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maniac Magee is a realistic fiction book that won the Newberry award in 1991. This book is for middle school age students. The book is about a boy name Jeffrey Magee whose parents died in a Trolly crash. He ended up an orphan with nowhere to go. However Jeffrey was liked by many yet some did not like him. He was known to run fast, pitch well and could tie a good knot. His life changed drastically after the death of his parents and so did his name. Jeffrey was called Maniac and he moved around qu...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, newbery

This 1991 Newbery winner tells of Jeffrey Magee, an orphan boy who runs from his unloving aunt and uncle’s house and keeps on running. Possessed of a preternatural athletic talent, he passes, throws and catches his way across the playgrounds and fields of working-class and racially divided town Two Mills, dubbed “Maniac” for his skill. Eschewing school but loving books, he sleeps in a band shell, someone’s shed, even a zoo, when he isn’t being adopted by any family that will take him in. Magee i...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Rachita rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is a book about a boy named Magee whose parents died when he was three years old. Ever since he lived with his aunt and uncle and eight years later, he runs away and stayes with a family of crazy people so he moves to the side of the town where the black people lives. He meets a girl named Amanda and stayes with her family and finds out that he is allergic to pizza. He unties Cobblers knot and wins a coupon for a free pizza. He leaves when a black man make...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Rachel Kenney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grade/interest level: Middle School
Reading level: 820 Lexile
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Traditional Literature
Main Characters: Maniac Magee, Amanda Beale, The McNab's, Mars Bar, Grayson, Hester, Lester
Setting: Pennsylvania
POV: Narrator

This book is about a little boy, Manic Magee, whose parents died in a trolly accident. At first he went to live with his aunt and uncle, however, he does not like it there and decides to run away. He run and run until he gets to a town called Two Mi...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Blair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Genre: Contemporary Realism

Summary: Manic is a homeless boy on the run who becomes a legend.

Critique: A. Themes
B. This story is an excellent coming of age tale about a homeless boy making his way in the world. The themes of homelessness, trust, regret, and hope are prevalent throughout. These themes are important for young adolescents to understand, especially those who are privileged. The themes in this story are deep and meaningful and the reader must look beyond the text itself to conceptual...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Jin Huh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jerry Spinelli has done it again. Like Stargirl, Maniac Magee danced around me and left me speechless. How does he do that?

By presenting characters like Maniac to be tested in their principles by exterior forces that strive to tear down their blissful way of thinking, Spinelli hits on the core of every developing human being: how long can I hold onto innocence and childhood daydreams before I am exhausted and jaded enough to blend in with the rest? The question takes the reader on a whole new j...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-lit

Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee has been on his own since he ran away from his aunt and uncle's house. Everywhere he goes, he runs. With every town he visits, the legends of his incredible feats spread. He never stays in one place for very long. Until he happens upon Two Mills, a town of mostly nice people with one big problem-- the black townsfolk won't venture into the West End and the white townsfolk won't go into the East End.

Even after 22 years, I'm pleased to say that "Maniac Magee" still holds up...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Patrick Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I simply hate it when people that I despise do something nice for me. It makes me approach them outside of the single-dimensional dislike I have for them. I then have to approach them as a multifaceted person who has real motivations for the way they are.
Maniac Magee is an example of YAL where ALL of the characters are like this. Unlike Scouts complete descriptions of why everything is the way it is in "To Kill a Mockingbird," readers are often presented with the truth that Maniac sees, and then...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Jillwilson added it · review of another edition

We all have comfort books and three came my way through my friend’s daughter who is just completing Year 12. She is a very bright girl and reads widely. She told me she likes to retreat to the novels of Jerry Spinelli and read and reread them. I’m not going to rate any of them because I am not the audience but I will buy a copy of 'Maniac McGee' for one of my nieces. 'Maniac McGee' has much to offer – it is about resilience and tolerance – and not in a preachy way. My little niece is only 11 but...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Ryan Devaux rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-12

This book is about a boy named Jefferey Magee but he is known as Maniac Magee, mostly just Maniac. We find out early in the book that Maniac's parents died when a drunk driver hit the trolley that they were on sinking into a river making him an orphan at a young age. One day in the future Maniac is at school and he runs away during a performance to a town called Two Mills. This town is divided by the East and West end the black people live on the East end and the White people live on the West en...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Rui Wen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maniac Magee's real name is Jeffrey Lionel Magee. Jeffrey got that nickname when his parents passed away. Jeffrey was very young when his parents died, so he had to live with his aunt and uncle. But Jeffrey doesn't like the family, and he decided to run away.
This book takes place during the time of segregation, and Jeffrey is white. So when he runs away, he runs to East Enders which is a black neighborhood. He makes friends there, he even meets an African American girl, Amanda. Since Jeffrey...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Kelly Breeden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is an interesting book. It has both elements of fiction and reality to it, which I think would be enjoyable to middle grades students. The main character, Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee is a fictional character with realistic problems, attributes, and life situations. Therefore, I think Maniac would be a very relatable character to the young adults who read the story. This book also allows for classroom discussions about diversity (of race, class, ability, etc.). Students...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Jonathan Ryal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maniac Magee is a great realistic fiction book that happens to be a favorite of mine from my youth. It tells us a story of a young boy, Jeffery Magee, who becomes an orphan because his parents die in a trolley accident. He goes to live with his aunt and uncle who have a dysfunctional relationship to say the least. This causes Jeffery to run away to a town called Two Mills. Two Mills is a city separated with blacks in the East and whites in the West. Jeffery runs everywhere bouncing back and fort...more

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About Jerry Spinelli

When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. Lucky for us he became a writer instead.

He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his...more

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Quotes from Maniac Magee

“Nobody knows who said it first, but somebody must have: 'Kid's gotta be a maniac.” — 16 people liked it

“Vowels were something else. He didn't like them and they didn't like him. There were only five of them, but they seemed to be everywhere. Why, you could go through twenty words without bumping into some of the shyer consonants, but it seemed as if you couldn't tiptoe past a syllable without waking up a vowel. Consonants, you know pretty much where you stood, but you could never trust a vowel.” — 10 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2485252.Maniac_Magee?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353761254l/2485252.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2485252.Maniac_Magee?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli[/url]

Maniac Magee

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