Smiles to Go

Dudes play Monopoly, hang out and skateboard. Little sister gets in the way. Best friend has crazy family. Friend manages to do the impossible and skate down Dead Man's Hill. A Proton dies, meaning the earth may end. A girl kisses a boy. A girl has already been asked to a dance, before a boy can ask her. A boy goes to a chess tournament, and is on track to win it all, but then...

The little sister has disappeared. She, inspired by the friend, tries to skate down Dead Man's Hill. Only, she is not so talented, and takes a very nasty fall. In the hospital, she is in an induced coma, and looks absolutely miserable. Her brother then discovered that the little sister really admires and respects him, though in her own special way. She was longing for him to "pass the pebble" as part of the elementary school tradition. She his favorite black jelly beans to give to him later as a gift. (He had thought she had just been throwing them out.) And meanwhile, the girl decides that she will not go to the dance because of all that has happened. Eventually the little sister comes out, and everybody lives happily ever after.

Smiles to Go is warm-weather, slightly younger version of Who Put the Hair in My Toothbrush. Swap out skateboards with ice hockey, make the kids a little younger, and add a little bit about protons and Monopoly and you have this book. (I liked Hairbrush better.)

The proton stuff still seems a little random. It allows for a dichotomy between "proton destroyed, universe ending" and "dude skated down dead man's hill!". For teenagers, the immediate is much more important than the billion years into the future. It also helps bring out the nerdiness of the chess-champion, monopoly-loving brother.

Wringer

A young boy lives in a bucolic rough neighborhood. The town's big event includes a pigeon shoot, where sharppshooters shoot down thousands of live pigeons (with the remains being used for fertilizer). Ten year old boys serve as "wringers", gathering up the felled pigeons and wringing the necks of the living ones. As a birthday "right of passage", boys receive "the treatment" from an older boy - one hard punch in the shoulder for each year of age.

One day, a pigeon flies in to the boy's room. He eventually adopts the pigeon as a pet. After doing this, he gradually becomes alienated from the gang of tough's that he hangs out with - and closer to the girl across the street. In the dramatic conclusion, he saves his pigeon from being shot in the big pigeon shoot.

Similar to other Spinelli books, this one presents a kid who struggles with the desire to fit in, while also wanting to be himself.

There's a Girl in My Hammerlock

A boy smiles at a Junior High girl (Maisie Potter). She gets a crush on him. She was awarded athlete of the year last year, but this year tries out for cheerleading to be close to him. When she doesn't make it, she inexplicably finds herself trying out for the wrestling team (as the lone girl). She overcomes all odds to make the varsity team. However, the community is not proud of having a girl wrestler, and many opponents refuse to compete. She has to endure numerous taunts and criticisms by her classmates, though eventually she achieves respect and goes out with the "boy" (who she decides she doesn't like anyway).

The novel is written as a giant "letter to the editor" in an attempt to set the record straight with the community regarding her wrestling experience.

In the story she suffers through the abandonment of old friends and the slow adoption of new friends. For a time, her only friend is her pet rat. (Spinelli love's pet rats.) Her parents are supportive of her moves, even if they don't agree with them. Her youngest sibling and friend are also supportive and two of her biggest fans. Eventually, she is injured while saving one of the kids and ends up living happily ever, contented and respected by her schoolmates.

Throughout, it is a light, fun read. The boy asking her out on a date seems a little baffling - but who really understands the workings of a teenage mind. The story is in the similar "be true to yourself" vein of other Spinelli books, though here it is more like "stick with what you started, even if you had stupid reasons for starting it."

Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

"Maniac" Magee was orphaned at a young age, and forced to live with relatives in a dysfunctional marriage. He eventually runs away. He has near super-human athletic and knot-untangling abilities. He also has the naivety and willingness to do just about anything that suits him. He is perfectly comfortable hanging out with bison and eating their vegetables as he is joining random families for dinner.

He finds himself in a town with a heavy black/white segregation. However, he is oblivious to it. He borrows a book from a black girl, and becomes "adopted" by their family as he returns it. He gets along great with the younger siblings, and does a great job doing chores there. However, some old-timers are not comfortable with a white guy in their part of town. So, he goes back to the zoo, and eventually helps an old former-minor leaguer learn how to read. After he dies, he ends up staying with a "white-trash" family, cajoling the kids to go to school. This family thinks the blacks are out to get them. However, he manages to get the black and white families to finally come to peace with each other - in part by setting up the situation where a former black "bully" could save a white boy from a dangerous situation.

In the end, the town is more at peace with each other, though not necessarily "happily ever after". The theme of race relations is fairly blatant, though more subtle is the general theme that it is easy to "hate" somebody you don't know (and much harder to hate them once you know them well.) This was fairly well written, and manages to be fairly serious, while still being somewhat light-hearted, though not quite as light as Spinelli's other books.

Milkweed

The narrator is a street urchin growing up in Warsaw during the build-up to World War II. He doesn't remember much of his past history, though he does "discover" that he was a gypsy who was separated from his parents (and horse) during some "bombing practice". He doesn't know much about "society", but he is great at stealing things from people. He even steals the birthday cake from the person who will be his best friend.

He has a general naivety. When Jews are rounded up and forced in to the ghetto, he wants to go too, and sneaks in to visit them. Eventually he gets sent there too. However, he finds a way to sneak out and uses his pilfering skills to help feed his "adopted family".

The story is fairly dark in tone. However, considering the subject matter, it is incredibly optimistic. Here is somebody living through the prelude to the Holocaust who is still willing to laugh at how silly Himmler looks. There are bits and pieces of Nazi atrocities. However, the focus is more on his personal life. He lived a life "outside" the law. Once the world disintegrated, he found his life style to be more respected (and even needed) by those around him.

Who Put that Hair in My Toothbrush

A 15 year old boy works out all summer in order to make a good impression on a girl he has a crush on. Only problem is that she moves to a town 10 miles away. D'oh! He ends up hooking up with one of her friends and discovers where her school is. One day he decides to ride his bike over there and ends up getting pulled over for sailing down the hill at 51 miles per hour - in a school zone! Oh, and he also kisses the friend and at the end decides that he really does like her.

Then he has a sister that loves hockey and has her own set of foibles.

The story is told in "alternating first person", with each chapter alternating between him and her. They never repeat the same events, but linearly proceed forward in time. This narrative device works great here.

The book is a rollicking read of sibling rivalry, where they only become "friends" after struggling through harrowing circumstances.

Eggs

Eggs is one of the more drab Spinelli books. A young boy who has lost his mother to a freak accident is convinced that he can get her back by obeying every rule. However, he can't stand his grandmother and tries to do everything possible to irritate her. He discovers what he thinks is a dead body in a field during an easter egg hunt. He later discovers that it was in fact a living teenage girl. He befriends the girl, who lives in a car outside of her house because she cannot stand her mother.

Eventually, they decide to go on a voyage to Philadelphia to see a "waving man". They never get there, but they do worry everyone when they are gone. When they get home, they make peace with everyone and live happily ever after.

The story is rather trite, with cliched plot elements (the pictures of her "Dad" are actually of Clark Gable.) It does have its moments, but is one of the worst of his books.

Stargirl

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl is the uber-nonconformist. She seemingly comes down from outer-space to "infect" an utterly conformist Arizona high school. She serenade's students, asks questions in class and (horrors) cheers for the home team and the opponents. At first, the other students are baffled. Then they become enthralled by the freedom that she represents. She sparks a new interest in individual expression and school spirit. However, this all comes apart as the basketball team goes on winning. The school holds her responsible for the playoff loss and eventually shuns here. She attempts to be a "normal" student, but after that fails to help, she returns back to herself. She goes on to win the state speech contest and is well celebrated by the people in Phoenix. However, in her own town, she is pretty much ignored.

Finally at the end of the year, she arrives in a "chauffeur-driven" bicycle to the big dance, enthralls the school with a wild bunny hop, and then disappears to fond memories.

The story is told in first person, from the view of Leo, a high school TV producer who becomes Stargirl's boyfriend. This creates a fairly shallow version of her character. (Stargirl's character comes out as a more authentic, well-rounded character in the sequel, Love, Stargirl, which is told from Stargirl's perspective.) Leo is caught in a quandary. He likes her, but he also likes being popular. He is unable to accept being shunned by classmates in order to stay with Startgirl. He tries to make her "one of them" and seems to enjoy it when she tries, but is upset that it didn't help remove the shunning. He eventually disassociates from her in an attempt to improve his standing.

We see very little of what makes Stargirl tick. She seems to be mostly aloof from feelings. She does what she wants to do. She brings a ukulele to school and freely gives people cards. She pretty much tells Leo that she will be his girlfriend. She has none of the beat-around-the-bush teenage behavior. Even her attempt to be "normal" seems to be of the "this is something to make Leo happy" variety. We only glimpse a bit of her "needs" in the speech contest episode. She seems like a typical teenager flirting with Leo on the drive there. She longs for the praise of her classmates (and seems torn when she doesn't get it.)

The message is a similar one from Crash: be true to yourself, regardless of what others think. The sequel is a stronger book, but Stargirl does a good job of bringing out the internal conflicts in the quest to "be true".

Crash

Crash is a "typical" junior high kid, addicted to football, and a slave to fashion. When he was young, he was befriended by a Penn Webb, a poor vegetarian quaker. While Crash really didn't want to be associated with somebody so uncool, Webb still continued to be friendly to Crash.

In 7th grade, Crash is the undisputed star of the football team. He is attracted to a girl, however, the girl wont have anything to do with him, and prefers to spend time with Webb. (Crash's younger sister also runs with Webb's nonconformist group.)

Eventually, Crash's beloved grandfather moves in with them, has a stroke, and becomes incapacitated. Crash eventually lets Webb beat him in a race and starts a two-way friendship.

This novel is weaker version of Spinelli's Stargirl books. (Crash's younger sister Abby would probably be best friends with "Stargirl") The student body "mass" is utterly obsessed with designer labels and conformity. Even Crash's parents come across as over-the-top "conformists", even disguising name-brand clothes as "second-hand" to appease Abby. Only by throwing away the obsession with conformity can the characters become alive. In the end, Crash and his parents "break free" to join Abby, Webb and his family in their "freedom".

Love, Stargirl

The book is fashioned as one long letter written by "Stargirl" to her ex-boyfriend. In the letter, she provides, a diary-like account of her adventures and feelings on the other side of the country. The style works really well, and provides a fresh account of Stargirl and all the other "characters" that she runs in to the city. Her principle companions include a rambunctious five year old girl and an eleven-year old tomboy. In their "adventures" they befriend an "agoraphobic", a man that spends all the day at his dead wife's grave, as well as a "wild" boy who she can't keep out of her mind.
All is told in a well-paced, upbeat manner. Stargirl has troubles and challenges, but she tries to put a positive spin on everything (after all, this is a letter to a "boyfriend").