63 pages • 2 hours read
Jerry SpinelliA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
“What’s true, what’s myth? It’s hard to know. […] But that’s okay, because the history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball. And if you want to know what it was like back when Maniac Magee roamed these parts, well, just run your hand under your movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the facts get mixed up with the truth.”
With this contemplative quote from the chapter that serves as a prologue, Jerry Spinelli sets the playful yet profound tone that characterizes the narrative. By speaking directly to the reader, the author blurs the boundary between fiction and reality and invites contemplation on the elusive distinctions fact and fiction, truth and myth: a theme that is essential to the story. This moment also establishes the “tall tale” mood of the novel, priming readers to expect the entrance of a kid who defies convention in every way imaginable, and when he does appear, Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee does not disappoint.
“‘I’m from Bridgeport.’
‘Bridgeport? Over there? That Bridgeport?’
‘Yep.’
‘Well, why aren’t you there?’
‘It’s where I’m from, not where I am.’
‘Great. So where do you live?’
Jeffrey looked around. ‘I don’t know…maybe…here?’”
In his first conversation with Amanda, Maniac’s search for a home and family becomes clear in his refusal to tie his personal identity to his place of origin. Instead, he actively claims Two Mills as a home simply because that is where he currently is. His past is in Bridgeport—and he notably doesn’t even mention Hollidaysburg or his parents; thus, it is evident from the very beginning of the story that with his arrival in Two Mills, he is attempting to create a fresh start for himself and hoping that this town might offer him a good future.
By Jerry Spinelli
Crash
Jerry Spinelli
Fourth Grade Rats
Jerry Spinelli
Jake and Lily
Jerry Spinelli
Loser
Jerry Spinelli
Love, Stargirl
Jerry Spinelli
Milkweed
Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl
Jerry Spinelli
There's a Girl in my Hammerlock
Jerry Spinelli
Third Grade Angels
Jerry Spinelli
Wringer
Jerry Spinelli
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Newbery Medal & Honor Books
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
Realistic Fiction (High School)
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
School Book List Titles
View Collection