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.
The narrator briefly introduces the “legend” of Maniac Magee by revealing the myths surrounding his life. The narrator warns that although the “facts” of Maniac Magee’s story are not always truthful, they are still meaningful to the people who tell and hear his story.
Maniac’s full name is Jeffrey Lionel Magee, and he was born in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania. After his parents die in a trolley crash when he is three years old, he is sent to Hollidaysburg to live with his aunt and uncle, who live together but don’t speak to each other. At 11, Jeffrey runs away during a school choir performance and never returns to Hollidaysburg.
A year later, Jeffrey (a.k.a. “Maniac”) ends up in Two Mills, a town across the river from Bridgeport. The narrator claims that Maniac’s story has been embellished over time, with people claiming that he was greeted with a parade or that he chose Two Mills because he liked their desserts. Some people also remember Maniac greeting them as he ran past.
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