Crash

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Summary: A cool story about a cool guy and one not so cool.
Review: Crash is a not very nice 7th grader who knows he is the best athlete in school and let's everyone know it. He loves being on the football team and scoring the most touchdowns. He can't stand his neighbor, Penn, who is a Quaker and vegetarian and always perky. He won't even shoot back with a water gun. Crash and his best friend, Mike, play many pranks on Penn but he is still cheerful. One day, Crash's beloved grandfather has a stroke and Crash's life starts to turn around. He becomes nice to his little sister and stops playing jokes on Penn. Finally, he makes the biggest choice of his life when he lets Webb win a big relay race to impress Webb's great-grandfather. It's a good-strange feeling for Crash. Now they are best friends! I think this is a great book for everyone, even if you don't like football.

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Summary: One of the best read aloud books for elementary ages.
Review: Crash Coogan is the popular, star player of the junior high school football team. He is taught some lessons in life by Penn Webb, the skinny, naive Quaker boy. Crash makes jokes at Penn's expense for years but Penn is too good natured to take offense. Crash's buddies in crime begin to perform more malicious pranks and Crash has to reappraise his priorities. This book is an excellent read for late elementary to junior high age kids and is a good read aloud book for all ages.

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Summary: Still a favorite after four years...
Review: I first read Spinelli's Crash during the sixth grade for assigned reading at Waldron Mercy Academy, my private grade school. I was pulled in from page one and couldn't help but laugh out loud at the adventures and the misadventures of Crash Coogan, who got his nickname all because of a long ago incident involving a football helmet and his cousin, Bridget, who endured a thwacking on the head from the helmet before falling flat on her face into the snow. Crash is not an inherently bad kid - he's got his flaws just like the rest of the human population. In Crash, Spinelli takes the archetypal bullying jock and narrates through him, making this book anything but ordinary.

Nonetheless, Crash is a bully. Enter Penn Webb, his target. Why pick on poor Penn, you ask? Why not pick on Penn? is more of the question here. Penn Webb is a skinny Quaker boy, mild-mannered and with a heart of gold. He wears used clothes that are painfully outdated, he's joined the cheerleading squad, his aging parents look like grandparents, and he officially lives in the dinkiest house in the entire universe (a former garage). So Penn, very obviously flawed with qualifications to make him an outcast, must now endure teasing from Crash and his best friend, Mike DeLuca.

Spinelli captures how spoiled and materialistic kids can be today, only they most likely don't view themselves that way. I remember it took me a long time to wake up and realize that yes, I was a spoiled child. All Crash cares about are new sneakers, football, and being the best footballer he can be. Pretty shallow, eh? Crash is a self-centered bully who only cares about himself and how he is viewed by others which, by the way, as I am sure you realize, is a natural thing and has been since the beginning of time.

Oddly enough, Penn Webb, geeky, lanky Penn, has things that Crash desires. He has his parents' full and undivided attention. He's won the affections of the class beauty and despite the fact Crash is a star footballer, he cannot win her over the way charming Penn has. So despite having some things Crash wants, expensive sneakers included, he is not happy. When Crash's grandfather, Scooter, whom Crash absolutely adores and has always had a tight-knit relationship with, comes down with a stroke, Crash is heartbroken. But this period of time is more than just an opportunity to grieve - it is an opportunity to wake up. And he does. This awakening proves to him that cruelly teasing poor and defenseless Penn Webb is totally uncalled for and - surprise - no longer fun on his part. Crash's transition from smug, self-absorbed jock to an empathetic and caring person, all the more wiser as a result of growth, is enlightening and makes this book what it is. Crash used to be so close-minded. Now he knows what is significant and what is not. New friendships blossom and old ones fade, as Crash comes to realize some of his friends and their cruel antics are not like the new him.

Spinelli is a wonderful author. I admire his abilities to construct a story so amusing yet so deep with characters, who they are, and how they grow. Plus, Spinelli evidently knows kids today - he is able to capture excellent insight into their mind, especially through this type of narration. Crash will make you laugh but it will also make you think. Those two elements are what I often times look for in a good book, which is probably why I've loved this one for four years.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: It was a great book. One of my favorite books. I think it is Spinelli's best book.

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Summary: #1 book by Jerry Spinelli
Review: This book is about a young boy named John Patrick Coogan just going through young child hood. His nickname is Crash and he loves to play football. He is actually pretty good at it. Everything was fine with Crash until this Quaker Penn Webb moved in down the street. What I thought that was funny about this story was that Webb always bugged Crash how Webb never cared what Crash did to him. Crash changed when this kid named Mike moved across the street. They both always made fun of Webb. When Crash was in 7th grade his grandfather Scooter moved in he became a better person. He was always able to talk to Scooter and loved to be able to hang out with him. Until one day his grandfather got really ill. Crash liked this girl but she liked Webb. Crash never understood why this girl could like a kid like Webb. Crash realizes who he really is and it was not to be a bully or not to pick on someone. Later he becomes great friends with Webb and becomes a better person than who he was in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Crash
Review: Crash is a great book. It is about bullying.The main character Crash and his buddy Mike are big bullies,to a quaker named Penn.
crash is a big jock and wont let any one win.He even tackle his grandpa!The book has a big twist at the end.Overall Crash is a fantastic book with a good lesson.


Rating:
Summary: Crash
Review: Crash is a great book. It teaches about bullying. Crash , main character who is a mean jock,is a bully with his friend Mike.They make fun of Penn,a quaker nerd who lives across the street from Crash,but in the end it turns out different. It is a very good book for about an 10-14 age level. I enjoyed it very much and now would like to read more of Jerry Spinelli's books.