Rating: 
Summary: Its great
Review: As I was reading some of these reviews I have noticed that many- teachers, kids, parents are saying that this book is way too "mature", "fake", "absurd". But no this is not true. I'm sure Spinelli's intention in writing this book was to not make 9th grade guys sound like pigs only thinking about breasts, hickeys, sex, smoking, beer, and other things that we have gone through with in our childhood. I feel that Spinelli tried to relate, doing something a great author can only do, to the troubles and worries that a 9th grader goes through. It is a great book and I would reccommend it to guys maybe 13-15 that maybe dont pick up too many books. I do not think though, that it is geared towards girls for the fact that it tooks about boobs, and Jason's troubles in not being able to get his tounge through the "Berlin Wall" of Marceline's teeth.
Rating:
Summary: Its great
Review: As I was reading some of these reviews I have noticed that many- teachers, kids, parents are saying that this book is way too "mature", "fake", "absurd". But no this is not true. I'm sure Spinelli's intention in writing this book was to not make 9th grade guys sound like pigs only thinking about breasts, hickeys, sex, smoking, beer, and other things that we have gone through with in our childhood. I feel that Spinelli tried to relate, doing something a great author can only do, to the troubles and worries that a 9th grader goes through. It is a great book and I would reccommend it to guys maybe 13-15 that maybe dont pick up too many books. I do not think though, that it is geared towards girls for the fact that it tooks about boobs, and Jason's troubles in not being able to get his tounge through the "Berlin Wall" of Marceline's teeth.
Rating: 
Summary: Newberry award-winning authors were once kids, too
Review: Could this be why Jerry Spinelli knows today's teens so very well? Perhaps. Upon my first reading of this in the 6th grade, I questioned that.JASON AND MARCELINE, Spinelli's 1986 novel, basically takes place in the world of high school. Jason and the girl he'd like to be more than just friends with, Marceline, are entering the doors as 9th grade freshmen. He just wants to fit in and survive, while Marceline really couldn't care less about conformity. In fact, she is the epitome of a nonconformist, with her trombone-playin', sunglasses-wearin' self in a place where boys have boob radars and appear to only think with their penises. While Marceline is content as is, Jason, a good friend since the 7th grade, is not as pleased. Soon, they do become more than just friends. But even before they begin dating, Jason keeps on attempting to change the person Marceline is. Her quirks, which I found endearing, make some stare and comment. Jason knows this, which is why he so desperately wants to change her. He also wants to go further than she'd like, even though she isn't comfortable with it. Yet. But Jason is growing impatient with just kissing. He's also a tad irked that she won't permit him to hickey her neck with blueish-purplish splotches as some girls do. And that's because Marceline isn't just "some girl". Evidently. :) She doesn't want to be branded like a cow. She is an individualist, the rare girl in the screwy high school world who does as she wishes and says what she thinks no matter what the passerby say. Eventually, she rejects Jason, who places himself on the rebound and takes up a meaningless fling with a naive chic who claims to "love" him after Frenching behind a Wawa dumpster. That proverbial "love" thing lasts for about 15 days or fewer. Jason realizes he prefers Marceline's company to the companionship of other girls. Now, he must try and win her back. To do that, can he put aside his ego and hormones? Can he learn to accept both others and himself? Can he love Marceline, quirks and all? Maybe, maybe not. From some heavy spying, Jason can see that she has moved on in terms of her love life. He, from a clandestine location, spots her kissing her date. On impulse, he reacts, screaming loudly and maniacally. Spinelli's adolescent novel is laced with humor and raunch, yet is also ostensibly falls into the coming-of-age genre. Like CRASH, the main character undergoes a transformation and comes out more mature and self-aware, as well more aware of his surroundings and the needs of others. The depiction of the high school world is accurate. Skeptical and complaining 'rents, deal with it. Guys are often even ruder and cruder in real life, hence Melvin Burgess' DOING IT. But these characters are poignant and real as well. So the novel, overall, is able to find a comfy balance and provide many laughs along the way. Worthwhile, despite the fact that the reading level and audience it is aimed at totally do not match up.
Rating: 
Summary: This has got to be the stupidest book I ever read!
Review: I absolutely HATE this book!. Mainly because I simply can not stand any of the characters! Jason was so pathetic I actually felt sorry for him for being so stupid. And don't even get me started with that Richie guy.... Mainly, the book was just stupid. I know how people are saying how realistic the book is, but I have to disagree. I am 14-years-old and I hang out with a group of friends mixed girls/guys. We don't smoke or drink or do anything the kids in this book do. Whatever happened to thinking for YOURSELF? In this book all the characters just do whatever everyone else is doing and that's that. I can't name one independent thought any of the characters had - or at least shared! I JUST CAN'T STAND THIS BOOK! It's basically just a stereotypical, stupid potrayal of teen life and I think it set's bad examples. For instance, in this book they make it seem like it's actually okay for boys to drool over girl's breasts like they're dessert or something. I know a lot of dumb males talk about stuff like that- but they don't have to put it in a book! Not all teens act like that! Basically this book is just STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Grow up! Read something worthwhile!
Rating: 
Summary: As a teacher, this is one book I won't have on my shelf.
Review: I am a 7th grade reading teacher, and I have read both Space Station Seventh Grade and its sequel Jason and Marceline. Space Station Seventh Grade is a good book and is very true to life in middle school. Jason and Marceline consists of guys talking about who's "doing it" and the size of girls' breasts and how they'd like to get their hands on them. This may be the type of conversation that goes on in middle school, but I think it is demeaning to the girls. The book summary on Amazon.com says that Jason is surprised to find that Marceline rejects him, but that's not quite the whole story. Jason pressures Marceline to let him give her a hickey, and he gets angry and stomps off when she won't let him. They finally get back together, and she makes him promise he won't give her a hickey. I'm concerned that the message it sends is that girls who don't give in to their boyfriends will lose them, and that's not a message I want to endorse.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book- but careful who reads it
Review: I grew up with this book. It mirrored my confusion about life and relationships (including the quote in the subject, which is from Jason's first date; maybe it doesn't seem too profound to you, but when I first read that at the age of 14, it was incredibly enlightening). It offered some light on issues I hadn't considered (like the impact of a boyfreind-girlfriend situation on an already existing close relationship). Most importantly, Jason felt like a good friend who listened to my embarassing stories, all the while offering up some of his own stories and advice. I can't stress enough how much this book meant to me, then and now. Even more so than the first book in this two-book series, Space Station Seventh Grade, this book helped me understand in a time when nothing made sense. Anyone who thinks this is a book that handles topics too "mature" for 14 year olds simply doesn't understand the situations people of this age find themselves in. And, yes, they are people. They are just smaller and less experienced, the latter problem being one that this book helps alleviate. If you are a parent, you owe it to yourself, and your offspring, to buy this book for your son or daughter. If you are at the age where you are feeling that intense pressure to hook up and go out, you owe it to your sanity.
Rating:
Summary: "Maybe - maybe - she's as nervous as I am."
Review: I grew up with this book. It mirrored my confusion about life and relationships (including the quote in the subject, which is from Jason's first date; maybe it doesn't seem too profound to you, but when I first read that at the age of 14, it was incredibly enlightening). It offered some light on issues I hadn't considered (like the impact of a boyfreind-girlfriend situation on an already existing close relationship). Most importantly, Jason felt like a good friend who listened to my embarassing stories, all the while offering up some of his own stories and advice. I can't stress enough how much this book meant to me, then and now. Even more so than the first book in this two-book series, Space Station Seventh Grade, this book helped me understand in a time when nothing made sense. Anyone who thinks this is a book that handles topics too "mature" for 14 year olds simply doesn't understand the situations people of this age find themselves in. And, yes, they are people. They are just smaller and less experienced, the latter problem being one that this book helps alleviate. If you are a parent, you owe it to yourself, and your offspring, to buy this book for your son or daughter. If you are at the age where you are feeling that intense pressure to hook up and go out, you owe it to your sanity.
Rating:
Summary: This book was TERRIBLE!
Review: I HATED this book! It's totally SICK! I'm sorry, but the boys in this book are PERVERTED! The way they talk is disgusting. This whole book is sick and stupid and you should not waste your time or money. Oh, and to all you past reveiwers who said this was the normal way teenage boys talk, I've got news for you: I know a lot of guys who DON'T talk that way and guys who do are perverted! I give this book ZERO stars.
Rating:
Summary: Marceline is wiser than Debbie AND Jason!
Review: I liked Marceline & how she didn't put up with any crap from Jason. They fall in love, & Jaosn really hasn't grown up much. He wishes Marceline would behave more like "other girls..." in other words, cute, pretty, appearance-obsessed, weak-willed, dumb, & not having any real interests. Fortunately, Marceline will not rearrange herself to fit that mold & keeps up her flute practice, despite the fact that some kids ridicule her & think she's the class "weirdo." I was so glad she didn't cave in to peer pressure. I thought a lot of the boys & some of the girls were dumb. The guys talk about girls's body parts like they're pieces of meat,then Jason justifies it by saying "guys have this 'radar' that hones in on..." as an excuse for ogling girls' breasts. ALL guys? I happen to know that some guys DON'T have that "radar!" Another part that's kind of offensive is when a rumor goes around that Debbie Breen had sex with this guy, Jason & his friends snicker about it. That is really none of their business whether she did "it" or not. As a previous reviewer stated, a lot of the language is demeaning to girls & a very inaccurate stereotypical picture of teenage boys. I'm so glad Marceline stayed true to herself; she was the only character in this book that had any brains or wisdom.
Rating: 
Summary: Not everyone shares the same opinions... Thank God!
Review: I personally liked this book. I have read other books by Spinelli such as Maniac Magee, Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?, and There's a Girl In My Hammerlock. Although Spinelli's books are often crude, please keep in mind that so are teenage boys and girls. Boys do think about women's breasts and girls think about sex too. The teenage years are times of growing sexuality. Being a teenage girl myself I have had curiousity over what it's like to get a "hickey." I can relate to Marceline in this book because she has good morals and doesn't change herself for anybody, especially her boyfriend. Overall this book is a good one. I give kudos to Mr. Spinelli for writing such an inspiring novel.
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