At first I thought it was set during the Civil Rights Movement due to how explicitly segregated things were, which would make it historical fiction. The time period in which this novel is set is ambiguous, which I found frustrating. The East and West sides of this town are racially segregated, unbeknownst to Maniac Magee when he first arrives in town after running away from home.

Spoiler-Free Review: “Maniac Magee” is a middle grade novel that explores themes of poverty, racism, and inequality and is set in the fictional town of Two Mills. I will be keeping this one in my classroom library, but probably won’t be using it for any lessons or activities.

Overall, I liked it! However, it wasn’t my favorite and I did have some issues with it. He also gets a lot of material from his seven adventurous kids! Spinelli and his wife, Eileen, also a children's book author, live in Pennsylvania.I have conflicting feelings about this book, and it took me a while to decide how to rate and review it. In most of his books, Spinelli writes about events and feelings from his own childhood. When his poem was published in the local paper, Spinelli decided to become a writer instead of a major-league shortstop. After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets - all except Spinelli, who went home and wrote a poem about the victory. Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 - not much older than the hero of his book Maniac Magee. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren. He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. In most of his books, Spinelli writes When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player.

Maniac magee by jerry spinelli