Crash

by Jerry Spinelli

Book Overview

Take a look behind the bully in this modern classic from Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli that packs a punch. And don't miss the highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday. Cocky seventh-grade... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439176743
• ISBN13: 9780439176743
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A good book

In the story Crash, there is a boy named Crash Coogan, who is the best athlete the school has. He never comes in second in anything, and he has all the latest clothes from the malls. At school there is a nerdy kid who is a vegetarian, wears passed down clothes, and has no social skills what so ever. Crash and his best friend Mike have always teased him. Now that Crash is a star football player he thinks he can do what ever he wants. Penn, the kid they pick on, makes Crash and Mike have a better time making fun of him. The way he does that is he now joins the school cheerleading team. Later on in the story Crash starts to realize that he has been doing the wrong thing all this time. As Mike keeps the joke going Crash has to make a decision. That is, should he defend Penn or stick with the bullying. This is a good story to suggest for someone who is a sports fan, but also a bully. The reason I would say that is because if you are a bully you can see how Crash had to face his problem. Crash learns a lesson. The lesson is that you should never make fun of someone just because they want to do their own thing. Also you should picture yourself in Penn shoes. How you would like being picked on? What if you liked to play football just like Crash, and being picked on because you don't have the best clothes or you didn't play a man sport? In conclusion, I really liked this book. It has taught me a lesson that there are people who don't always have a perfect life. You don't need to have the most popular clothes or be the most popular person. Also, you do not need to be a star player. You should always do what you want and not what others do to other people. That is why I like this book.

Crash, is anything but the worst book you can read!!!!!

Crash is...........How could I explain it??? Let me tell you it's funny, it's sad, it's hip, it's funky, and it's even more funny. Once I started reading it I couldn't put the book down, I was in love with it. It has so many real life problems that kids go through during entering their teenage years or in the teenage years. One thing I learned from this book is not to make fun of people because you know that the person/people could end up being your best friend/s or being really close to you. This book is awesome, and any stranger who comes up to me and asks me about the book Crash I would say, "Read it, it's a wonderful heartwarming book to read!"

A novel about the typical jock is anything but ordinary

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 Crash knocked down into three feet of post-blizzard 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 co

Insensitive "jock" learns the true meaning of friendship

Crash Coogan is befriended by the new school "dweeb" and does everything he can to discourage the friendship that Penn Web so badly wants. Crash insults and humiliates Penn, but Penn keeps coming back. Only when Crash's adored grandfather, Scooter" becomes ill, does Crash find out who his real friends are, and the true meaning of friendship. I am a librarian in an elementary school in New York. I read this book to my 5th grades last year. I have had to buy mulitple copies of the book. One year later I still cannot keep it on the shelf. Jerry Spinelli's works have changed once reluctant readers into avid fans who cannot get enough of his books!

A cool story about a cool guy and one not so cool.

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.