Summary:

John “Crash” Coogan is the star football player and one of the most popular kids in school. Crash can’t figure out his neighbor Penn Webb. He doesn’t fit in with the other kids. His family doesn’t eat meat or own a television, and he’s a cheerleader. Crash and his friends taunt Penn and pull mean pranks, but the kid can’t take a hint. Then when Crash faces family difficulties he starts to realize that Penn acts more like a real friend.

My Thoughts:

This is kind of a throw-back selection since it was written in 1996, but I decided to include it since I started reading it with one of my classes this week. We always focus on dynamic vs. static characters for this unit because Crash undergoes such a big transformation. Spinelli does a great job of writing from the viewpoint of a seventh grader. Crash makes impulsive decisions and is overfocused on what others think. But, he’s figuring out who he is and becoming a better person.