Customer Reviews

Crash (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(132)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Imagine being nicknamed Crash. Now, imagine you got that name because when you were five you tackled your little cousin into a snow bank. This is the situation in Crash by Jerry Spinelli. This is a wonderful book that I greatly enjoyed. While I was reading, my favorite character had to definitely be John "Crash" Coogan. He was the reason I kept reading this book. The pranks he did as a young child were just, hilarious. For example, the time he first met Penn Webb, his Quaker neighbor, Webb had just moved from North Dakota and was wearing a button that said, "Hi, I'm a Flickertail." Webb explained how the Flickertail was the state bird in North Dakota, and Crash just ripped the button right off his shirt and buried the button. The next day, Webb was wearing another button. This time the button said, "Peace." Once again, Crash, tore the button right off his shirt and buried the button. On that same day, Crash also took Penn's turtle for a ride on his bike. Penn did not like that too, too much. Penn showed Crash his one toy-a raggedy, old Conestoga wagon. Crash thought that that was ridiculous, a kid with only one toy, and he laughed about the whole idea of having just one toy. Then, for dinner, they ate oatburgers. Being Quakers, of course, they were vegetarians. Crash didn't even know what a vegetarian was; he made fun of the whole family for being vegetarians. I find that to be the way kids really are, too. Those are just some of the events that occurred in the beginning that made me want to continue to read the book. I wanted to find out what happened to Penn and Crash as they began to grow older and go to school, where other kids might also find Penn a little weird because he was a Quaker. This was exactly what happened to Penn, especially, when Crash met his newest neighbor, Mike. Those two together treated Penn horribly, but the pranks went too far. Towards the end of the book, Mike and Crash start to veer away from each other. All the pranks pulled are another reason why I found this book to be so interesting. I never saw this coming, but Crash and Penn actually ended up as best friends because Mike took a prank too far, and Crash didn't like that idea. Those are just a few of the reasons why I felt that Crash was my favorite character, and he helped me to continue reading this wonderful book. Not only was Crash great, but I also like the way the author set up this book. He made the story very realistic with how the kids treated each other and how they grew up. I know when I was growing up, if a kid was different, like Penn Webb was, everyone made fun of him. As a matter of fact, some people my age 17 still do that. The time Crash went over Penn's house for dinner, and he basically made fun of Penn for everything he did. Which is another reason why I like the book so much. I liked the book for its realism, as much as I liked the book for its action. Although I do think Jerry Spinelli did take the book a little too far when he made Penn Webb and Crash Coogan best friends at the end. I don't think that Mike and Crash would have separated that much, to not even be friends anymore. Overall, the book Crash was very well set up and very realistic, but the book still had a lot of action. This is a wonderful book that I greatly enjoyed. I would definitely want to read other stories by Jerry Spinelli. He seems to be a great writer and knows what he is writing about. I would recommend this book to a little younger age level than I, maybe 14-15, but the story was great and could be enjoyed by anyone that wants to read the book Crash.

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!

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 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.

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!"

We took this book on a recent long train ride -- a good place for non-readers to read! My 10 year old found this book a little boring for the first few chapters, but then liked it a lot.

The narrator, Crash, is a jock. He tells us his story of life in Pennsylvania, with an irritatingly friendly dorky neighbor, Penn. They meet in first grade, and although Penn tries to be a good buddy, Crash spends most of his time avoiding or making fun of this skinny, odd boy with second hand store clothing, a pet turtle, strange eating habits (no meat???), ancient parents and no toys. Penn isn't bothered by any of this, nor by Crash's love of tackle football, designer clothing and social status.

Over the years (we stay with them through 7th grade) Crash finds a cool friend, Mike, who really likes tormenting Penn. Penn never resists, and refuses to fight back for he is a Quaker. Crash loves his granddad, Scooter, who moves in with the family and comes to Crash's games (his parents are too busy working to provide the family with all the things the family 'needs') -- Penn has a great great grandfather who means a lot to him. That seems to be about all the two boys have in common, other than the ability to run faster than any other kids in their class.

When the Penn Relay brings Penn's 80-something year old great grandfather to town, Crash finds himself in the surprising situation of wondering if he should help Penn win a place in the race, or if he should just leave him in the dust and take the place in the race himself (as he knows he can.)

Penn's Quaker beliefs, other than his niceness and refusal to fight, are not covered, leaving the uninformed reader to think that Quakers are about being passive, not eating meat, wearing old clothes and refusing to defend oneself -- of course, all that may be true, but not of all Quakers!

Anyway, this is really the story of Crash and how he slowly comes to truly see Penn, Mike -- and even himself - as the people they are. We enjoyed reading it -- my son (who is not a vegetarian, and says he hasn't decided yet if he's a Quaker) rooted for Crash and laughed at some of the mean jokes at first, but eventually explained to me why Crash had changed at the end.

You'll need to read this yourself to find and discuss your own reasons why!

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.

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 the best book you will ever read.It is about a boy's real life and his family. It has real life events and it has a good background story.If you read Crash i think your life will change and you will looke at your own life a little differently.

The best character of the story is Crash who is the main character of the story.He has problems that he goes through in his life and his best friends

are really there to catch his back when his grandfather went into the hospital.

This book is a girl or boy book I promise if you read this book you will not forget it. It is a book that you can read more then once. Once you start it you will not want to put it down.You will lose sleep and it will make you laugh out loud sometimes. This book will make you wonder and think.

This book is the best!!!!!

I am a fifth grade student at Waldron Mercy Acadamy.(TMD). The book I read was called Crash by Jerry Spinelli. What a wonderful book! Even when I had just started reading it I knew that Crash was going to be one great book. The name of the main character in story is "Crash" Cogan. Crash isn't his real name, thats just the name he got from something that happened when he was little. How he got his name shall be revealed in the story. He lives with his mom, his dad, and a little sister named Abby. In the book someone else moves in. He is in seventh grade. Crash is probably the most popular kid in his grade, and maybe even in his school, and the best football player in the grade, maybe even in his school. In the beginning of the book, he starts in the first grade just to show you how he met a kid named Penn Webb who was new around the neighborhood. He hated Webb. When he was little, this was how he described Webb: A dweeby, vegetable eating neighbor. It turns out that Webb goes to the same school as Crash. Unlike Crash, Webb thinks that the two of them are good friends. There not. Later, while Crash is trying out for football, he sees Webb trying out for someone else. Not for long though. During the summer before seventh grade, another kid moves in. Mike Deluca. Oh boy. Heres when the fun begins. There is one thing they both have in common. They absolutely love to torture Webb. Although, one day, Mike takes a prank to far. Way to far. After that, Crash has to make a desision that will not be good for him either way. I recomend this book for any fourth to eighth grader. This is definitly the best book I have EVER read.

Crash is a good football player. He is rude, outspoken, popular, cocky, a bully and thinks he is cool. His real name is John Patrick Coogan, but everyone calls him Crash. In first grade Penn Webb moves in from North Dakota. Crash always picks on Penn. Then in sixth grade Mike moves in and helps Crash pick on Penn. For example, when they poured mustard in his shoes. In seventh grade Crash's grandfather moves in and Crash is ecstatic. He likes to spend time with Scooter. Then something goes terribly wrong and Scooter goes to the hospital. This is when you see Crash start to change. If you want to see what happens, you should read this book!

The story had very funny language. It kept me interested while reading it. The personalities of the characters were well chosen. It is a definite must read!