Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Series: Standalone

Publication: May 11th 2004 by Ember (a division of Random House)

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Meet Crash Coogan. Crash seems to be all brawn and no brains, but he will need more than mere muscles to face the upcoming challenges in his life. Now available in paperback, Award-winner Jerry Spinelli has created a hilarious, poignant story of a cocky seventh-grade super-jock. 
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My Thoughts:

Even better than I remembered now that I'm much older reading it. I first read this book in elementary school when Jerry Spinelli books were making their rounds. I've read at least one other one from him but so far Crash takes the cake for me. There's something very easy and pure about middle grade books and I would definitely recommend everyone to read this even if you're not a fan of middle grade.

Even though this book was written back in the 90s, the topics are still relevant and it doesn't show its age. I've always been a fan of football so of course it doesn't hurt for me to have Crash be a football player. Crash has such a fun, easy voice, and he's a really interesting, relatable character. I love each time rereading this of getting inside his head and watching him grow. We start off seeing Crash being the typical, jerkish jock who bullies an old neighbor of his in order to keep his cool status to going through a very realistic tragedy which propels him into thinking about what's important in life and realizing that life shouldn't just be about what other people think. In a short book, and even shorter chapters, Crash really goes through a lot of development. Middle grade books routinely blow me away from their simplicity and their way of hitting real issues in an accessible way. If you've never read this, pick it up. You won't regret it.

Likes: Easy, quick read. Relevant, relatable issues. I love seeing Crash's development and he's such a fun, interesting character. His little sister is very amusing as well. I love the ending, especially the last sentence.

Dislikes: Nothing.

Overall:
Recommend? Yes!