My 9 year old son recommended this book to me. I found myself too jaded by life while reading this book. It was hard at times for me to suspend my disbelief at the "over the top" accomplishments that Maniac Magee had. I was half way's through the book when I finally understood; As an adult I tend to read books that have complex story lines where nothing is ever tied nicely at the end with the apparent theme of "nothing can be totally explained or resolved and this is life". As soon as I went through this epiphany I began reading Maniac Magee with more interest; rooting for him and for those around him, hoping that everything would be tied up nicely at the end because sometimes we do have to suspend our disbelief and above all odds believe that things can be resolved no matter how unsolvable they may seem, that it is okay to believe and hope for happy endings. I thank my son for showing me this book which I thoroughly enjoyed once I decided to enjoy it. This is a book about a boy with the odds stacked up against him, in an era and a neighborhood that is divided by prejudice and racial tension and he shows us that at the end of the day we are all simply human beings with more in common than not.
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