Maniac Magee

Underwhelming from what I remember as a kid. As a kid, I understood the book had racial tension and was ultimately about getting along/not being racist. As an adult, that idea was not dealt with nearly well enough. This book leaves it feeling unfinished and unresolved, and I didn't get the feeling that in fact people had learned not to be racist, but that they had learned to let Maniac live with black folks and not be outright awful. I had thought about doing it in my classroom, but ultimately I decided that it wasn't good enough at the racism themes to warrant the time, especially when I do Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry every year and it addresses those topics so much better.