The Library Card

The Library Card
written by Jerry Spinelli



Jerry Spinelli is an author I can never quite make up my mind about. On one hand, he wrote the absolutely brilliant Stargirl, and on the other, some of his books just fall completely flat. From the start, it seemed like he was trying too hard and bought into many stereotypes (TV crazed kids, the 'enlightenment' and snobbery that comes from books, etc) and it was just unpleasant to read. Other than the first story that did have some dimension to it, the others were pretty standard, dull pieces with nothing to make them stand out. This may have worked much better as a single story, expanding on Mongoose and Weasel's relationship as opposed to branching out and cramming four stories in one book. There's no thread connecting them other than the library card, and it just feels awkward. The section about Sonseray in particular was really hard to get through. It was written in a completely reader-unfriendly way, and I had to force my way through the dense description. Overall, I think if you're looking to read Spinelli, read Stargirl or Loser instead.

Rating: 2/5