Author: Gerry Spinelli
Title: Loser
Rating: 4
Reviewer: BEEPEE Grade: 7
Review:
Donald Zinkoff was always a loser until one day in seventh grade. He lost in races, he was never an “A” student, he never really had a best friend, and he didn’t even know he was a loser. He really isn’t a loser, in fact he’s a hero. He demonstrates it by staying home from school on the day of field day, because he knows if he participates, he will make his team lose. He also demonstrates that he is no loser by spending time with the old lady who is lonely, who he met by being a pretend mailman with his father in second grade. And most importantly he shows he is truly a hero by searching for Claudia for seven hours straight in a snow storm, and not giving up until he dropped from exhaustion. From that day on, the other kids in school started to treat him differently, and they too realize he was never a loser.
I liked this book because it demonstrates a lot of characteristics that many of us share, and it shows us that one ordinary “loser” or average person could in reality be a hero. This book made me feel like Zinkoff set an example for me, that maybe I could do something extraordinary like that, and that would make me feel proud. This was an all around awesome book, appropriate for both boys and girls, and it made me take a closer look at everybody. Most people big or small can grow up to be heros. I would rate this book a four out of five mainly because it focuses on Zinkoff’s failures, rather than on his successes.
9/6/2004
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