Loser - Jerry Spinelli

After three books read and three hits, I officially declare Jerry Spinelli just my kind of writer. At the last read-a-thon I literally never put this one down till I finished it. I wanted to squeeze Donal Zucker, the "loser" of the title, at about every page. He could have been Stargirl's little brother.
He's so enthusiastic about life. He laughs uncontrollably at silly words and shouts "Yahoo!" anytime he's super happy, he gives everything he has and doesn't hold anything back. He's extremely generous and sympathetic to anybody around him. He's kind, innocent and hyperactive. He thinks sleep is the Curse of the Human Race and claims to never indulge in it.

At the beginning of the story he's starting school, and can't wait. When he runs off to his first class with his giraffe hat, you know life is not gonna be kind to him.

I pictured him wearing the hat all proud and eager to learn, and my mind raced immediately to my first day in school. I didn't have a giraffe hat, but I brought my favourite toys with me, in my lovely pink toy bag, and I just kept them with me on the desk. When the teacher objected to that because I wouldn't have any space for books and pens, I shoveled them in the space under the desk and left them there for days. At the first desk inspection I came last for having the messiest desk, and discovered two things: 1) Teachers don't like toys, and 2) Everyone else was a lot tidier than me no matter how I tried. But I still loved school. And so does Zinkoff.

So, he is the sweetest little kid, and all you want to do is give him a big hug for being adorable, but he's also clumsy and awkward, can't get an A to save his life, nor can he sing, or play an instrument, or run. And the cool thing is that he doesn't care, because he doesn't know he's not the best. He just loves doing stuff, doesn't want to be the best, doesn't want to win.
How can someone like that survive the school jungle?

I loved almost everything about this story. Loved Zinkoff's family, how supportive and understanding and caring they are. How they love him for exactly who he is and not for what he should be. I loved the minor characters, like Mr Yalowitz, one of his teachers, who puts Zinkoff in the first row because "the Z shall be first!"and who can say things like "Master Z, whenever you put pencil to paper, unspeakable things happen...Thank God for keyboards!".
I adored the "Take Donald Zinkoff to Work Day". As I said, I just loved about everything of this book (except probably the kid who collects his earwax in a bottle, I could have done without that image in my head.) so I'll just shut up and tell you to go and read it yourself.

After reading this, I reconsidered the whole competitiveness issue, and rationally decided it's a load of bullpoopy. Rationally. It still stings like hell when I realise I'm not the best at something, but then I go back and think about Zinkoff and feel a lot better :D

One last thing. When I read it, I chose my starry bookmark (made by Nymeth) for it
without thinking, and then, when I read the following passage, realised it was the perfect bookmark:

At this time in his life Zinkoff sees no difference between the stars in the sky and the stars in his mother's plastic Baggie. He believes that stars fall from the sky sometimes, and that his mother goes around collecting them like acorns. He believes she has to use heavy gloves and dark sunglasses because the fallen stars are so hot and shiny. She puts them in the freezer for forty-five minutes, and when they come out they are flat and silver and sticky on the back and ready for his shirts.
This makes him feel close to the unfallen stars left in the sky. He thinks of them as his nightlights. As he grows drowsy in bed, he wonders which is greater: the number of stars in the sky or the number of school left in his life? It's a wonderful question.

other opinions:
I just fiinished reading...
Dog year diary
You read it too? Let me know!


Shop Indie Bookstores