Stoner & Spaz

ISBN: 0-7636-2150-1
Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA
2002
169 pages

Plot Summary

16-year-old Ben Bancroft has cerebral palsy, lives with his over-protective grandmother (who picks out his overly-preppy clothes for him), loves movies, and is a loner at his high school because he thinks that everyone see him as a "monster" because he drags one leg behind him when he walks. Then he meets Colleen, the school's stoner girl, who teaches Ben about life while he teaches her about movies and how to have fun while sober.

Critical Evaluation

Ron Koertge did a great job with the character of Ben; he's funny, smart and self-deprecating to a fault. The dialogue between Ben and Colleen is especially well-written. This is a good book for teens to read to help them understand that someone with a physical disability is more than just "the kid in the wheelchair" - he's a kid with likes and dislikes -in other words, just another kid. I would love to read a sequel to see how Ben does in film school.

Reader's Annotation

16-year-old Ben Bancroft already has two strikes against him when it comes to being cool in high school; he has cerebral palsy and lives with his over-protective grandmother. But he thinks he has no friends because of his disability while, in reality, the other kids think he's unfriendly until he meets Colleen who breaks down his barriers.

Author Info

Ron Koertge got the inspiration for Stoner & Spaz because his wife (who works with physically disabled kids) told him about an especially funny kid and he had a former student who had gone through drug rehab - he thought it would be interesting to put the two together in a book.
He is a retired English teacher and movie buff who lives in South Pasadena in the house where the original movie Halloween was filmed.

Genre

YA coming-of-age for a boy with cerebral palsy

Curriculum Ties

Life Skills class

Booktalking Ideas

1. Ben finally starts talking to his fellow students while making a movie.

2. Ben takes Colleen to the movies.

Reading/Interest Level

Age 14 and up - would not be appropriate for younger children

Challenge Issues and Defense

Many including drug use, sex and cheating in school

Sensitive portrayal of a teen with disabilities

Many awards including Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, an ALA Quick Pick and
ALA Best Book for YA

Why I Included This Book

Highly recommended by the head librarian at my school.

We used it in our presentation on controversial YA literature.