Eggs by Jerry Spinelli- Jamie Atienza

Atienza, Jamie
English, per 6

November 19, 2008

Eggs

Book Review by Jamie Atienza

Eggs is a comical, oddball, and fascinating book written by the renowned author Jerry Spinelli. Just by the title, the author's famous name, and by the mysterious cover (which is an egg carton with six brown eggs in it) it entices curious readers to find out just what kind of story this book holds. The overwhelming curiosity to crack this mystery was what caught my attention to it in the large arrangements of books at the book fair. I am a huge fan of all of Jerry Spinelli's literary works. He is just an amazing writer that engages the readers to step out of their own shoes and into the characters. Many of his books, including Eggs, have main characters that aren't popular or glamorous or any of that, but characters that are special and interesting in their own right. He writes about kids that many people,even adults, can relate to. That is another reason I chose this book because if it is written by Jerry Spinelli it's bound to be interesting. Now it is one of my favorite books written by him.

Eggs is a quirky and interesting book about a bond between two unlikely friends, a law-abiding and fragile nine year old David and a headstrong thirteen year old Primrose. They meet in a very unusual way, where David finds Primrose playing dead under a tree during an Easter Egg hunt. He later finds her once again and they form a tight but cautious bond. They both come from dysfunctional families and use each other to get those hidden and building emotions out whether by constant bickering or heart to heart conversations. David is a young boy filled with anger and anguish. He lives with his grandmother, who he tries his best to ignore, and a father who comes only on the weekends due to his job. He lost his mother in a terrible accident and he believes that the only way to bring her back is to follow every rule and law, other than the ones set by his grandmother. Primrose, on the other hand, lives in an old van that she has decorated to be her room, which is parked in the drive way of her fortune telling mother's house. Her mother is uninvolved and her father is out of the picture, and as only a thirteen year old girl can do, she always does things her own way. Together along with their good friend Refrigerator John, they go through many adventures from searching for night crawlers to their trek to see the waving man. It is a time for them to sneak away from their broken homes and their troubles. As their friendship grows, they learn more about each other and more about themselves. Both have gone through so much in their young lives from loss to isolation, but together they help build their own foundations of reliability, recovery, care, kindness, and friendship.

Page 220-

David spoke quickly."We never got to Philadelphia to ask the waving man why he waves. Are we going to?

"No need to."

"No?"

"Nope. I figured it out by my self. I know why he waves to people." ...

"Because," she grunted,"they wave back."

I felt that this quote, which was on the very last page of the book, had a lot of significance to both the novel's story and as a life lesson. Throughout the story I was wondering along with the characters of the book the reason for a man to stand at a street corner and just wave. This quote answers that question fully in what might seem as a too obvious answer, but yet it has so much depth in to it. This quote can be interpreted in many different ways and in many different perspectives. I personally view it as a lesson in life that even the tiniest of a gesture of kindness can brighten a day with just a simple wave and a smile. Many people in our time question this polite gesture or see is as odd. Like Primrose and David, many people over think the the reasons why someone might do this, does the waving man really need a reason to just wave and say hi? This curiosity drove David and Primrose to take a trip to go to Philadelphia which was a very significant part in the story. At the very end, Primrose got it and it just made a great finish to the story with a life lesson hidden between the lines.

I probably would give this book a ten out of ten eggs and two thumbs sunny side up. It was and still is one of my favorite Jerry Spinelli novels, along with Maniac Magee. It is an incredible book with the whole package from wit to tragedy to friendship. It is an incredible piece of literature and really fun to read about the adventures of David and Primrose. It won't disappoint and lives up to its interesting cover and title.

I recommend this book to any type of reader, but especially to people who have their own troubles with their families in their own homes. It shows that any wound can be healed by time and with the support of the people around you. This book is probably good for readers around the years of ten to thirteen years old, but it is a novel that both girls and boys can relate to. Tough because it is about the recovery and friendship of two young kids in a small town, their isn't that much action but, but so many life lessons and points of views in this book. There are so many different ways to interpret the various different approaches to certain situations. this is the sort of book that you get attached to the characters fairly quickly. It is definitely a book that everyone should read. It is just a brilliantly written story that anyone can relate to in their own way. The characterization in this book is fantastic and it is very easy to understand the characters, but yet gives depth to their individual emotions. In all it is just a fun book with quirky and odd characters that you can learn quite a bit about life from and how to heal sore wounds. I would heed no warnings unless you are afraid of eggs or night crawlers. Who knows? It is an incredible book that I could really recommend to anybody. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope you do to.