13. Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

ISBN: 0-7636-2150-1

Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2002

169 p.

Plot Summary

Sixteen-year-old Ben Bancroft suffers from cerebral palsy.  Living with his over-protective grandmother, Ben feels depressed about his life and finds solace in watching films at the Rialto Theatre.  Because of his disability, he feels invisible in the crowd of students at school with no one acknowledging him.  One day, while watching Bride of FrankensteinFight Club, Colleen is part of the druggie crowd at school—someone who Ben would never have really associated.  However, from the moment she plops down in the seat and rests her head on his shoulder, Ben knows that something is about to change. at the Rialto, Colleen Minou stumbles into the seat next to him.  Looking like Helena Bonham Carter in

Critical Evaluation

With Stoner & Spaz, Ron Koertge tells a deeply realistic story of two high school outcasts who form an unlikely relationship as told from Ben’s point-of-view.  Used to people ignoring his disability, Colleen surprises Ben when she makes jokes about it and really pays attention to him.  Although the relationship starts out with Colleen looking to gain something from him, such as help writing her paper, Ben’s lack of interaction with his peers lends to him thriving off of this attention.  The more time they spend together, the more developed their relationship becomes as Colleen takes Ben to a club and gives him his first joint.  Through his friendship with Colleen, Ben’s life begins to change, allowing him to develop self-esteem and find the inspiration to pursue his passion for film.  Likewise, Ben seems to have an effect on Colleen when she attempts to quit using drugs and finally live life sober.  However, just as with any drug addict, the novel stays true to the struggle between the knowledge that she should quit and her love for how the drugs make her feel.  While Colleen has very few redeemable qualities, the reader sees her through Ben’s eyes and wants her to break through her drug haze.  At only 186 pages, the novel is an extremely enjoyable quick read that is propelled by Koertge’s witty dialogue and the realistic relationship between Ben and Colleen.

Reader's Annotation

As a teen with cerebral palsy, Ben Bancroft’s world is changed forever once he spends an afternoon at his favorite movie theater with the school druggie, Colleen Minou.

Information About the Author

Ron Koertge is the author of a dozen books, most of them novels for young adults.  These include Margaux With An X, Stoner & Spaz, and The Brimstone Journals.  His most recent novel, Strays, was awarded the Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year and chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association.  

Most of his books have been American Library Association choices for Best Books and/or Books for Reluctant Readers.  Several have been listed in Booklist’s Books of the Decade and the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age. In addition, his work has won a Georgia Peach Book Honor Award and a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award.  Ron is also a published poet and taught at the city college in Pasadena, California, for many years and in the Vermont College MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. (information from the author’s Hamline University faculty page: http://www.hamline.edu/gls/distinguished_faculty/mfac%20faculty/ronkoerge.html)

Genre

Young Adult – Realistic

Curriculum Ties

English - Reading Comprehension and Literary Response and Analysis

Booktalking Ideas

1. Tell the story from Colleen’s point-of-view.

2. Focus on the relationship between Ben and Colleen.

3. Discuss the use of labels such as “stoner” and “spaz” in high school.

4. Talk about the importance of movies in Ben’s life.

Reading Level/Interest Age

14+

Challenge Issues

There are instances of drug use, sexuality, and adult language in the novel.

When confronted with complaints about this novel, librarians should become familiar with the material and its content.  Turn to reviews from publications such as Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist, as well as reviews from teens that have read it.  Also, it is beneficial for librarians to present reasons backed by the ALA in support of intellectual freedom.  As stated in the Library Bill of Rights:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

Why Include Book in Selection? 

In perusing through the Young Adult collection at my local library, I saw this title and, after reading all of the accolades printed on the back cover, I decided to read it for this project.