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Stoner Spaz Ron Koertge Books

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Stoner Spaz Ron Koertge Books

Ron Koertge really made me care about Ben. Interesting perspective, great insight. Sweet main character.


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Stoner Spaz Ron Koertge Books Reviews

Relatively early on in my career as a "children's" bookbuyer I had the great fortune to participate in a day-long workshop discussing "teen" literature. The experts from whom I was to learn that day were Michael Cart and Richard Jackson. Between them, they made several points that have stuck with me as I define and evaluate young adult literature. Among the words of wisdom that day were
Adolescents create and re-create themselves on a daily basis as they search for their identity. Good teen literature frequently provides characters whose roles teen readers can try on vicariously as if they were cloaks. Good teen literature frequently poses more questions than it provides answers.
That day's presentations were the inspiration for my creating a separate young adult section--after a week of quoting the experts I was given the okay to purchase and shelve those books away from the kids' stuff, in the process becoming the "children's and young adult" buyer. This division, of course, is the rule rather than the exception in bookstores and libraries today.
STONER AND SPAZ, set in LA, is the latest, perfect example of what young adult fiction is all about.
In addition, STONER AND SPAZ is a book that pays homage to film the way SEEK does to radio.
Ben (Spaz) Bancroft, a teen "cinefile" whose aloofness is the result of his self-consciousness over his dragging an arm and a leg due to cerebral palsy, tells us the story of his entanglement with Colleen (Stoner) Minou, who is as engaging, witty, and tough as Mona Lisa Vito, Marisa Tomei's character in My Cousin Vinnie. Colleen's boyfriend, Ed, is studying to be a drug lord. Early on, as Ben waits to hand over the report on THE GREAT GATSBY for which Colleen has hit him up, he gives us a look at Ed in action
"Waiting there I feel, I don't know anthropological, I guess. I just need a pair of binoculars and a field guide to watch Ed Dorn in his black jeans and black T-shirt make the rounds, moving from the gangstas in their huge pants through the Mexican tough guys and into the Asian kung-fu fighters. Each clique has a different handshake, and Ed knows them all. He knows which girl's hand to grab and rub over his shaved head, which brother to joke with, which guy's Pepsi to snatch and take a sip of, which one to lean into and whisper. Colleen walks a few steps behind. She wears knee-high silver boots and looks like someone from a different galaxy."
When Colleen catches up with Ben, he mentions to her
"'I was watching Ed in action. He's like Louis the Fourteenth,' I said, 'moving through the gardens at Versailles dispensing favors.'"
"'Louis better watch his ass,' says Colleen. 'This is Ed's turf.'"
Ben has been raised by his grandmother, who dresses him in prep garb and who meets Colleen when she invites herself for a ride home in Grandma's Cadillac and then endears herself to Grandma by immediately puking out the window. Ben has never given Grandma a bit of trouble before. She cannot understand his growing involvement with Colleen
"'What is it exactly that you see in her? Besides the narcotics, she's so profane and...' She thinks for a few seconds. "So badly decorated.'"
What Ben sees in Colleen is that she treats his condition so honestly and matter-of-factly. In turn, he makes her feel like a high school kid, which is in such contrast to the scary world of drugs, clubs, and thugs in which she's immersed. And while this is a uniquely descriptive and extremely fun story, it is no fairy tale. When it's over we're left heavy on the side of unanswered questions. I was also left with a profound sadness for having to end my relationship with two characters I came so quickly to like and care so much about--Stoner and Spaz. ...
3.5 Stars - This book wasn't what I was expecting, which I seem to be saying quite a bit these days. However, it's true again with this book. This quick read was another that I had finished in one sitting. The characters were polar opposites of each other.

Ben who was born with Cerebral Palsy pretty much keeps to himself. He believes he's a monster because of his disability and chooses to hang out for the most part alone. He's addicted to the way movies are filmed and likes to hang out in the back row of a rundown local movie theater - The Rialto.

Not expecting anything other then the usual, Ben heads over to see The Bride of Frankenstein and has a run in with the ever drugged up Colleen. She's the girl at school who everyone knows is usually high and has many of her own problems to deal with. Much to his distress, she follows Ben to the back row and falls asleep on his shoulder while the movie plays.

As the story goes on, we learn more about Ben and how he came to live with his Grandmother... why he chooses to stay in the shadows and spend his time alone. We learn how Colleen ended up on drugs and even at times get a chance to see the little glimpse of who she really is.

Ben also meets with a new neighbor who's had a chance to take film classes and sparks Ben's interest even further into the movie industry and helps him learn how to make a movie of his own.

Throughout the movie Ben learns much from his fellow classmates, about Colleen and most importantly about himself. Will he or won't he save the girl from herself? Will he or won't he understand that he's not some monster from a movie? Two people who crossed paths at a time in their lives when they needed something most. Needed each other. To forever change who they are and who they will become.

There are some life lessons in this book that aren't hard to see. The writing was decent and the characters likable. This book was an okay/pretty good read that kept my attention to find out what would happen next. For those who have yet to read it, it wasn't bad, interesting to say the least. Enjoy!
When I first heard about this book I was extremely interested in it. I suffer from a mild case of cerebral palsy myself and don't really know anyone else with it. I've always been interested to see how it can affect people. This was certainly an interesting outlook.

One thing I really liked was the Ben was the focus and he didn't want any pity. He basically accepted his fate and his condition and didn't let it completely ruin or change his life. With the help of Colleen and his neighbor he was able to find a passion that he would be able to pursue realistically.

I did NOT like Colleen. She drove me crazy. I have known many a person involved in a variety of drugs. She was not realistic about it at all. Some of the reactions she had weren't entirely believable. She just wasn't believable at all.

The writing wasn't horrible, it just didn't flow the way I hoped. The dialogue didn't always click and it didn't always sound like teenagers. I also wasn't a fan of the plot. It didn't always make sense and there was definitely a cliffhanger. I probably won't read the next book, but I can imagine what would happen.
It was decent. It had a couple really funny and witty moments, but I was mostly left wondering when it would get better or have a climax..
Ron Koertge really made me care about Ben. Interesting perspective, great insight. Sweet main character.