I was surprised to see that this book was written in 1982 as it still rings true today. S pinelli writes with his usual knack of getting inside the peculiar mind of a twelve to thirteen year old boy. Jason Herkimer is a good kid in a loving family but he does some strange things. I didn't do it ' says Jason and we only find out later in the book what really happened to the chicken. I t has something to do with a pimple.
Subsequent events reveal the fate of the chicken.
Jason makes other mistakes, from the shallow target of his first love to the casual prejudice that he displays towards his Korean and African American friends, and a variety of thoughtless acts. But he learns from his mistakes and from his friends. Summer has a funnel shape. It seems real wide at first, and deep. It's not just summer - Spinelli has masterfully described the passing of childhood as well.