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    Stoner & Spaz
    Unavailable
    Stoner & Spaz
    Unavailable
    Stoner & Spaz
    Audiobook2 hours

    Stoner & Spaz

    Written by Ron Koertge

    Narrated by Josh Hamilton

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For sixteen-year-old Ben Bancroft - a kid with cerebral palsy, no parents, and an overprotective grandmother - the closest thing to happiness is hunkering alone in the back of the Rialto Theatre and watching Bride of Frankenstein for the umpteenth time. The last person he wants to run into is drugged-up Colleen Minou, resplendent in ripped tights, neon miniskirt, and an impressive array of tattoos. But when Colleen climbs into the seat beside him and rests a woozy head on his shoulder, Ben has that unmistakable feeling that his life is about to change. With unsparing humor and a keen flair for dialogue, Ron Koertge captures the rare repartee between two lonely teenagers on opposite sides of the social divide. His smart, self-deprecating protagonist learns that kindred spirits may be found for the looking - and that the resolve to follow your passion can be strengthened by something as simple as a human touch.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 28, 2003
    ISBN9780807212479
    Unavailable
    Stoner & Spaz
    Author

    Ron Koertge

    Ron Koertge is the author of many acclaimed novels for young people, including Stoner & Spaz and Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. A two-time winner of the PEN Award, Ron lives in South Pasadena, California, where he is currently the city’s poet laureate. 

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    Reviews for Stoner & Spaz

    3.5/5

    135 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Lib notes: Swear words sprinkled throughout, regular mention of drug use, scene of Ben about to lose virginity with Colleen.
    • 3/5
      Stoner and Spaz is a great story that highlights Ben's journey into adulthood. Ben thinks he is so different from everyone else, but Colleen teaches him that everyone as their problems. Through Colleen, Ben is able to see a different side of life and eventually he is strong enough to realize that Colleen can not be saved. Ben is able to look at his future and smile for once. This book is great for young adults, but does contain graphic content.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the snappy dialogue and realistic portrayal of these two teens. Ben is a convincing handicapped character in that he is invisible to most people on campus. He's a film buff, and I liked his thoughts of film and why it moves us. I also appreciated that Colleen, the druggie girl character, was scuzzy and not too precious. She wasn't portrayed as the 'addict with a heart of gold', merely an interesting human with some very real addiction problems. Ben strikes up a friendship with his neighbor that is the same age as his missing mother. I would have liked to see more depth and detail to that relationship. One thing I found endearing was how much Ben was moved by simply being touched by another human being. I would guess having a handicap makes you 'untouchable' in a lot of ways, and a fleeting touch on the arm meant more to Ben than most people would understand. Overall, I found this quirky book enjoyable, and a good choice for someone looking for a short, offbeat novel.
    • 4/5
      Stoner & Spaz. Colleen is the stoner, hooked on drugs of any sort; weed, cocaine, whatever. Ben is the spaz, weighed down by the deformities of cerebral palsy. They meet at the Riolto movie theater. Ben spends his solitary Friday nights watching old movies, like the Bride of Frankenstein. Colleen needs to borrow two bucks to buy candy. Ben thinks that's the end, but Colleen ends up sitting next to him to watch the movie. For a kid who's never had a girlfriend, this is as close as he's gotten to a girl in his entire life. And she doesn't treat him like an invalid, a misfit. For a girl who's perpetually stoned, this is the first sober guy she's met in a long time. So, they each have something the other wants and they develop into a real friendship. But is that enough? Is it enough to get Colleen on the straight and narrow? Is it enough for Ben to come out from under his grandmother's thumb and experience the world? Ron Koertge writes great books (see my review of Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs). But while those books were light and humorous, Stoner & Spaz digs deep. Ben lives with a grandmother who barely touches him. And while he's developed a sense of humor to deal with this lack of affection, you know it hurts. Colleen hates a mother who would not believe that her boyfriend might have attempted to abuse Colleen. In a scant 169 pages, Koertge deals with all these issues. If you are into good stories, great characters and a thought provoking plot, then Stoner & Spaz should be your next book. It'll be a nice setup for Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz Part II, the sequel.
    • 5/5
      Benjamin Bancroft is a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy who lives with his proper, over-protective grandmother. His only social activity is seeing old movies once a week at a local theater. Ben is a self-taught movie expert who watches classic films he’s seen many times with an eye for camera angles and set dressing. One day, he runs into Colleen Minou in the theater. She is a blunt-spoken drug addict with no boundaries. They form an unlikely friendship. Colleen challenges Ben's self-pity by joking openly and crudely about his disability and urges him to follow his passion for the cinema and make his own movies. By doing this, she forces Ben to come out of his shell and interact with people around him. Ben inspires Colleen to dump her abusive boyfriend and try to get clean. This book was written in 2002, and the dialogue and language are fresh and funny. There is sex, drugs, and swearing throughout this fast-paced book, but the real story is about connecting with others to help you pursue your dream.
    • 4/5
      Grades 10-12Stoner and Spaz gives a look at cerebral palsy from the perspective of sixteen-year-old Ben Bancroft living in Los Angeles. Ben is a lonely high school student with cerebral palsy who lives with his grandmother since his dad died and mom disappeared. Ben enjoys going to the local movie theater and one day finds himself sitting with a girl from his high school, Colleen Minou. Colleen is a drug addict as well as dating the high school drug dealer. Ben and Colleen start to for a strange friendship that helps Ben feel a little more confident. With the help of his neighbor, Marcie, Ben really start to feel he is living life. Rating: 4 starsThis is a great book for older teens and adults to enjoy. It helps give the reader a look at cerebral palsy from the perspective of a young man that is trying to cope with his disability in a humorous and more positive way. Easy to read and very entertaining. There is some content dealing with drugs and sex that might not be appropriate for younger readers.
    • 3/5
      My personal response is that the author, Ron Koertge, does not really know how a person might act who likes to smoke marijuana. He completely exaggerates how a person might act if they smoked marijuana. I think that Koertge has possibly never really smoked it, which means he is not writing about what he knows, really, so that part of the story is a little silly. But I do think that he gets the feelings of the boy with CP pretty good. I know someone with a similar disability, and the similarities of personality are somewhat uncanny. I would be a little wary of recommending this book to a teen just because of the obvious exaggeration in relation to marijuana abuse, but would maybe recommend this book to those who know someone who has a disability. I would also mention that in regards to marijuana, the author is a little naïve.
    • 3/5
      I liked the characters and their quirks. And I liked where the story was headed. However, this book was so abrupt I didn't feel like there was any rising action whatsoever. Plot, or maybe development of a plot, was lacking.
    • 3/5
      Synopsis:As an orphan with cerebral palsy Ben has been raised by his prim and proper Grandmother and has existed the past 16 years of his life as a loner who watches old movies at the local theater. One day his routine is shaken by an accidental run in with the local drug-addict Colleen (i.e. the girl who will do anything high). Ben becomes infatuated with Colleen (she’s the only person who has ever touched him without recoiling that was not his Grandmother) and eventually the two start dating. As their relationship evolves Ben leaves his self-imposed isolation and interviews his classmates, gaining new perspectives on himself and the world around him. Ultimately Colleen returns to a life of addiction while Ben (who is no longer a self-conscious hermit) moves forward with his lifelong wish to become a director. Review:I didn’t find Ben to be too much of a sympathetic character. He was likable, but only in a very "realistic way." He comes off as a realistic narrator, one who is self-involved in that way only teenagers can be. Koertge’s topic of addiction and teenage angst is admittedly a hard one for YA writers to address, however he handles it fairly and gives his characters life without glamorizing their problems. In Koertge's world the addicts genuinely act like addicts, something which might disturb parents and teachers who fancy YA books that record a happier world. Ultimately, the story provides little in the way of substance save for a vague cautionary tale about the perils of drugs and primarily acts as an instructional memoir on how not to be self-involved.
    • 3/5
      Stoner & Spaz tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Ben, an isolated loner with cerebral palsy, and Colleen, a punk rocker with a drug problem.The depictions of high school subcultures ring hollow; Koertge's on surer ground with the film scene Ben gets into. Still, it's nice to see a nuanced, sensitive depiction of both druggies and disabled kids.Drug use and sexual content make this a better recommendation for high school readers.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of a boy in the special education program at school and a girl who is always stoned on pot. It's an unlikely partnership, but ends up being good for both of them.
    • 2/5
      One of the first YA books that I intentionally read. This one was wonderful about a stoner girl and a kid with epilipsy (?).
    • 3/5
      This definitely felt like a three star book. The premise was interesting... boy with cerebral palsy befriends stoner girl, and the meaning was clear at the end... but it just definitely could have been better. What's it like living with CP? I couldn't tell you, but I should have some sense of it after reading a book where the main character has it. The author really should have gone more in-depth with the characters and expanded the amount of time they're together. I feel like the book just brushed the surface of both their lives and all we get is a glimpse.
    • 4/5
      Many YA novels, when trying to portray an outsider, punk-type character, just get it wrong. Here, Kortge gets his character right not by relying on simple pop culture references, but by creating a truly believable character. Ben and Colleen's relationship is very funny and believable, and Kortge handles description of Ben's cerebral palsy with great dignity. The real power of the novel lies in how it handles the end of the relationship. It is a true growing apart, and an honest realization on Ben's part that he can not save or change Colleen. A very quick read, this could be recommended to most all readers with an interest in the subject matter.