Penn Webb wears weird buttons, smiles at everyone, and loves his ancient parents. He happens to be the thorn in the side of John “Crash” Coogan in Jerry Spinelli’s novel of the same name.
Every since Penn Webb moved into the neighborhood before first grade, Crash has taken special pleasure in tormenting him. A peace-loving Quaker, Penn possesses all the characteristics Crash does not: kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, creativity, and empathy. Penn makes Crash uncomfortable with his friendly overtures. How could someone as tough and cool as Crash be friends with someone as dweebish as Penn? Unsure what to do about this weird kid, Crash tries his best to avoid him, until, he meets Mike Deluca.
In the sixth grade Mike Deluca meets Crash. Mike is, in every way, Crash’s “other half.” Both boys love football and the physical intimidation they have on others. They are rough and ready for a fight. It doesn’t take long for both boys to form a friendship that extends beyond the football field. It also doesn’t take long for Mike to begin egging Crash on when it comes to Penn. In response to Mike’s encouragement (and devilish attitude) Crash soon begins pulling pranks on Penn.
As both boys enter middle school, Crash ups the ante. A super-competitive jock, Crash and his goon friends bully Penn whenever they get a chance. Trying to solidify his dominant “Crash Man” reputation and impress cheerleader Jane Forbes, Crash and his best friend, Mike Deluca mercilessly taunt Penn, making his mere existence almost unbearable. Yet Penn remains true to his stance on peace and refuses to engage in any type of aggression toward the bullies.
A few things continue to fuel Crash’s hostility toward Penn. One of the most prominent is that Crash’s parents don’t really give him the time of day. They work hard to provide a good life for their kids, but that means they rarely have time to spend with them. In fact, they miss a big football game where Crash scores a record-breaking number of touchdowns. In contrast, Penn’s parents lavish him with affection and praise and never miss a chance to cheer him on as he participates on the cheerleading squad. Another point of contention comes in the friendship that Penn shares with Crash’s younger sister, Abby. Abby is very much Crash’s opposite. She loves Penn’s easy, amiable spirit and quickly embraces many of the eco-friendly causes about which he is passionate. Finally, Crash’s ire really gets up when Penn befriends Jane Forbes, the object of Crash’s affections. Though Jane holds little interest for the brutish Crash, she dotes on Penn, one of her cheerleading teammates. Crash struggles to understand how a girl like Jane could reject him in favor of someone like Penn. He fails to see the flaws in his character and accept the positive aspects of Penn’s personality.
As the book progresses, it seems like the only person to truly love and understand Crash is his grandfather, Scooter. An old sea dog, Scooter moves in with Crash’s family and becomes a pseudo-parent: cooking in the kitchen, telling the kids stories at bedtime, and supporting his grandkids in whatever interests them. Scooter offers Crash the attention he craves, and Crash adores him for it.
The tension between Crash and Penn and Crash and Jane mounts as the holidays approach. It comes to a head when Jane publicly rejects Crash at a school dance. Fueled by confusion and the rage that accompanies rejection, Crash takes his anger out on others. During an innocent game of family football at Thanksgiving, Crash tackles his grandfather…hard. A month later, Scooter is hospitalized after a massive stroke. Scooter returns to the family’s home but is no longer able to all that he once did. Crash is devastated; he has lost the person he loves most.
The Webbs extend their support and sympathies with food, and Penn gives Scooter his special Missouri River Mud, which he believes can cure any ailment. Crash is touched by the gesture from someone he has only ever tormented. When Mike comes over during Christmas vacation and plays with one of Scooter’s hats (offering no sympathy about the stroke), Crash goes ballistic and the friendship begins to dissolve from there. This causes Mike to take revenge on Penn, escalating both the frequency and intensity of his bullying efforts.
In the meantime, Penn has formulated his own plan to race in the Penn Relays. In preparation, he races through the neighborhood each night, training. Crash, the fastest kid in school, eventually figures out Penn’s plan. He learns that Penn want his great-grandfather to see him race in the Relays when he visits in the spring.
The entire novel comes to its climax when Crash and Penn go head-to-head in a race to clinch the final spot on the school’s relay team. In a surprisingly selfless move, Crash lets Penn win. This marks a drastic chance in Crash’s personality. Because Scooter needs care, Crash’s mom moves to part-time work and is around home more. Crash becomes helpful, more respectful to his parents, kinder to Abby, and compassionate toward others in general. He also becomes the unlikely friend of Penn, understanding, accepting, and even embracing Penn’s quirks in favor of his stellar character traits.
