By: Jack O. Hope you enjoy!!! Novel 2: Loser By: Jack O. Hope you enjoy!!!

Plot Line In the book Loser you meet a boy named Donald Zinkoff. The exposition is when Zinkoff goes to his first day of school ever. He wheres a hat that looks like a giraffe and everybody laughs at him. The rising Action is when Zinkoff graduates second grade and has surgery because of his upside down valve in his stomach. He can’t go to school because of that so he gives himself a test where he tries to go into his cellar without being scared. The climax of the book is when Zinkoff is at field day in fourth grade and he loses the race that everybody loves the most. Gary Hobin pushes him on the ground and every one calls him a loser. He goes home and Polly, his sister, asks if he won and Zinkoff is sad that she asked. The falling action is where Zinkoff doesn’t go to school on field day in fifth grade because he doesn’t want to be embarrassed, so he goes to a lady’s house that he met a long time ago when he was delivering mail with his dad. The lady gives him a p,b,and j but with no jam so they just pretend that they have jam. When he leaves the lady’s house he goes back home. Another part in the falling action is where Zinkoff is is searching for a little girl named Claudia who got lost but eventually he gets lost too and searches for 7 more hours. Zinkoff is singing things in his life before he goes unconscious and is found by a snow shoveler. The resolution is where Zinkoff and everybody else in the 6th grade are outside and Zinkoff is the last one to be picked in a game of football and he just stares at the person that could pick him for a long time and eventually that person picks him and Zinkoff feels great!

Theme I think that one of the themes of this story is treat everybody the same way. I know this because throughout the beginning and middle of the story no likes Zinkoff and he has no friends. Towards the end of the book on chapter 30 he finally gets excepted in a game of football and I bet that after that he gets lots of friends. Another theme is to think before you act because pretty much in all of the book Zinkoff is kind of a mess up but always has good intentions. I know this because on page 56 and 57 Zinkoff is erasing Mrs. Biswell’s green board and Zinkoff thinks that she will love that but in reality she HATES it and she sends Zinkoff home.

Characters: Donald Zinkoff Zinkoff is a clumsy boy that the story follows most of the way. Some adjectives I would use to describe him are clumsy, friendly, determined and kind. He is a great boy but he makes lots of mistakes.

Characters: Polly Zinkoff Polly is Donald’s sister that is born when Zinkoff is 6 years old. When she gets older she loves and supports Zinkoff and always wants to play monopoly with him. He always agrees because he thinks Polly will throw a fit but she never does because she she is a good sport.

Characters: Drew Orwell Drew Orwell is Zinkoff’s best friend in first grade and they really like each other but Drew is a little bit selfish. Drew moves from his old house and Zinkoff doesn’t see him until middle school where Drew got A LOT taller and he barley remembers Zinkoff. Plus Drew becomes a great athlete in middle school.

Characters: The Waiting Man The waiting man is a mysterious, old man that is first introduced in the story on page 74 when Zinkoff and his father are delivering mail and they see him. His dad explains why he is waiting and that is because he is looking for his brother who went M.I.A (missing in action) and he wants to see his brother again. Throughout the entire book he is there but you still know very little about him.

Characters: Gary Hobin Gary Hobin is a mean, HUGE boy that is introduced on field day in fourth grade on page 102. When Zinkoff loses the last race on field day, Hobin throws him on the ground and everybody calls Zinkoff a loser. Finally Hobin is back in the book in 6th grade and he pities Zinkoff.

Characters: Claudia Claudia is a little girl that Zinkoff first meets when he is walking around and he sees her on a leash. He asks Claudia’s mother if she likes it and she says she doesn’t care. She is very kind because every time she sees Zinkoff she gives him something such as some old bubble gum or a little rock. She gets lost eventually but within thirty minutes to and hour she is found pretending to drive in a car.

How Zinkoff Changed Donald Zinkoff changed because in the beginning and middle of the book he is called a loser and no one wants to be around him. In the end though he finally is allowed to play football with everybody else and I bet that after that he makes lots of friends. A cool thing about this novel is that Zinkoff changes very little but the way people see him change very much.

Conflicts and Resolutions One conflict is Gary Hobin does not want Zinkoff on his field day team. The resolution is that Zinkoff doesn’t go to school that day so Hobin doesn’t need to worry about that. Another conflict is that Claudia gets lost but the resolution is quick because she is found very soon after she was lost. The last conflict is that Zinkoff gets lost while searching for Claudia. He gets found by a snow shoveler seven hours after he got lost, but it is a good thing he was found!

Settings One of the main settings is the classroom Zinkoff is in for five years. It is fairly large and has a green board at the front. The teachers desk is right next to the green board. The door in and out of the room is on the opposite side of the teachers desk. Another setting is the soccer field Zinkoff plays on. There are bright lights at the top and a goal on each side of the field. The score board is right in the middle of the field.The last setting is The “Oh Mailman” lady’s house. There are lots of long hallways and not very many windows. The lights are always dim and there are many rooms.

Reflection I really like the book Loser because of how great the author, Jerry Spinelli, put all the settings and characters into such great detail. My favorite part in the book was when Zinkoff was delivering mail with his dad. I liked this because it just showed how much Zinkoff loves his dad and how much his dad loves him. I also liked it because Zinkoff felt so great while he was delivering mail. I don’t think Spinelli could have done anything to make this stupendous novel any better. Another part in the text that I really liked was when Zinkoff first met Mr. Yalowitz. The reason why I liked it was because Zinkoff had many bad teachers except for Miss Meeks. He felt so loved and supported by Mr. Yalowitz and he especially felt like that when Mr. Yalowitz was at his graduation ceremony.