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Space Station Seventh Grade #2
Jason and Marceline
Jason and Marceline have been friends since the end of seventh grade. Now in ninth grade, Jason's starting to think that they could be more than friends, and Marceline's starting to think so, too. But does the beginning of romance mean the end of their friendship?
233 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
15 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Spinelli
113 books4,009 followersWhen Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. Lucky for us he became a writer instead.
He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his book Maniac Magee. After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets — all except Spinelli, who went home and wrote a poem about the victory. When his poem was published in the local paper, Spinelli decided to become a writer instead of a major-league shortstop.
In most of his books, Spinelli writes about events and feelings from his own childhood. He also gets a lot of material from his seven adventurous kids! Spinelli and his wife, Eileen, also a children's book author, live in Pennsylvania.
He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his book Maniac Magee. After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets — all except Spinelli, who went home and wrote a poem about the victory. When his poem was published in the local paper, Spinelli decided to become a writer instead of a major-league shortstop.
In most of his books, Spinelli writes about events and feelings from his own childhood. He also gets a lot of material from his seven adventurous kids! Spinelli and his wife, Eileen, also a children's book author, live in Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 5, 2010
Jason & Marceline by Jerry Spinelli is a wonderful Young Adult book about the life of a teenager. It's 228 pages long and it keeps you engaged from start to finish. The book involves Jason and Marceline who have been good friends since seventh grade and they are now Freshman in high school. They have always felt a spark from one another but neither of them acted upon it. But since they have been in high school the spark has begun to grow. Jason has to choose whether to give in to peer pressure and drink, smoke, etc. with his friends or be with quirky Marceline who follows a completely different path. Throughout the story he straddles this good and bad line. The book is exquisitely well written and very intelligent. Practically everyone can relate to the humorous situations and thoughts of the narrator Jason himself. It's a typical coming of age story that includes vivid imagery that makes you feel what Jason feels. As I read I felt just as awkward, nervous, confused, etc. as the character did due to the humor, and how easy it is to relate to. Though its written for younger teens it applies to many peoples lives and you're helpless to the undeniable humor. I give this book two thumbs way and I recommend this to anybody with a sense of humor or anyone who loves a mild love story surrounded by the wonders of teenage life.
September 23, 2009
Already this has me laughing out loud (I'm on chapter 3) and it's completely inappropriate for middle school kids in such a way that I highly recommend it to them.
Update: The rest of the book was okay--not so inappropriate after all, either. Not as good as Space Station Seventh Grade (no more laugh-out-loud moments). The great thing about this book is that Jason seems pretty normal, obsessing about boobs and "doing it" and getting hickeys, but Marceline is this kick-butt, real, unique character who never gives in to hickeys or "doing it." She plays her trombone in public, loves being smart, won't wear an ankle bracelet because she'd feel like a slave to Jason if she did, etc. The girls in the novel who are "doing it" are portrayed as shallow bimbos or, more importantly, normal girls who have a reputation for doing things they never even did. So parents can rest-assured that the message in this book is to take things slow and not be raunchy, be yourself (and hickeys are just dumb) but the kids get enough raunchiness to not realize 'til the end that the book does have a good message. Does this make sense? I'm having a hard time articulating here.
It's a good, subtle anti-conformity novel that is more entertaining to young readers, more realistic,and not as "deep" as others. I think middle school kids will relate to Jason way more than, say, Jonas of The Giver, and is more effective on the topic of non-conformity, even though this book would be considered smut compared to The Giver.
Update: The rest of the book was okay--not so inappropriate after all, either. Not as good as Space Station Seventh Grade (no more laugh-out-loud moments). The great thing about this book is that Jason seems pretty normal, obsessing about boobs and "doing it" and getting hickeys, but Marceline is this kick-butt, real, unique character who never gives in to hickeys or "doing it." She plays her trombone in public, loves being smart, won't wear an ankle bracelet because she'd feel like a slave to Jason if she did, etc. The girls in the novel who are "doing it" are portrayed as shallow bimbos or, more importantly, normal girls who have a reputation for doing things they never even did. So parents can rest-assured that the message in this book is to take things slow and not be raunchy, be yourself (and hickeys are just dumb) but the kids get enough raunchiness to not realize 'til the end that the book does have a good message. Does this make sense? I'm having a hard time articulating here.
It's a good, subtle anti-conformity novel that is more entertaining to young readers, more realistic,and not as "deep" as others. I think middle school kids will relate to Jason way more than, say, Jonas of The Giver, and is more effective on the topic of non-conformity, even though this book would be considered smut compared to The Giver.
September 25, 2013
This book sucked. I didn't expect it to be some romance novel dealing with their relationship and stuff. I wish it would've had more funny parts involved and less drama between Jason and Marceline. Yes, it was funny at times, but they where very brief and not fall out of my chair funny either. This was NOT AT ALL as great as 7th grade space station. The only reason it isn't a one star is because I found that the part where Rudy choked and then Jason saved him was touching. But other than that, this book was definitely not as great as I thought it would be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2023
Jason is going through a stage of wanting to fit in and being horrifyingly misogynistic about it. Though he "reforms" in the last chapter or two, I found it unsatisfying. It's pretty clear Marceline is more mature and self-actualized, but we're also left with the impression that Jason's actions, while immature, are very normal teenage boy stuff, which...maybe they are, but I really, really don't think they should be normalized. Because the book is solely from his point of view, and because Marceline mostly puts up with his behavior even if she doesn't like it, it feels like the book condones his actions.
Several scenes are case studies in nonconsent. He constantly pressures Marceline to do things she's not comfortable with, both physically and otherwise. When she says no, he presses her for reasons, she says "I just don't want to," or gives other reasons that he doesn't accept as valid, and he sulks or storms off. Then he turns around and claims that he doesn't pressure her. He gives her a hickey when she's said repeatedly she doesn't want one. Most of this doesn't even come across as him being horny so much as him wanting to fit in with his friends and do what "everyone else" does. When he spies on her coming home after a date with another boy, he gets jealous and fakes being the victim of a crime. He and Marceline have a good laugh about this in the last chapter after she takes him back.
I don't see why Marceline would or should take him back, and their reconciliation happens offstage so we don't even see him apologize or try to make up for his earlier actions. Well-written book, but not a message I would want to give to a teenage girl (or boy, for that matter).
Several scenes are case studies in nonconsent. He constantly pressures Marceline to do things she's not comfortable with, both physically and otherwise. When she says no, he presses her for reasons, she says "I just don't want to," or gives other reasons that he doesn't accept as valid, and he sulks or storms off. Then he turns around and claims that he doesn't pressure her. He gives her a hickey when she's said repeatedly she doesn't want one. Most of this doesn't even come across as him being horny so much as him wanting to fit in with his friends and do what "everyone else" does. When he spies on her coming home after a date with another boy, he gets jealous and fakes being the victim of a crime. He and Marceline have a good laugh about this in the last chapter after she takes him back.
I don't see why Marceline would or should take him back, and their reconciliation happens offstage so we don't even see him apologize or try to make up for his earlier actions. Well-written book, but not a message I would want to give to a teenage girl (or boy, for that matter).
December 19, 2014
I chose this book because Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite authors. He tries to write all of his books in a teenagers perspective and that is what impressed me in this book. I feel like I could relate to the story. What Jerry tries to do is help you picture how it feels like to be a teenager. In the text, the main character, Jason tries to explain his feelings by saying, "My body felt fizzy, like a soda down-foaming after being poured too fast" (Spinelli 149). This is significant because Spinelli uses simile's to explain how Jason feels like. This book contains the secrets of many teenagers and helps them get through the troubles they might have.
November 12, 2017
In my personal literary landscape, the coupling of Jason and Marceline looms as large as Romeo and Juliet or Elizabeth and Darcy. I'm pretty sure this is the first Jerry Spinelli book I ever read. My initial interest was prurient, but the far-reaching effects of the narrative strongly enforced the principle of valuing romantic relationships not as entities in and of themselves, and not as means to an end, but as a give and take between real persons. Spinelli pillories the single-minded obtuseness of the teenage male (from his own perspective) so well, and illustrates the power that strong young women like Marceline have to demand better.
December 6, 2022
I loved this book when I was younger, but it doesn’t hold up as well as I was hoping. It actually brought me back to my awkward middle school and high school years while I was reading it - not pleasant.
June 23, 2025
QUE MONERIA IS THIS
December 29, 2009
So far this book, of all the YA and MR books I've reread lately, is the most true-to-life for what being a teenager is like. And for me (when I first read it) it had the added bonus of giving a glimpse into the frightening inner workings of the teenage boy brain. I remember so admiring Marceline for her independence, and her ability to truly not care what other kids thought about her. It's also nice for once to have the main character kids be the middle of the pack: neither the most popular, nor the nerds of the class. All of Jason's worries and anxieties rang true, and I really appreciated also how through the character of Cal (a future doctor), Mr. Spinelli also managed to get some frank sex-ed into the book, in a way that felt organic and not preachy. The slang is perfectly right (I was in 8th grade when this book came out) and I too remember the obsession with hickeys (shudder) at the time. The gossip, the exaggerations, the assumptions about other kids were all dead-on. And Jason was also sweet, fairly conscientious, and caring, that he seemed like a boyfriend I would have liked. Iappreciate that the book was all about the relationship, not entirely a build-up to it as some books are (ending with the first kiss) as how relationships work is a lot of what kids this age are really curious about and need to understand. I never read the first book about Jason, Space Station Seventh Grade, and while I might have missed a reference or two in here, I never noticed. It stands alone just fine.
September 21, 2012
I love, love loved this and now want to reread Maniac Magee, which I probably haven't read since middle school. Also now want to read the rest of Jerry Spinelli's books.
I think I usually gravitate (in my adult reading, that is) towards stories with a pessimistic take on romance, or just reading that is dark in general, but this tale of first love in 9th grade totally stirred my cold stone of a heart and had me squealing and excited and occasionally tearful over all the awkwardness/terror/wonder of first kisses, holding hands, slow dances, etc. The writing is really vivid and plunges you within the first few pages into the perspective of the adolescent boy who narrates the book, and, by extension, right back into all those crazy, confusing emotions we all experienced in middle & high school. His voice is sarcastic and funny and even a little angry and pessimistic, and yet a sense of sweetness and genuine good prevails over the story at large. It somehow managed to be sweet without being saccharine; earnest without being cheesy; irreverent and yet deeply concerned with fundamental questions of morality and how to be a good person in a world that seeks to lead you astray.
Unfortunately, the slang is a little outdated and I think that could keep this from totally connecting to young readers today. At times, the way the boys talked to each other made them sound like '50s greasers, and there were references to things like a kid who carried a gigantic radio around that made this feel like a historical relic.
I think I usually gravitate (in my adult reading, that is) towards stories with a pessimistic take on romance, or just reading that is dark in general, but this tale of first love in 9th grade totally stirred my cold stone of a heart and had me squealing and excited and occasionally tearful over all the awkwardness/terror/wonder of first kisses, holding hands, slow dances, etc. The writing is really vivid and plunges you within the first few pages into the perspective of the adolescent boy who narrates the book, and, by extension, right back into all those crazy, confusing emotions we all experienced in middle & high school. His voice is sarcastic and funny and even a little angry and pessimistic, and yet a sense of sweetness and genuine good prevails over the story at large. It somehow managed to be sweet without being saccharine; earnest without being cheesy; irreverent and yet deeply concerned with fundamental questions of morality and how to be a good person in a world that seeks to lead you astray.
Unfortunately, the slang is a little outdated and I think that could keep this from totally connecting to young readers today. At times, the way the boys talked to each other made them sound like '50s greasers, and there were references to things like a kid who carried a gigantic radio around that made this feel like a historical relic.
June 18, 2009
Space Station Seventh Grade came before this book, but you don't have to read that one to understand this one. It's kinda of an early version of Stargirl, only the boy and girl hook up at the end. Jason is friends with this girl who he really likes and wants to go out with, but she embarrasses him because she doesn't act the way girls are supposed to act. She's just really goofy and wears sunglasses all the time and breaks out her trombone at random times and starts jamming. Jason isn't exactly a prize though: he's crude and thinks about sex all the time, and acts really jerky sometimes. This is teen romance at it's believable best. The boy isn't cool or a smooth-talker, the girl isn't unbelievably gorgeous--it's just normal people hooking up and it's hilarious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2010
This is one of the best books of 2010. This book is bascially about how Jason falls in love with his wierd, unpopular, trombone playing best friend. Jason is a teenager in 9th grade and is going through some hormones he can't control such as touching Marceline breast and trying to give her a hickey. Marceline is not into what other people are doing so Jason gets mad and leaves her talking to her self everytime they have a fight until Marceline breaks up with Jason. They each go thier seprate ways and date people which they get jelous of. But a story alwasy has to have a happy ending soo read it and find out.
September 28, 2011
Jason and Marceline have been good friends for years when their relationship starts to develop into something more. Marceline is a quirky girl who doesn’t care about what people think of her; such as wearing sunglasses and playing the trombone in the street. Jason is more concerned with how things look to his 9th grade peers. There is a lot of talk about boobs, hickeys and beer, so I would think older middle school/reluctant reader high school males would appreciate this book. Spinelli usually has a great message for his readers and this book is no exception. The importance of being your self is emphasized while these two teens navigate their relationship.
January 7, 2016
Plot:Sequel to "Who Put That Hair in my Toothbrush". Jason and his crush Marceline are now dating. The book goes through how the 2 go through this new relationship, and what a relationship in junior high should consist of. They get input from their friends...which is where the humor comes in.
Setting: PA suburbs
Characters: Jason, Marceline, their families and friends
POV: 3rd person-from each character's perspective
Theme: what is important in a relationship
Copyright Year: 1986
Setting: PA suburbs
Characters: Jason, Marceline, their families and friends
POV: 3rd person-from each character's perspective
Theme: what is important in a relationship
Copyright Year: 1986
May 8, 2015
Grade/interest level: MS
Reading level: 620L
Genre: Fiction
Main Characters: Jason, and Marceline
Setting: 9th grade
POV: Jason's POV
In this book Jason and Marciline are best friends, and they decide to start dating. It works for a while then Marceline moves on.. Jason gets jealous and starts doing skeems. He gets a new girlfriend, that doesn't last very long. In the end Marceline and Jason realize they were wrong and they decide to go to Prom together. READ THIS BOOK..
Reading level: 620L
Genre: Fiction
Main Characters: Jason, and Marceline
Setting: 9th grade
POV: Jason's POV
In this book Jason and Marciline are best friends, and they decide to start dating. It works for a while then Marceline moves on.. Jason gets jealous and starts doing skeems. He gets a new girlfriend, that doesn't last very long. In the end Marceline and Jason realize they were wrong and they decide to go to Prom together. READ THIS BOOK..
June 24, 2009
Not quite as good as its prequel, Space Station Seventh Grade, Jason & Marceline is still a worthy book.
In true Spinelli fashion, the story is laid out in a series of vignette-like chapters in which not much seems to happen. Until you realize a great story has just slipped by you. I really love me some Jerry Spinelli.
In true Spinelli fashion, the story is laid out in a series of vignette-like chapters in which not much seems to happen. Until you realize a great story has just slipped by you. I really love me some Jerry Spinelli.
Read
July 28, 2011After reading the hilarious and touching Space Station Seventh Grade with my students, I was excited to read the sequel. This book, though, isn't nearly as cute or funny. Jason and his friends think about nothing but feeling up girls, Mom and Ham have become caricatures of themselves, and I can't figure out what Marceline sees in Jason anyway.
September 20, 2011
Excellent book. A romance from the point of view of a fairly normal teenage boy. It may seem inappropriate at times, but it's very realistic. Like it or not, teenage boys are .... teenage boys. Stupid and hormonally driven. This is a one-of-a-kind book in a way that it describes how a ninth grade boys feels when he falls in love. Very well written and often funny.
June 6, 2016
I thought that this book was very good. You learned a lot about growing up and first loves, and I really liked learning how other people, even fictional characters, dealed with junior high school. I admired Marceline, and how she was her own person and wasn't afraid to stand out and do what was right.
October 24, 2007
a good sequel that picks up two years after the end of space station seventh grade. Jason and Marceline have been together for a long time, and everyone takes it for granted now. I won't say more, lest i give away the goodness of his work.
October 30, 2009
I loved the first one. This one I thought was funny, but the latent misogyny really turned me off. I understand it's written from the point of view of a freshman boy in the 70's; not exactly a liberated mind. That being said, it goes completely unexamined by the author.
May 30, 2016
Not as good as I remember. But not as offensive as the first. Not exactly pro-female though. Disappointing. 3 stars instead of 2 because I have found memories of reading it and liking it in Middle School.
June 7, 2007
Cute Y/A fiction about the titular characters.
September 23, 2007
to me, this book was funny because the book gives jokes. it also is based on teenagers' life and i can relate to it because im a teennager.
January 5, 2008
It's amazing how much of Spinelli is put into his own books.
March 7, 2008
Man, I used to love this book. I need to read it again. If I recall correctly, it has the best Slurpee-and-gum-kiss-at-the-convenience-store scene ever! :)
August 27, 2008
My favorite Spinelli!
August 29, 2008
Crude. Bleh. This one went in the recycling bin before my kids got to read it.
March 7, 2010
Thisbook was NOT my favorite, to tell you the truth, i kind of hated it, WAYY too much nasty parts. If you want to read it, be mature about it, please.
Read
July 5, 2011I like it more than the original oddly enough. Dealt with issues relevant to my middle school life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews