''Loser'' is a children’s novel by

Jerry Spinelli Jerry Spinelli (born February 1, 1941) is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include ''Maniac Magee'', '' Stargirl'', and ''Wringer''. Life Spinelli was born in Norristown, Penn ...

, first published in 2002 by Joanna Cotler, an imprint of Harper Collins Books. It portrays the growth of Zinkoff, who is considered "stupid" by his classmates due to his clumsiness, poor performance in school and athletics, and sometimes, clueless enthusiasm. This book is unique among Spinelli's works as it is written entirely in the

present tense The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...

Accolades

It was nominated for the 2004-0
Mark Twain Award
Mark Twain Reader Award

References

{{reflist 2002 American novels American young adult novels Novels by Jerry Spinelli