My real name is John. John Coogan. But everybody calls me Crash, even my parents.
-- John (Chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote introduces John and his "Crash" persona to the reader. Spinelli chooses to focus on John's name in the opening lines because it shows how John situates his identity in relation to other people. The "Crash" nickname has determined John's actions and personality since he was a little boy. Indeed the title of the novel reflects the importance of John's nickname. John states later in the opening chapter that, "As far as I can tell, I've always been crashing--into people, into things, you name it, with or without a helmet." Most of the events of the novel take place in John's pivotal seventh grade year in which John has to rethink whether he wants to be the Crash man or instead establish a new life apart from "Crash." John's struggle to establish individuality is...