Mistakes can have a serious impact on the people who make them; however, the effects are not always negative. In the book Whirligig, by Paul Fleischman, a teenager named Brent is the new kid in town and faces some big problems with his peers. After being pushed, treated like a pawn, and completely rejected, Brent attempts suicide by taking his hands off the wheel of his moving car. Although Brent's attempt is unsuccessful, his actions nevertheless have a tragic ending: Lea, a young, kind and beautiful girl, is unfortunate enough to be in the car that Brent crashes into. The car accident causes Lea's death, but also the beginning of Brent's magical journey of redemption. Brent's job is to travel to the four corners of the country, build and display spinning tops, and keep Lea's spirit alive. While Brent may not realize it, the journey affects him in many different ways, one of the most notable changes being Brent's newfound ability to form strong relationships with a variety of people he meets throughout his adventure. Throughout Brent's journey, Paul Fleischman uses the people Brent interacts with to portray the idea that friendships can form regardless of personality type, race, and age. Emil, a future college student who has mountains of successes, forms an unusual but strong friendship with Brent even though the two have different personality types and very little in common. Emil is described as a kind, outgoing and extremely accomplished man who speaks 3 languages ​​fluently and provides a wealth of information about biology to Brent. On the other hand, Brent can only stand by and admire Emil's charm and intelligence, because Brent is unable to perform all the extraordinary tasks that Emil is capable of. A...... middle of paper ...... and, race or age - to be friends. When it comes to friendship, personality type, race, and age are trivial matters; Brent's strong bonds with Emil, the African American children, and the painter demonstrate this. However, the idea of ​​looking beneath the surface applies not only to characters in the story, but also to real people in our world. Human beings must learn to accept everyone as they are, because humanity is simply too judgmental. Paul Fleischman is trying to warn humanity of the numerous consequences that can occur if people continue to refuse to accept the flaws and faults of others. Nobody is perfect, so why judge? Just like the interconnected parts of Brent's spinning tops, the world and all its people are connected together in such a way that people should be able to feel the truth of a relationship regardless of each other's outward appearances and characteristics..