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Paperboy (Book) Review

 
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At a Glance...
 

Page Count: 224
 
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Final Score
 
 
 
 
 
3.5/ 5


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An unlikely hero with a unique perspective.

Not so much?


Some difficult themes from the '50s arise.


Final Fiendish Findings?

Paperboy is an interesting book that offers several unique perspectives for young readers, from life in the ‘50s to the agonies and insecurities that abound from a speech impediment. While the paperboy is often consumed with his problem, the accounting of his summer of change is told with an eye toward a larger story.

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Posted May 30, 2013 by

 
Full Fiendish Findings...
 
 

“I’m typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can’t talk.”

It is a steamy July in Memphis in 1959, and a favor for a friend has an eleven year old boy stepping outside of his comfort zone to help out a friend with his daily paper route. What’s the big deal about delivering some papers? Well, this boy has a serious stuttering problem that often makes speech impossible and always makes it uncomfortable, and the idea of knocking on the doors of strangers for a weekly collection is about as bad as it gets. Still, his friend Rat needs the help, and so he takes on the route for the month, never realizing how very much the experience will change his life.

Paperboy is, of course, about the paper route and the people the boy meets along the way because of it. There is the eloquent Mr. Spiro, who always takes the time to sit down and wait for the right words to come out, even if it takes a while. Spiro’s verbose speech is like music to the boy’s ears, as his love of words often clashes with his inability to pronounce them. There is also the beautiful yet sad Mrs. Worthington, who both fascinates and confuses in terms.

More so than the tale of the paper route, Paperboy is an in depth accounting of the life of a stutterer (with a little drama and mystery thrown in for good measure). While his parents are often busy elsewhere, the boy is cared for by Mam, who runs house and kitchen with a skilled hand. But when trouble arises with a neighborhood junkman, mysteries from Mam’s past come back to haunt, and the boy soon learns that stuttering is just a small part of what his life has to offer.

The author of Paperboy, Vince Vawter, has had issues with stuttering his whole life and those experiences shine through in the realism of the story. This is a book that offers real insight into how it feels to be an adolescent with a speech impediment, and that is fascinating on several levels. For parents and friends of someone who stutters, this is a day in the life offered with realism and sensitivity that really gives you a sense of what their loved one is going through. For a child who has issues with stuttering, both the aspect of seeing a character like them and the sense that they are not alone are invaluable perspectives not often found in popular literature.

Paperboy is an interesting book that offers several unique perspectives for young readers, from life in the ‘50s to the agonies and insecurities that abound from a speech impediment. While the paperboy is often consumed with his problem, the accounting of his summer of change is told with an eye toward a larger story.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)


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