Paperboy

I bought this book for my nine year old grandson, and I started reading it because I had just finished the book I was reading, was on an airplane and had nothing else to read handy. I liked the book, but felt that parts of it were not suitable for my grandson, so just brought it home with me after my visit.

I really like the way Vince Vawter lays out the writing style. It is a way children will find easy to read and keep the focused. The story keeps you thinking about what is going to happen next and makes the reader think about this true to life situation a young 11 year old boy is in back in 1959.
I'm thinking of adding it to my fifth grade students historical fiction book club options.

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I loved that the main character was a boy who stuttered. The author himself stutters, so it was great getting the perspective on how it feels from someone who has experienced it. It was wonderful watching this character grow as he works the paper route. The subtle information about what was happening in the South during the time period was also nice. Because I work in a school setting, I feel that it important to warn that there are a few swear words in the book and a couple references to his father being unknown. It probably isn't a big deal for a middle school student, but if you are thinking about purchasing it for a younger, advanced reader it is something to keep in mind.

The story of a stuttering boy that fills in as a paperboy for his friend for a month and how this experience changed his life.

Everyone have challenges. Adults can deal with their problems better than kids can. The main character, Little Man, changes how he deals with his stuttering after delivering paper for a month. He meets different characters that will transform his life.

Without giving much away, the book is an easy read. I was able to finish it in 3 nights, and I'm not an avid reader. The characters and vivid and the writing style easy. Bought this book for my son's 8th bday and I hope he'll enjoy it as much as I did.

I loved this book. Written through the eyes of a young boy who stutters, it tells the wonderful story of this paperboy growing up and dealing with unexpected life events as well As his speech challenges. I would recommend it to all ages! Interesting, funny, poignant. I cried at the end.

Paperboy is a poignant part fiction/mostly coming-of-age memoir that treats the reader to a summer spent with the fascinating, sad, and scary characters who live in an upscale neighborhood in segregated Jim Crow Memphis just before the 60's. The protagonist (who refuses to say his name until the very end of the story) is an eleven year old boy who agrees to take over a paper route for the summer. He has no idea how deeply the neighbors he meets on his route will shape his life. He talks rarely and has few friends because his severe stutter often causes him to be subjected to frustrated impatience, pity, and ridicule. He knows taking on the route will force him to talk to the subscribers and face their judgment, but he wants to prove to himself that he can do it. He is terrified every time he must engage in a conversation with a new acquaintance, but he perseveres and is surprised by how much he learns about people in his short encounters. His youthful trust causes him to make some mistakes that have dire consequences, but he continues to think positively about most of the people in his neighborhood. By the time he hands his route book over to the regular carrier, he is a more assertive, much wiser and more caring young adult.

Liked this book because it gave some suspense when it did not tell the name until the end. And chose a real life problem not like they couldn't find a unicorn or whatever???????????????????????????

I am reading this to my fourth graders. This isn't the typical book I read that is action and suspense, however I wanted to read a book that shows a character struggling and shows his growth so that my student may also apply to their own life.

Paperboy by Vince Vawter is an amazing book that teaches you a valuable lesson about not judging anyone by the way he or she speaks or looks. In Tennessee, a small town pitcher finds himself in a position he thought he’d never have to play after busting his friend's lip and earning himself a job- paperboy. As a boy who has a little trouble speaking, correction, a lot of trouble speaking, he is used to being made fun of. Being paperboy for a week shouldn’t be that hard right? All you have to do is throw the paper. But when he meets his customers he knows that this job will require much more than a good pitch. He learns how to be a paperboy with a stutter, which involves danger, laughter, and adventure. It also involves talking; which is a problem. How will he survive? Read the book to find out!

Although I bought this for my eleven year old granddaughter, I read it. Book is so well-written and will help children relate to others with "handicaps" as well as bullies and how to deal with them.

James Patterson presented this story in a real-life way that helped me understand this child!

Thanks, the store, for providing so many good sellers from whom I can order my reading materials.
Arrived clean, well-packaged, and promptly!

I loved this book. The hardship & pain that stutterers endure was so aptly told. The relationships with Mam & Mr Spiro warm the heart. It was also a joy to get to meet the author recently at The First Regional Library in Hernando,MS!

I really enjoyed the books setting. Mr. Vauter did a good job presenting issues that face those with speech problems. I am thankful that he has been an inspiration to those that stutter. I thoroughly enjoyed his book.

This book was excellent and inspirational without being didactic. It begins in a gentle manner and the plot seems a bit meandering at first, but several threads converge beautifully, skilfully and organically by the novel's end. It's very much a character-driven book with strong and distinct voices, clever insight, and heartwarming relationships. It's also edgy at times and doesn't shy away from some difficult moments. Overall, it's a beautiful coming of age book - one that I found a little reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird - and it leaves the reader with much to think about.

This book is an amazing book about a young boy having to overcome speaking challenges in his life. The story is a great novel for kids it shows how to overcome challenges and make life the best it can be.

The characters were very believable and stayed historically true. The struggles of the the stuttering protagonist were real enough and I easily identified with him. I loved the idea of Mr. Spiro as an influencing character, but felt a little let down when the story ended and his role ended up being less than I wanted. I thought the sub plot with Mrs. Worthington was written very nicely. Overall, a great read with some good twists and engaging themes.

This book has unique characters, interesting setting and a remarkable protagonist. Despite the confusion at times due to lack of quotation marks, it is an insightful glimpse into the world of a boy who stutters.

As a mother of a son with a speech impediment it was like getting a glimpse of my sons inner world. This book resonated so much with my son that he asked me to read it so I could understand this experience more fully. A wonderful book about courage and compassion that reads beautifully, I'd recommend this to any young adolescent and any mom who has a child with speech difficulty

I,too,am a product of Memphis during this era.I even had a paper route although it was for the morning paper,The Commercial Appeal. The book carried me back to those times and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was purchased to read aloud in class, even though its award winning, the issues, and subjects introduced with the dysfunctional relationships make getting through more than 30 pages discouraging. Its adult content is not for kids. I threw it out.

This novel may be more suited to young readers, but I couldn’t resist the story of an 11-year-old paperboy in 1959 in my hometown of Memphis. My brother also had a paper route for the Memphis Press-Scimitar and threw the afternoon papers from his Spyder bike with a banana seat. I think my brother dreaded collecting from his customers almost as much as the boy in this novel did, although not for the same reason. In this book, the paperboy in question has a stuttering problem, which makes conversation, with adults or other kids, difficult. Also, he is paperboy for only a month, subbing for a friend who is spending the month of July on his grandparents’ farm. Most of his customers leave their payments in an envelope, but two of the ones he has to speak with are his favorites. One is a beautiful woman with a drinking problem and an abusive husband. The other is a former seaman with a vast collection of books and an unusual manner of speaking. The boy harvests some life lessons from encounters with these two customers, as well as from his black housekeeper/babysitter, whom he calls Mam. Both the boy and Mam have an impetuous streak, which doesn’t always serve them well. The most important lesson, though, is one about love, and the paperboy figures that one out for himself. This was a nostalgia trip worth taking, as well as a reminder that the 50s were not as rosy as some people think.

An incredible book written by an incredible author!

Vince Vawter's semiautobiographical work of historical fiction details the events the occurred during a month when he was eleven years old. Living in Memphis, TN in 1959, that includes racial tension issues as well as other events common during that time period (smoking, etc). Mr. Vawter initially wrote the book for a general audience but it was then reworked slightly to be marketed to a young adult audience.

I read this book aloud with and to 100 sixth graders during the last month of this school year. They were mesmerized. If you've ever spent any time with sixth graders during the last month of a school year, you will immediately recognize that holding their attention for any length of time is almost impossible - let alone doing it for an hour a day for 2 weeks. After showing them a video clip where Mr. Vawter reads the first several pages, we took turns reading it ourselves.

They could appreciate the fact that he writes of his stutter and the difficulties that came with that with such honesty and openness. His character portrayal and development completely engaged them. Yes, the female neighbor with the drinking problem and abusive relationship did make them uncomfortable - as it should have. Children this age come into contact with many people day in and day out and it is a valuable tool for them to read about situations that they can identify as unhealthy and then express their feelings about them.

Like our hero in the book, they were completely in love with Mam. Victor, being the same age as my students, was as real to them as the guys they eat lunch with or play with at recess.

I would encourage everyone to read this book. It is rare to have such an honest novel be approachable by young and old alike. I thank Mr. Vawter for his wonderful debut novel and the enriching experience it provided to my 100 students.

I stumbled upon this book while browsing my library's book catalog and thought it looked interesting enough. I thought it would be a simple story about a boy delivering papers, and was both surprised and impressed by how powerful this story was. I'm so glad I discovered this book, and would definitely recommend it. ****SPOILERS AHEAD****

This book begins with "Little Man" taking over his friend Rat's paper route. It seems simple enough, but Little Man has a stutter which makes life more difficult in his eyes. He meets different people, such as Mrs. Worthington and Mr. Spiro. Without directly saying so, Little Man develops a crush on Mrs. Worthington that eventually expands into empathy and concern for her. He realizes she has a drinking problem that stems from her abusive relationship with her husband. Little Man meets Mr. Spiro (one of my favorite characters besides Mam), who inspires him and treats him as a real person, instead of just a boy with a stutter. Little Man also interacts with Ara T, who is the novel's antagonist. Mam is Little Man's primary caretaker, and more of a parental figure than his own parents. We come to realize some secrets about his own family that causes Little Man to question more about the world around him.

I felt a connection to Little Man, and could not put the book down. I loved how even though Mam could be gruff, she really cared for him and loved him. Their bond and love was demonstrated during the final few scenes with Ara T. I also liked how even though Little Man's father was not really his father, he still took the time to be with him and treated him as his own. I liked that Little Man was able to recognize that too at his age, and appreciate it.

The whole story stuck with me after reading, and I kept thinking about it. I always say that I think it takes a lot more talent from an author to write a children's book that can impact adults as well. It gave me something to think about, in addition to being entertaining.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for all ages.

"Paperboy" is an excellent snapshot of a time gone by. It takes place in Memphis in 1959.

Victor Vollmer III is an eleven-year-old who has been defined by his stuttering problem and during the course of the story learns that he has many more strengths and attributes that overshadow his stuttering. It is an important look at someone who DOES stutter and learns to live with the disability.

It is a tale of the times, of racial tensions. But is also the tale of a young boy learning about himself, making friends, realizing how much he is loved, and standing up for himself and a loved one.

I enjoyed the young voice of the story and how much Victor's character is developed. I loved the character of Mam.

NOTE: This book is advertised for children ten years old and above. I think this age is too low and should be at least thirteen and above. While it is an excellent novel, it does touch on some subjects I wouldn't consider for younger readers.

This is a copy/paste from my Goodreads review.
He's no Henry Huggins. Paperboy, who goes unnamed throughout the entire story, is a sympathetic character; believable and consistent. A fine example of a boy scout. Heterosexual, thanks to his questionable infatuation with a grown married woman, (Henry had the very sober Mrs. Peabody but never crushed on her) honorable, obedient, physically and morally strong, Paperboy strives to do the right thing at all times. Still, he needed a Ramona Quimby to follow him around, causing trouble. He didn't interact much with kids his own age. Most eleven year olds I know are too caught up in their own carefree childhood to care much about the activities of grown-ups.
The story is told entirely without quotation marks and because he speaks with a stammer, I started reading around the s-s-s-s that cluttered up all of his sentences as he struggled to talk to all the grown-ups he encountered.
He introduces his story by mentioning a stabbing, which isn't revealed until the climax so the middle part of the story is filled with a lot of unnecessary plot complications such as Mrs. Worthington's drinking problems, dysfunctional marriages, the boy's questioning of his paternity which is never answered, and I wanted more on Mr. Spiro's background and family dynamics. The story reads like a mystery but it's just historical fiction, gently told.
This is a Newberry Honor book and deserving of its award as it has good plot, characterization and a believable ending but I wouldn't recommend it for elementary school age children as it contains some swearing and mild violence, especially during the encounter at the end.

The best stories are those written from experience, and Vince Vawter wrote one that reflected the struggle he lived with growing up with a stutter or any other form of speech impediment.

I cannot stress how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and following the journey of this Little Man (such was the nickname given to him by Mam). An eleven-year-old boy, with a really strong throwing arm, finds himself in the awkward position of having to take over his best friend's role as paperboy for a month while he's away on holiday. Following the route of his friend, he meets an array of people with their own unique qualities that draws them apart from everyone else. Such as the lady who drinks too much and seems to be going through marital problems, an old man who knows everything there is to know about the world and a family with a little boy who seems to watch way too much television.

There's also the neighborhood junkyard man, who steals from people, and has stolen several times from the paperboy himself. When he mentions it to Mam, the colored lady who lives with his family and looks after him, and also the only other person (aside from the old man who knows everything) who understands him and knows how to speak to him in a way that reduces his stutter, she decides to take matters into her own hand - leading to a whole lot of trouble.

I found this story absolutely beautiful. The depth of Vince Vawter's knowledge in dealing with a stutter made it all feel so very real to me. I felt like I knew this boy, and I wished I was there to try and understand him and listen to him and give him the time he needs to express himself. When the book ended and the boy was finally able to say his name out loud (a name that is very similar to Vince Vawter's name) I felt my eyes sting with unshed tears of pride for him. And when I read Vawter's note at the end, it left me feeling like I've just read his own story, his own journey, of how he grew up and dealt with a stutter.

That feeling made the story resound so much louder in my mind, and I was thinking of it long after I've read it.

The paperboy stutters. He has difficulty uttering his own name, which begins with V-- a sound difficult to make. The paperboy is known as Little Man. Not until the very end does the author, Vince Vawter, disclose the paperboy's name--Victor Volmer--in the book "Paperboy" (Delacorte 2012).
In 1959 Memphis, 11 year old Little Man has taken over the paper route of his best friend who is vacationing with cousins. Needing a tool to cut the cord of bundled papers, Little Man takes his knife to the junkman/knife sharpener, Ara T, in spite of being warned to steer clear of him. Ara T, an adult bully, will not return the boy's knife unless he says his own name. Little Man can't do it.
Little Man assigns new names to those difficult to say. His best friend Art becomes Rat. The protagonist uses a technique called Gentle Air, breathing an s-s-s sound in order to voice difficult-to-say words--of which there are many. The reader is shown the challenge a stuttering kid must overcome in order to speak, to read aloud in class, and how those efforts result in being teased and taunted.
His paper route customers provide relationships, which lead to Little Man's maturity. A learned merchant marine, Mr. Spiro, calls the boy Messenger when he shows up to collect the weekly paper fee. Spiro offers pithy dollops of wisdom such as Voltaire's: "Speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts." Spiro gives Messenger one part of a torn and quartered dollar bill each week, with one word written on each piece. Along with the protagonist we wait to solve the mystery of the four words.
Another client is the beautiful whisky-drinking Mrs. Worthington. Our boy is infatuated and concerned about her relationship with an abusive husband. We are drawn to find out the outcome.
His closest ally is Mam, his (white) family's (black) maid. Together, Mam and Little Man confront the dangerous Ara T, risking their lives in a seedy part of Memphis where we learn about the self-governing justice system in this African American community.
Thank heavens Little Man excels at pitching a baseball. This gives him much needed confidence and an arena in which he is highly respected.
I loved the details shown of childhood as when Vawter writes, "I ran from lamppost to lamppost without stopping like I was running the bases." The lampposts might tag him out. (I'd have been running from tree to tree as an Indian avoiding the cavalry).
Just as the paperboy carefully chooses words according to their starting sound--such as saying story rather than book with it's difficult b sound--Vawter carefully chooses his words. We understand when he says, "...the D sound stuck tight in my throat like a tennis ball in a chain-link fence."
Vawter knows his setting as only one who has lived it--details such as which streets had less traffic on Saturdays. This beautiful story is clearly personal to its author, yet universal for his readers.

Patricia Hruby Powell is a nationally touring speaker, dancer, storyteller, occasional librarian, and children's book author. See more on-line at [...]

This book was suggested for readers of The Help or To Kill a Mockingbird. I would say that their press release is a little high-minded, but I would compare it to The Watson's Go to Birmingham or Lizzie Bright and the Buckminister Boy. I also started not to get this book to read because the back cover starts with, "An eleven-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 throws the meanest fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ball game." I was not really interested in reading a story about baseball. This book is not about baseball.

One of the most important things you need to know about Victor as you start reading is that he stutters. One of the most important things you will remember about Victor as you finish reading is how he learned to overcome, not his stutter, this is no fairytale it is real-life, but his mortification when he was required to talk. Victor is one of those characters who stays in your head long after you close the book. What Victor learned from other people when he took over his friend's paper route for a month changed his life. He had lived the protected life of a child unexposed to the harsh realities of life like racism, alcoholism, and thievery. Real friends helped him understand these evils and deal with the problems he faced in trying to communicate with customers on the route and other personal problems.

The author of this book calls it "certainly more memoir than fiction". I really enjoyed reading this book and found that it made it that much more enjoyable to find that the author wrote it from his own story.

Paperboy is a semi-autographical novel written by Vince Vawter who spent one month of his childhood as a paperboy in Memphis at a time when segregation was in it's last days and having a stutter was enough to make you a social outcast.

We only discover our character's name toward the end of the book since his own name is almost impossible for him to say. But, even without his name, we get to know young Vince as he tries to think through why he has the stutter that makes life so difficult for him. The majority of the novel is the thoughts that he finds so hard to verbalize but through them we get a vivid and deeply sad view of what it must be like to grow up with a severe speech impediment.

The novel is populated with many colorful characters. The most vivid of these is Mam, a fiery and firm Nanny who is fierce in her love and protection of the boy but chooses her battles carefully. Rosa Parks and the stand on the bus would have already taken place nearly 4 years before the story but standing up for her right to sit in the front of the bus or to be treated as an equal is not something Mam chooses to do. However, she unblinkingly throws herself into harms way to protect our paperboy. Ara T is a junkman who teeters on the edge of sanity and is a threat to the boy. A sad, mostly tipsy, housewife and a philosophical and verbose merchant marine are other characters that Vince encounters and gets to know on his paper route. A character who barely makes an appearance but whose importance is huge in the boy's life is his friend Art - or Rat as he calls him. The fact that Vince has a friend is of great value and is something that any child with a disability will envy. If only all our children had that one accepting friend in their lives!

There is an adventure in this story; albeit not a very grand one. The main journey is the one that takes place in Vince's mind as he comes to terms with his stutter, with a discovery of the word 'Unknown' on his birth certificate where his father's name should be and a deeper understanding of his worth beyond his ability to speak clearly.

I would recommend this book for middle schoolers and above. The sexuality of the older woman being seductive with the boy puts it firmly out of elementary school range for me even though the language is simple enough for a younger child who reads well. The racial element is also something that needs an older reader and the n-word is used once, albeit in a necessary setting.

I do not think this book is entirely perfect. I found the formatting very distracting and the lack of quotation marks did not help things at all. These are techniques that are popular today but they did not help the flow of the book. The book leaves many questions unanswered. Vince does not address who his father may actually be even though he decides that the man who is raising him with such love is the one he owes more to than simply a biological parent. There are 4 words on a dollar bill that Mr Spiro hands to Vince - Student, Servant, Seller and Searcher - and there is no clear explanation of what they mean.

Despite it's deficits though, this is an excellent book about an excellent subject and I would recommend it highly.

Oh, how I enjoyed this book! Even though I don't stutter, there were other topics touched upon that many children suffer from: being labeled "weird" or "retarded" and it is not unique to late 1950s segregated America. While written from an eleven-year-old boy's point of view, the many topics covered are ideal for classroom discussion, or even discussion among a family gathering.

First, there is Victor's severe stuttering. But when this sixth-grader-almost seventh-grader takes over a paper route for a month for a friend of his, he learns a lot about himself and others. He learns that we all have our weaknesses and strengths, and along with that, he learns to accept himself. His self-image increases. He learns about injustices and he learns about self-defense. He learns that we all have things to be proud of.

While the reader learns a few tricks that stutterers may use, it also helps the reader see how people with speech impediments deal with the image on a daily basis. And how other strengths we all have can literally save the day...or a life.

Second, while Victor shares with the reader how he copes with his disability, he also learns about other peoples' disabilities. He learns from people along the paper route that all is not normal. There's the housewife with alcohol issues. There's the gentle retired Merchant Marine with secrets of his own. There is the homeless junkyard man. There is child molestation and attempted murder. It's almost too much for one summer but how author Vince Vawter covers these is almost too subtle.

Underneath all this is the 1950s theme of racial segregation. Why is his servant Mam beaten up? Why must she ride in the back of the bus unless he is with her? All these topics are introduced gently, and the pacing from chapter to chapter just tense enough to get the reader turning the pages. This is supposed to be for teen readers, but the theme is well understood by older readers, too.

This book should be made into a movie. It's that good. And it certainly would be more original than what I've seen Hollywood produce in the last few years.

The dialogue and storytelling are marvelous. Simply the perfect & precious ending you could want.

I think this is more suited older children ages 11 and 12 owing to themes of alcoholism and violence and racism.

Even though 11 year old Victor Vollmer the third or III, has the best fastball in town there's not a whole lot of baseball in the book. Poor kid,like a stutter isn't bad enough, he has to deal with the evil of the world before he is a teenager. I commend the author for touching on stigmas and the impact they had 54 years ago, it's nice that some no longer exist.

Vince takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of July. He'll need to talk to the customers which will be a problem as his stutter prevents him from having the most basic conversations.

Because of his stutter the people who Vince feels most comfortable are:

"Mam" aka Miss Nellie Avent, she is the black maid who came to live with the family when he was five.

"Rat" Arthur/Art is his best friend.

On his paper route he meets or sees all sorts of new people:

There's `TV boy' who never fails to be watching TV when Vince comes (lol - that was me!).

There's tipsy and beautiful Mrs. Worthington who Vince has a wee crush for and a lot of empathy with.

Mr. Spiro, who becomes another person in Vince's life who understands him like Mam & Rat.

I found it interesting that even in 1959 parents forbid their children from going into people's homes on their own.

FYI - the author Notes that he also stutters and has since he was a young child.

Violence looms when Vince is warned to stay away from the loose cannon, Ara T. Mam has said he is bad news, but Vince gives AraT his knife to sharepn and Ara T refuses to it back. Uginess follows but good prevails.

Can I just say that if the author wants to write a book about Mam I will take 5 copies.

This book is written as if the 11-year-old protagonist, Victor "Little Man" Vollmer, typed it himself. He tells you right off he doesn't like commas, and is not going to use them. That didn't bother me, even though I thought it would; I actually didn't even notice them missing. But what I did notice was missing and what did bother me, was the lack of quotation marks when writing dialogue. That drove me nuts at first! However, the more I got into the story, the less I noticed the missing quotation marks.

It was very easy to become absorbed with the story, too. The author, Vince Vawter, states in the author's notes that the book is more memoir than fiction, and that's probably why it is such is a unique story. It begins in Memphis in the summer of 1959, when Little Man is in-between elementary school and junior high. For a month, he is taking over the newspaper route of his best friend, Rat, who is on vacation. The title of the book reflects that fact, as well as the fact that Little Man stutters, and is much more comfortable writing or typing on paper than speaking.

During that summer, Little Man meets two subscribers on the route who change the way he thinks about his life and the world. One is a very pretty, usually very drunk woman who gives him attention and even flirts with him. He's very confused about what to make of his feelings about her, and it is both amusing and touching to read his thoughts about the matter. The second person he meets is a retired merchant marine with a house full of books, who ends up being the first adult Little Man can talk to in a philosophical way about life. Whenever he brought up life issues before that time, he was always told about God's will and such, and that didn't work for him. He didn't understand why God would not cure him of stuttering.

Another very important person to Little Man in the story, is the black maid, Miss Nellie Avent, who has taken care of him since he was five years old. He's much closer to her than he is to his mother, who Little Man sees as being self-centered. During that summer, Little Man not only becomes more disturbed about the Jim Crow laws in Memphis, but also realizes that black people can't go to the police for help when they are victims of crime. In her effort to protect Little Man and get back what was stolen from him, Miss Avent becomes a victim of violence twice during that summer, so I'm not sure what age group should be reading this book. There is also a little profanity. Parents of young children may want to read it first.

It is a good book for children to read, however. Adult readers, especially those who grew up at the time Little Man did, should find it a good read, too. There's a black and white snapshot in the back of the book of Mr. Vawter when he was eight years old. He's got a crew cut and is sitting in front of a typewriter, with a big smile on his face. That little boy never totally overcame stuttering, but he grew up to be both a fine newspaper man and a fine author of a children's book.

What a wonderful and peculiar little book this is! I was immediately drawn to it because of the Memphis setting. I lived there for 6 years while in college. However, I was also intrigued because the lead character is a young boy who stutters.

The book is written from his point-of-view and in his own personal language as he describes how he struggles to communicate with his peers, parents, and other grown ups. I, too, have a speech impediment which caused me great isolation in school, so I could easily relate.

The boy, who remains nameless until the end of the book, takes up his friend's paper route while he is on summer vacation. On the route, he worries about having to speak to his customers. He befriends an older man who takes the time to get to know him and shares stories with him. He witnesses a lady who has a drinking problem and odd situations in her household. The boy also has problems with a junk collector who steals from the boy. There's a lot going on in this book, but such is the life of a young boy his age.

We also see interactions with his parents, and an unusal conflict involving the boy's father. The boy is very close to Mam, the family maid, because she also understands him and communicates well with him. And we share his love for baseball; he has an excellent throwing arm! The book takes place in the late 1950s so we get a glimpse into the racial tensions of that era through the maid's eyes.

This book will frequently tug at your heart strings. It is written in a kid-friendly format with no quotations or commas (The boy explains why in the book!). Though the book is for ages 10 and up, I gave my copy to a coworker whose grandson is only 5 and has speech problems. I suggested she share it with him one day. This is a great book for any kid who has felt bullied or isolated because of an impediment. I highly recommend!

The story opens "I'm typing about the stabbing. I can't talk."

The 11 year old hero can talk but his stutter makes him frustrated getting his thoughts into words. He is sworn to secrecy about the stabbing so it seems natural he'd turn to the old manuel typewriter to write out and try to understand what happened. (I'm not going to go into that here though much of the story relates to it.)

It's Memphis in 1959. The youngster is substituting for a month on the paper route of his best friend. In this YA book the arc of the story is like that of most herocentric fiction. Hero journeys (literally as he goes his paper route rounds), encounters adventures, challenges, and danger to end up a wiser person with a new appreciation of his strengths.

An adult reader will probably be more aware of the structure of the arc because it's pretty straight forward story telling. Nonetheless the simplicity of the writing in the voice of a thoughtful budding teenager keeps the reader interested. It's 50+ years ago so there's a time machine feel to watching the simplicity of life then.

The boy meets different people on the route. Mr. Spiro who lives in a house full of books and takes seriously the boy's beginning to grapple with questions of how to live. There's Mrs. Worthington, a young red-head, to whom the boy feels confused about the protectiveness she arouses in him when he sees her drinking or crying.

The boy's parents are caring and attentive to his needs but busy professionally (dad) and socially (mom). So it's the Black woman he calls Mam who is the emotional center of his life. She came to live with the family when he was 5 and he writes "...one thing's for sure. I wouldn't have made it this far without her."

With the central place of Mam in the story it perhaps would have been unnatural if the interaction between races in l959 Tennessee were ignored. So there are set pieces like the boy questioning why Mam can sit in the front of the bus when she's with him but not when she's alone.

But the author goes beyond the cliched colored-lady-raising-white-folks-kid and has the boy -- and reader -- experience the realities of segregated Black life in that era as a fully functional culture.

I don't know how today's 11 year old would relate to this book about a kid without internet and personal phone. A parent or teacher might use it as a trip in that time machine to start discussing the universality of some human needs, struggles, accomplishments.

Paperboy is the story of "Little Man". He lives with a stutter and uses a typewriter to express his thoughts. He doesn't like commas, and refuses to use them. When his friend "Rat" leaves for part of the summer, Little Man takes over his route. His biggest worry is when he has to talk to the customers on payday. He's learned many tricks to help him talk better and he does his best to work around his words. He meets several people on his route that open up his world.

This book reminded me a little of Twerp, which I read not too long ago. I really enjoy "coming of age" stories like that, so it was a pleasant surprise. Paperboy is actually a large part memoir. Knowing that automatically warms me to the book more! I've also saw Paperboy compared The Help, except for a younger crowd. I haven't read The Help, but I can definitely see how the comparison would fit from the little part of the movie I watched.

It takes place in 1959, when segregation is still happening. "Mam" works for his family, and helps take care of Little Man in a variety of ways. He uses up quite a few words on her, since he loves her so much.

Overall, this was an entertaining "coming of age" story that will either open your mind to the world of stuttering or offer some encouragement for those dealing with it.

Content:

Despite enjoying "coming of age" stories, unfortunately, there's typically a price to be paid for them.

There is mild profanity throughout(about 4 words, best I remember). There's also violence, which includes a fight in a bar and a stabbing. There's different little parts that seem like it was written for the adults reading the book. I would hope some things would go over the intended age group's heads.

Due to those issues, I recommend this for older/more mature readers.

As an adult I loved this book. Not a whole lot happens during the one-month span in 1959 that a eleven-year old boy takes over his friend's paper route, but it gave me a little insight into the struggles of a child with a stutter. My concern is that I don't really know who to recommend it to. The recommended age range is 10 and up. However, it deals with many concepts (two women are beaten, one woman gets drunk and "comes onto" the eleven-year old protagonist, there are racial issues like school desegregation and even one use of the "n" word) that would make me uncomfortable handing the book to someone that age without lots of discussion. Most of these are topics that children should be taught about from their parents (except the "coming on" to the boy, which I wish had been omitted), so if a parent read this with their child it could be a good learning tool, but otherwise I think it would just confuse them and without a proper basis could give them incorrect ideas of right and wrong. The stuttering issue is handled in an age-appropriate manner, but the racial and other social parts really need parent involvement.

7th Grade Student

This book won a Newbery Honor. This book probably won this award because of its unique characters and suspenseful storyline. For example, every week when the paperboy visits the sea merchant, he receives ¼ of a $1 bill which says one word beginning with the letter S describing the boy such as the word student. Also, the action with the junkman attacking the boy keeps you on the edge of your seat. The most suspenseful part in my opinion is when you find out what the paperboy’s real name is. I really enjoyed all the characters in the book and the boy has a great personality. This book really makes you root for the boy and helps you to understand what it’s like to be a “weird kid”. I give this book a perfect 5 stars! :)
--H

There is a stateliness about this novel's prose in which words are not wasted. Early in the novel, the protagonist states that he does not like commas and, true to form, I don't think there is a single comma in the entire book. There are, however, many blank spaces ---white space ---between paragraphs. The narrator does not like to pause, but he does like to collect his thoughts. And he chooses his words very carefully.

I found the story to be interesting, but not really gripping. I would not recommend this book to a reluctant reader, however I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone interested in stuttering or boyhood in the mid 20th century South. There are some rather exciting scenes, but most of the book moves fairly slow pace.

There were certain situations which were difficult to read with my modern sensibilities. I kept expecting something dreadful to happen. However it appears that in the past, children could go into strange men's homes and nothing particularly outrageous would happen. On the other hand, a Mrs. Robinson character turned out to be just as dangerous as I had expected. The most dangerous character in the book was someone who seemed at first to be rather innocuous and a very minor character.

All in all, a worthwhile read, especially for those interested in the subject.

Well written story with solid, believably developed characters. Victor's Vollmer, an 11 year old boy with a significant stutter is worthy of both sympathy and respect. In taking on his friend's newspaper route for 4 weeks, he bravely exposes his handicap and vulnerability with determination. Victor draws his support and encouragement from non-family characters. He grows personally by meeting the challenges he faces and gives back love and courage during an event that puts him in physical danger. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Couldn't help but notice that both the author and the main character have the same initials, VV.

There are many things to like about this book. The simple, direct and descriptive prose isn't muddled or forced. The story is accessible and moving and -- although is about a stutterer -- it could just as easily be about a child with dyslexia or dysgraphia or another another impediment that makes it hard for someone to express themselves in spoken/written word. There is the right amount of complexity to keep a reader interested - and none of it feels trite, sophomoric -- or predictable. I highly recommend.

"Paperboy" is one of those quietly thoughtful books I see teachers getting excited over, teaching in class... and I also hope students appreciate just as much if not more. I do think kids will. This is not a book heavy in instructed meaning, but rather one that rejoices in simplicity and understatement.

Vawter picks for his young hero a boy with an interesting dilemma: he stutters so much he can't even say his own name. In fact, for the vast majority of the novel he is simply himself, the paperboy, subbing for his vacationing friend's route. The setting is Memphis during a supposedly much simpler time, though the Paperboy's month is far from simple. He develops a crush on a beautiful alcoholic housewife and befriends a world traveler.

This is a novel to savor. The first page explains the book's lack of commas, and it's details like that making this book such a worthy and thoughtful read.

The way segregation and speech impediments are dealt with in this story are well-done. The weird storyline with the neighbor woman who is attracted to Vincent? I could have done without that. I think this was a decent - though not excellent - attempt at a contemporary To Kill A Mockingbird, and while it was good, it couldn't touch the writing, depth, and skill of that work. I felt like the author tried to introduce a lot of hard topics, but did so from the perspective of an adult rather than a child... which might have worked, if the narrator hadn't been an eleven-year-old boy.

So, yes, I liked it and am glad to have it on our shelf. However, if I were still teaching middle school, I wouldn't consider this well-crafted enough to include in my instruction.

Set in 1959 Memphis, Paperboy is a coming of age story about a boy who stutters but takes on a summer task where he find he'll have to communicate with many customers of his paper route. We can all relate to being different and having to overcome challenges we dread to improve who we become. Paperboy is a great tale for adolescent and teenage readers alike and should join the classics of old as a updated refreshing approach to handling those issues that life throws in our path.

Personally I was able to connect with Paperboy having grown up with a parent who stuttered. In my youth I also stuttered a bit but not as frequently as my father. It is refreshing to see a modern tale pick up this issue so today's youth learns that these differences just make each of us unique, they do not affect who the person really is inside.

The narrator of 'Paperboy' has a lot going for him; he's loved, intelligent, a good athlete, and it's summer vacation. However, he stutters. The stutter is a big part of his life and keeps him from realizing how many great things he has going for him. In the summer of 1959 he just wants to hang out, play baseball, read books, and take over his friend's paper route for a few weeks. It's because of the paper route that he gets mixed up with a trash can digger who isn't as nice as our narrator thinks. What starts as a meandering memoir turns into a page-turner of societal wrongs, violent people, and the quest for knowledge.

'Paperboy' is a moving story that will absorb your attention more with every chapter. When the story is over you'll find yourself wishing it was longer.

(3.5 stars) This book takes place in Memphis during the summer of 1959. Victor Vollmer is 11 years old. Miss Nellis Avent, who he calls Mam, has lived with his family and taken care of him since he was 5 years old. She also refers to him as Little Man, and we actually don't know his name throughout most of the book. His best friend is Art, who he has nicknamed Rat. We learn early on that Victor has a stuttering problem so he gives people nicknames since some letters are more difficult to sound out than others.

Rat leaves for a month and has asked Victor to take over his paper route. He agrees and knows that the throwing will be easy but collecting the money every Friday afternoon won't be and has his stomach tied in knots, but he's determined to do it.

It was interesting reading about Victor's stuttering and how that affected him. He got to know the different people on Art's paper route and he changed his opinion on some of them as he got to know them better. It took a while to get to the part about his relationship with the neighborhood junkman, Ara T. Ara T is a bit scary and is generally left alone but Victor has his reasons for getting involved with him.

I read this with my children and we all enjoyed it. They learned that even though Victor outwardly stuttered, he still had so much going on in his head and was just a regular boy. It was fun to discuss with them the days when newspapers were thrown by young boys in the afternoons, typewriters were used and there were no cell phones.

I did enjoy this book but I'm glad I read it with my children so I could do some editing. There is violence and swearing, including use of the "b" word a few times near the beginning. He also has a weird relationship with an older woman who drinks a lot and I wasn't sure where that was going to go. A good coming-of-age story with some content to be aware of!

I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.

This is a story of a 11 years old that has a big problem but can throw a mean fastball. This book talks about Empathy, and taught me that everyone is different from one another. Also that people can over come there problems but it may take time, and along the way you can make many friends and many enemies. In this book I learned that this boy had perseverance and pride. But even through this boys paper route and tough times he makes friends and learns a valuable lesson along the way.

The paperboy touches my heart. This book is about the pain of being young and being unsure of yourself, whether that pain comes from stuttering or it comes from being fat or any other things that make us feel like we don't fit in. If we aren't sure what those things are then you can be sure that our peers will remind us and bring it to our attention. Those years are so cruel.
The story of the paperboy is directed to children 10 years old and up. This book is 240 pages long.
I highly recommend that you purchase this book. This story is rife with opportunity for parents or caretakers to help with a few life lessons. Growing up is tough. Remember?

My 10 year olds and I are listening to this in the car right now, so I haven’t seen the punctuation errors in the written version nor have we finished the book. However, as a speech therapist I find the accuracy of the boy’s thoughts and experiences around stuttering very authentic and well written. It has given my boys a better idea of that aspect of my job. I’m excited to share excerpts of the book with students who stutter who I am working with now and those whom I will work with in the future!

I can see why people would like, and perhaps even love, PAPERBOY, but for some reason I failed to make a connection with the book.

The premise was good. We have a young boy moving into young manhood. Because he stutters he's somewhat misunderstood. The story takes off when he temporarily takes over a friend's paper route. He meets people that intrigue him, and who start to get him to think about his life in the future. And unfortunately he also meets up with dangerous handyman. A person who takes his knife to sharpen and who decides not to give it back.

The Memphis setting is intriguing. I think the author lays the groundwork in bringing to light the contrasting worlds that co-existed at that time. There was a world of privilege, and then there was the 'other' world that existed that made the highlife possible. I only wish that the tragedy of the inequality had been more fully developed.

But what really worked against my being drawn into the story was the pacing. The beginning was slow and this kept me from forming attachments to the characters, who were interesting, but somehow lacking depth. For me, it was one of those rare circumstances where I felt I 'knew' the characters, but didn't care about them.

A short read, this is a book worth checking out if you are an adult that likes period literature. Personally, I think it's a story more likely to appeal to adults than younger readers because of the pacing. Navigating Early is a book I'd recommend to middle-graders.

Paperboy is a child who can not talk fluently, unlike me. He stutters, and that makes his life miserable. Living in the time when black people were disrespected…made his life even harder. His so called teacher, Mam, IS a black person. And a run in with the neighborhoods junkman changes his life forever.
Ara T. is a rude person, even in his childhood. Mam's brother was drowned in a river, which was Ara T.'s fault. Mam + Ara T. almost die!!!!(That's THE spoiler.)
Great and awsome read, I encourage you to read it.

Thx,
~ Tayeou

A beautiful story for older children. Set against the backdrop of Jim Crow, this is the story of a young boy who is beginning to learn about life. Over the course of the novel he comes to understand that we all have strengths and weaknesses, that there is injustice and pain in the world, and that he has worth and can make a difference in the lives of others. A faithful portrayal of what it is like to struggle with stuttering, and a great story of beginning to come-of-age. I think this children's book has big screen potential-- it is complex, full of heart, and rings true.

In "Paperboy", Vince Vawter gives readers a novel filled with characters who are compassionate and who empathize with others. The narrator, an eleven-year old youth, has a speech impediment; self-conscious about his stuttering, he often observes life rather than fully participating in it. When his friend, Rat, asks the narrator to take over his paper route while Rat is on vacation, the narrator reluctantly agrees to do so. Set in Memphis during 1959, "Paperboy" touches on segregation; domestic violence; alcoholism; and other sensitive social topics that were then seldom discussed.

Vawter does a masterful job developing the narrator's character and his maturation throughout the novel. Shown compassion by his family's housekeeper, Mam, and one of the customers on his friend's paper route, the youth is able to extend that compassion to others. Protected by Mam, he attempts to intervene when she is in danger. Only when he finds his voice through poetry and accepts that what he has to say is important rather than how his speech sounds does the narrator finally give the reader his name.

"Paperboy" is a novel that readers of all ages may enjoy. Conservative readers will be pleased that, in writing "Paperboy", Vawter has used no offensive language. However, there are scenes of violence and subtle sexuality that may be upset some individuals. These deftly handled elements are necessary to developing the character and the storyline. Nevertheless, the novel would not have been less compelling had the seduction scene been omitted. It is the one area that makes this a questionable recommendation with respect to younger 'tween readers.

Many others have written great reviews of this book...I am not sure what I can add to it. It is a heart touching story about a boy who stutters and is forced to deal with his feelings of fear and inadequacy as he gets into situations where he must talk.

The content of the story is for the more mature teen perhaps...the issues of seduction and violence are not suitable for younger readers. That said, it is well written and givecs great insight into the life of a person who lives with this life challenge.

Paperboy by Vince Vawter is a very good story, and well told. This is a book written for juvenile readers, and that is exactly why the rating isn't higher.

The description of this book by the store is somewhat accurate. There are several books that take place in the segregated south that are classic and heartfelt reads. These days they are mostly read by adults or young adults. This allows them to understand that some of the language and situations in those classics is unacceptable today. This book does have some similarities to them. While there are no nasty words used, the references to colored help is not something that we need to perpetuate, in my opinion. It is a fine point that I believe only the most sophisticated of juvenile readers would completely understand, and then only with some serious discussion with parents, and not just because of the racial issues. I became uncomfortable with the story line where an adult neighbor shows too much attention to young Vincent. Admittedly, that might be a personal sensitivity, but it needs to be mentioned.

If the target group for this book was older, I wouldn't hesitate to give this one more star. It is a story of friendship, love and overcoming challenges. The young main character has a depth of understanding and maturity that is laudable. He has a support system in place that helps him to overcome many obstacles and challenges. There is a decent story here. So adult readers of juvenile targeted fiction should add this one to their list. I wouldn't recommend it for the targeted age group at all.

This is heartwarming story about a young boy who is terrified of speaking because of his stutter. He learns valuable lessons about what is important in communication one hot summer in Memphis when he agrees to be a substitute on his friend's paper route. He encounters caring people, needy people, and evil people in the 1950s culture of the segregated south that help him come to grips with his stutter.

Paperboy is a great book for any age, but I'd say especially for ages 9 and up. The struggles Little Man endures with his stutter and relationships with elders are really expertly woven in a very readable and contemplative way. Knowing that the author has dealt with a stutter his entire life gives it a more personal feeling, and you truly believe this could have been a non-fiction telling of a boy's struggles in 1959 Memphis. Definitely a recommended read!

I enjoyed this story about a child in one of his most difficult times in his life. A 12-14 year old child has many changes happening in their life. To have to deal with a handicap such as stuttering must be so very difficult. I liked how the author gave the boy some very good role models and confidants in his life. I thought the boy was very brave to go anywhere near AraT. I enjoyed the time period as well. It is a good reminder of how things were in the south in the late fifties/early sixties.

This book is as much poetry as fiction. Poems dressed up in baseball in plot. Images and emotions sucking you onto the page. A wonderfully sneaking way to open children up to words working in new and exciting ways.

It's also a historical setting, taking children back to another time, at once simpler and more complex, with a boy hero taking on new responsibilities and learning to see with new eyes all while finding his voice.

Lovingly crafted, poetic, and quite real.

Bought this book hoping to get my reluctant 12 year old boy to read something other than fantasy.
He could barely put it down.
Loved it he said.
Zoomed through the pages and thought it was a fun interesting story.

I liked the the meaning behind the story.
Little did he know it has more of a message that the other stuff he reads.

Very nice book flows well the story is easy to relate to different characters in the book.

Beautiful novel strongly evoking the writing of James Agee, although unique to Vawter. I would disagree with many who have commented that the subject matter is to adult for children to grasp. I read this to my children (ages 11, 10 and 6) over the period of two weeks and with some time to explain things like segregation, alcoholism and poverty, the book was in no way disturbing or too advanced for them. The way Vawter manages to express the clarity of a young person's mind is really striking. My kids loved it and so did I.

I am reading this book to my 8 and 10 year old children. I was drawn to this book initially because of the child who has an obvious disability, hoping it would talk about how he overcame and persevered through hard work and dedication. But instead it got a bit off track with the topic of older women and racial issues, all of which I am sure were happening in the south in those days, but honestly I couldn't see why they needed to be included for this supposed book for 10+, when it started off about a paper route! This would not have been a book I simply handed to them to read through, which from the cover might not have been completely clear. It needs a bit more context and maybe even a bit of editing, which I am happy to do. In general, a nice book but could have been better.

This sweet memoir tells the story of a young man who takes over a friend's paper route one summer and has a whole bunch of adventures. He stutters, so this impacts how he communicates on the outside, but not how he thinks on the inside. I would love a sequel so he can reconnect with Mr. Spoto.

i listened to an audio version of this book and was fascinated by the story as well as the reader. Who was Awesome. i liked how the story grew subtly drawing me in slowly, never forcing the story just dangling wonderful prose. I enjoyed the characters, especially Little Man and Mam his best friend and maid. It got really scary and exciting as it drew to the end in a nice twist that highlighted the characters bravery.

Loved the story about an 11 year old boy in Memphis who did a paper route for a friend during the summer. The book centered on a time in history where race issues were heating up. Very family centered and enjoyed the stories related to the people he delivered papers to.

I was going to compliment the author on his poetic skill before I even realized that he was a stutterer himself. There is a brief interview with him at the end of the CD on audiobook. He has overcome stuttering and he proves that stutterers can be extremely intelligent people. This could easily be a movie.

I'm proud of this young paperboy who takes over the route of his friend for the month of July. He encounters several adults with various personal issues. He gains confidence from some of them and learns about true life from others. He discovers something in that box in his mother's closet, but he turns it into "love" vs. bitterness and hatred. He's proud of his achievements and Mam is a great character to give him confidence and assurance. I wish his parents would be more involved in his life, but he doesn't like to share as he wants to work out the issues himself. Well worth purchasing for our church library.

I rented this book from the library, and wasn't really that interested in it at first. Toward the end it was dramatic and really intrigued you. It's Newberry worthy (I can see how they love it) but I thought Newberry was supposed to be for kids. But maybe not.
In conclusion, this book left me on cliffhangers at times, and I loved it.

I liked this book it was a good read. I loved that it dealt with a kid and told of his dealing with his stuttering problem over a summer in 1959. The characters are very interesting and it brings to light numerous issues that were going on at the time and are still going on. It brings up racism, drinking, spousal abuse and other topics but I felt it really didnt resolve all of the issues it just kind of briefly mentioned them. Overall a good story but I definetly wouldnt compare to TO Kill A Mockingbird.

Great story for adolescents or anyone of any age!

Vawter uniquely writes about a boy growing up in the late 1950s. He deals with the responsibility of being a substitute paperboy, family, racism, his speech problem, and a stabbing. Great book!

When Vince takes over a friend's paper route for a month, he embarks on a journey much bigger than a walk around the neighborhood. "More memoir than fiction," according to the author, Paperboy has a lot to say about friendship, family, love, and trust. You won't be disappointed.

This was a great book in every respect. I really enjoyed the characters Vince met along his paper route. The novel really showed that we all have some cross to bear, and we need to accept it, make the best of it and not let it define us as a human being.

Loved this book. My son had to read for school and to help him we used the audio version with the book to follow along. We fell in love with the story. I found myself crying over this brave boy's courage and love for Mam, the housekeeper. I loved the paperboy's thought on exploring his faith and how Mam influence him. What an excellent read. I want to read it again for myself. I will recommend this book to my other 2 younger kids. Looking forward to letting them discover the wonderful story that unfolds.

I have read nearly every middle grade novel under the sun, so I have become quite accustom to the favorited story lines of the category. Some middle grade novels are wonderful and unique and others feel like you've read them a million times. This was the later. I would not have finished it, and I rarely give up on books, it I did not have to read it for school. The plot lines are flimsy and never come to satisfying fruition. The characters are all stereotypical to novels aimed at this age group for this genre. None of them behave in rational human ways. Also, you should be warned that the character refuses to follow proper punctation rules under the guys of the character's preference despite it not being written in journal form. If the author had chosen a more concise format and point of view it would have helped the story. I was disappointed in this book as I had read so many other middle grade novels set in this time period that were lovely. If you're looking for a better alternative read The Lions of Little Rock or Glory Be.

This book is a must-read for tweens. It's a compelling and thoughtful story about a boy with a disability. Little Man's introspection about his disability and how he approaches/struggles with/begins to understand it, is beautifully portrayed. The book allows readers (especially children) to see into the heart and mind of a child with a disability - and might just get those readers to bring compassion to their interactions with those managing a disability. I look forward to Mr. Vawter's next novel.

I understand that it is a kid telling the story. And I get that he doesn't punctuate properly. But for me, it was hard to read dialogue that was not in quotation marks. I know that lots of writers have taken liberties with punctuation to great effect. I just really did not like it here.

That said, I really enjoyed the story. I worry a little when a book is compared with "To Kill a Mockingbird". It just seems like setting the new book up for failure. But "Paperboy" held it's own. The main character's otherness is a good foil for the social issues (and criminal consequences) of the story.

This book captured the challenges of speech impediments very well. I am a very articulate adult. But I still remember long hours working on my lisp. One of my greatest fears is that in a crunch I will revert to sounding like a drunk cartoon character. Hours in speech therapy and then later in competitions have done nothing to dull the fear of reaching for words that I can't say. That was perfectly conveyed.

I bought Paperboy for my son and couldn't put it down. Even though I didn't grow up in the 50s in the South, don't stutter, and am not a boy, this book managed to take me back, time-machine-like, to what it was to be eleven years old. My son (who did finally get to read it, too) said it was "awesome," and "one of the best books ever." This is an excellent, moving book about an awkward age--and we both loved it.

I think this book is offering a wonderful service to children who stutter and would certainly recommend it to a child (and parent) who wants to better understand. However, the story itself was not very compelling. The premise of taking over his friend's paper route for a month and the extra interaction and conversation that was going to require was a good one and the friendship that developed with Mr. Spiro was excellent. However, this book failed in other areas. The author tried to touch on the segregation in the South but it had absolutely nothing to do with the story line and felt very forced. And the story about the dispute with the junk man just didn't fit. So the kid did what he wasn't supposed to and entered into a business transaction with someone he was told not to trust and lost his knife as a result. Lesson learned. Certainly not tragic enough for the maid to go get herself beat up over.

I think this author made a good effort but came up short in the final product.

I would recommend this book to readers of all ages. I am a college student who read this for a class assignment and I am very glad I close this book. Vawter's story is a phenomenal story centering around a child who loves words but cannot express what he feels most the time. I enjoyed reading about the boy's growth as the summer went on, as he grew emotionally and in maturity. Quick and worthwhile read.

I wasn't sure I would like this book but it turned out to be one of my favorites. We listened to the audiobook on a long drive. I loved the characters and how the author built up a ton of suspense. It liked how the author didn't reveal his name until the very end. I would recommend this book to kids my age.

After a few horrifying experiences, I decided to read all the Newberry books before letting my kids read them. Seems a book must have a dead or crazy parent, or a suicidal pre-teen to qualify for the Newberry Award. This book touched on the angst common to kids who do not fit it, but made family still a good thing. A sad view into other adults messed up reality, due to sin.

Vince Vawter author of "Paperboy" declared in the Author's Notes that he stutters and has since he was a young child. I am sure that this book is near and dear to his heart.

The tension Victor Vollmer III, the 11 year old main character of this book, feels when he "has" to talk to his substitute newspaper route customers or even to his parents' friends and other children can actually be felt by the reader. His bag of tricks to verbally respond to questions and conversation is amazing considering that speech therapy was in it's infancy in the late 1950s.

I had agreed to review this for VineVoice because it appeared to be about "an eleven-year old boy....(who) throws the meanest fastball in town" and my 9 year old grandson is really into baseball. I thought it would be good for him to be exposed to the life of a child with a disability who had the same interest and strength in baseball as my grandson. I was disappointed that there was really very little about baseball in the book.

I also was disappointed with some of the content that is contained in this book as it is rated as for 10 year old children and up. The actual words are maybe at an appropriate level for a 10-11-12-13 year old but I don't think some of the themes - drunkenness, illegitimacy, murder, child-adult interaction are appropriate for that age group. The themes aren't blatant but certainly innuendos and would be more appropriate for a teen reader but then the wording would probably have to raised to a higher reading level.

Nice book. Really good written book. I suggest it for people 9 and up. Not a very good fit if you like books with action. Once again this book is a good fit if you like a well written book. A great book.

The Paperboy' started off slow, and at first, Pete Dexter's style of writing is off putting. The difficulty, I think, was that the writing came in the cadence of Southern thought and vernacular. What is easy to follow as spoken word is sometimes not as easily understood when written down. However, once you become acclimated, the story takes off. It grows on you, like the James brothers do, and you realize at the end that this was not really a tale about a crime after all. It was about two brothers. We care about the case, of course. But we care more about the relationship between Ward and Jack, and their relationship with their father. The reporting side of it almost reads as a cautionary moral tale, but Dexter wisely lets the reader make their own decision.

'The Paperboy' was made into a film starring Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey. Watch it if you want, but I don't advise it. The book is much better and less trippy.