Book Review:

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Vawter, V. (2014). PAPERBOY. Yearling.

 

 

Plot Summary:

Little Man throws the meanest fastball in town. But talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering—not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend’s paper route for the month of July, he’s not exactly looking forward to interacting with the customers. But it’s the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, who stirs up real trouble in Little Man’s life.

 

 

Critical Analysis:

The theme of segregation underpins the novel but is not politicized in any way; rather, the author presents it as a series of very unfair and unjust situations that show the illogical principle that kept black and white people segregated at the time the novel was set. This book is Victor's big chance to get everything out there without hiding anything that's happened,  Because of this, the writing style is carefully worded—Victor's trying to make sure that everything is clear and readily understood. Victor writes about events in a clear chronological way, adding plenty of details and observations. The writing style reflects Victor's own personality—cautious and thoughtful. The tone of Paperboy is brutally honest because Victor wants the reader to understand what he's going through—and in telling his story in such a straightforward, truthful way, he comes across as a super trustworthy narrator. The thing about the Memphis that Victor knows so well is that it's a perfectly nice, safe place for white families to live, but it doesn't treat its black residents nearly as well. They have a whole lot of restrictions on them. But at the end of the book, it's clear that Memphis is changing. There's even talk of integrating the schools.

 

 

Review Excerpts:

Newbery Honor Award Winner
ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
A BookPage Best Children’s Book
A Junior Library Guild Selection

Kirkus Review: “An engaging and heartfelt presentation that never whitewashes the difficult time and situation as Little Man comes of age.”
 
School Library Journal: “Vawter portrays a protagonist so true to a disability that one cannot help but empathize with the difficult world of a stutterer.”

 

 

Connections:

Questions to discuss with students to extend the reading, they can get in groups and create a Padlet with their answers:

How does the author explain segregation to the reader without making it the central theme of the novel?

What was it about the paper route that brought out Victor's self-confidence?

Victor's birth father is "unknown". How does discovering this change his relationship with the man he has called "Dad" all his life?

 

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