PAPERBOY, by Vince Vawter, is this month's Book Pick, and I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it every bit as much the second time around, rereading so I could talk about it here.
This is a really complex story in a tidy MG package. The author tackles his main issue of stuttering, but also takes on race relations, bullying, what it means to be a parent/what it means to be a son, growing up, coming of age, standing up for what you think is right, etc. There is even a crush that has the potential to be cringe-worthy, but it feels honest and true, and never takes up more than its share of the story.
The setting, late 1950's Memphis, also plays an important part and, in Vawter's hands, it comes through loud and clear.
I loved the voice of this boy, who doesn't tell us his name until the end. And that's actually an interesting device. He doesn't speak his name until the events described in his story give him the confidence to know that his stutter does't define who he is. And, while there is probably a lot here plot-wise that is fiction, it begins to feel like the character we are listening to may be pretty close to Vince Vawter himself.
Another interesting, and related, device is the formatting of the book. We know he doesn't like to use commas, feeling that he pauses so much when he's trying to talk that he "would rather type a gazillion ands than one little comma." But the author also chooses not to use quotation marks, and doesn't spell out why. One guess is that he has so much trouble with speech, he just wants to get his words down on the page with less fuss and bother. But, while I like the idea of playing with style and feel that it works here, I don't know for sure. Have you read PAPERBOY? And, if so, what do you think?
--Lynn
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