Book Review - Paperboy

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vawter, Vince. (2013). PAPERBOY. Random House USA Inc., New York. ISBN:
9780307931511

2. PLOT SUMMARY

An eleven year old boy referred to as “Little Man” takes up a paper route for his friend for
a month one summer in the 1950s. The story follows his interactions with the people he
meets, his family, and a meddlesome thief. Along with navigating these newly formed
relationships and changes in his life, he works on communicating with others and
accepting his stutter as a part of himself.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The structure of the story is a boy typing on his typewriter and the author follows through
with this theme. There are no indentations for the paragraphs, no quotations around
dialogue, and is written in a stream of consciousness style. One of the main focuses is
on the narrator’s stutter, which he writes out as well with a series of “s-s-s-s” before his
hard to say words. This may be repetitive or become annoying after a while, but reflects
the true feelings of living with a speech impediment as it is constantly there and can be
frustrating.

The author is able to balance the young boy’s worries and story along with tackling the
larger topics of social racism from his point of view. Little Man doesn’t understand why
his live-in maid can’t sit in the front of the bus or go to the zoo any day she wants or why
being called the n-word is so terrible, but the author is sure to address the blatant racism
while staying in the mindset of a child. Addressing social injustices such as racism from
a white character’s point of view can be challenging, but the author does it well by
making it realistic for all characters involved.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

NEWBERY HONOR BOOK
KIRKUS REVIEW: “An engaging and heartfelt presentation that never whitewashes the
difficult time and situation as Little Man comes of age.”
BOOKLIST STAR REVIEW

5. CONNECTIONS

*Relatable to anyone with a speech impediment or those who have trouble
communicating with others.
*Students could write about what they think people expect of them based off a trait about
them and counter it with how they see themselves.

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