Paperboy

Title: Paperboy

Author: Vince Vawter

Grade Level: 7&8

               Walk through life with Victor Vollmer III. He’s a boy who hates commas. In his honor you won’t find any in this review either… He loves words. But he has a stutter. It’s hard for him to communicate all the words that he wants to communicate. One day his father brought home a typewriter. Now he has an outlet. He loves to type. Now he can communicate his thoughts this way. The book is written as his summer journal. 

               This summer his best friend Art is going to his uncle’s farm. Art has a paper route that Victor volunteered to take over for the summer. He can’t wait to carefully throw the newspapers. But he dreads talking to the customers. Even more he dreads Collection Day. On this day he has to talk to the customers! Most people can’t understand him. Other don’t have the patience to wait for his words. Only his closest friends take to the time to talk with him.

               As he walks the route day after day and week after week. He learns to know some of his customers. He learns to know Mrs. Worthington. She is the most beautiful woman that he has ever seen. Or she would be if her eyes weren’t so sad. He learns to know TV boy. A boy who watches TV all day. Near the end of the summer he learns that TV boy is deaf. TV boy watches TV all the time because he’s learning to lip read. His favorite customer is Mr. Spiro. Mr. Spiro treats him like a normal kid and patiently waits for his words to form. Mr. Spiro talks to him of many subjects. Mr. Spiro was a merchant sailor. So he has many stories to tell him. Most importantly, Mr. Spiro treats him with respect. These are the people that learns to know on the paper route. Read the book to find out how these people will affect his summer and his life. 

               This is an incredible book. I might use that adjective a lot. But well it describes this book well. If you are an adult relating to anyone who struggles with stuttering please read this book. It’s not only a story of a boy growing up. It’s an intricate look into the mind and feelings of someone who stutters. The author just did a wonderful job of portraying the heart and mind of Victor. The author does comment in the last section of the book that this book is “more memoir than fiction.” That’s what makes this book so powerful and gripping.  

               I’m not as quick to recommend this book as a read for children. Don’t get me it’s a great book for them. Just be aware that there is a violent scene where Victor and his nanny confront an evil man. The reading level would be 5&6th due to the content I would recommend that it be place in 7&8th.

               Whew! I didn’t know how much I was addicted to commas till I didn’t use them….