Paperboy

I saw Paperboy by Vince Vawter on the new children's book shelf at the library a couple months ago and checked it out, but I never got around to reading it.  Then the 2014 Newbery Medal and Honor winners were announced last month, and Paperboy was one of the honor winners.  So, I got the book from the library again and read it this time.  :)  The book tells the story of an 11-year-old boy with a stuttering problem.  When he takes over his friend's paper route for the summer, he experiences new situations and new interactions and begins to find himself.

This was a really nice read.  It was slower for me to get through at times, but I felt like it really did put me in the mind of this sweet, smart 11-year-old.  He had so much he felt and so much he wanted to say, but there was so little he could actually articulate without difficulty.  This book reminded me of books I've read in the past like Out of My Mind or Wonder, where a child who never really expresses him/herself shares his/her mind through the book.  I didn't love Paperboy quite as much as those two books, but I liked reading it.  I was especially touched when I read the Author's Note at the end of the book and realized that this book was more of a memoir than fiction--the author himself has stuttered since he was 5 years old (more than 60 years of stuttering).  He writes, "Have I been cured of my stutter? No. Have I overcome it? Yes." That was the message from the book itself--you aren't defined by your limitations.  A beautiful message.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)