Book Review: Paperboy By Vince Vawter

PAPERBOY

By: Vince Vawter

Published: May 14, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books 

Fiction - Middle Grade/YA




I was drawn to this story because it tells of a young boy and his struggles with stuttering. Both of our teenage boys stutter. The author himself stuttered as a child and wrote this story from his childhood experiences growing up.  Vawter has since learned to overcome his struggles with speech and has worked in the newspaper business for many years. PAPERBOY is his first novel and I hope there are more to come. His way of writing for young people is enjoyable for adults as much as the kids.

The main character is an eleven-year-old boy who takes over his best friend's paper route while he goes to the farm for a few weeks in the summer of 1959 in Memphis. He narrates the story, much like the narrator in the movie "Stand By Me". He has an arm that can throw the meanest fastball in town, so he knows throwing the paper won't be a problem. But, as he begins his paper route, he realizes that for the next four Fridays, he will have to approach the people on his route to collect the money. He will have to speak to them and the problem with that is, he stutters. He can't even say his own name without passing out from holding his breath.

Through the paper route, we are introduced to other characters who turn out to be critical to the telling of the story. Mrs. Worthington's sad cries and beauty will forever haunt the boy. Mr. Spiro's wisdom, patience, and house full of books could be just enough to bring him through his stuttering.  Ara T's looming presence and secret shed just might put him in danger. Finally, Mam, his family's black housekeeper, gets in trouble and he might be the only one who can save her.  Lil' Man, as Mam calls him, will have to make a choice and confront one of his biggest fears over this hot Memphis summer.

Through this story, we see Lil' Man grow up and gain confidence in just four short weeks. We see how some adults ignore him and kids make fun of him. We also meet others who treat him like the great kid he is. We are privy to his thoughts and the words he wishes he could say, but instead stays silent. Beyond PAPERBOY being a coming-of-age story, it also reminds us that we can all overcome the things that scare us most.

PAPERBOY is great for kids in upper elementary as well as adults who grew up in the early 1960's. I know I will be sharing it with our boys who will be able to identify with Lil' Man and his fears, struggles, and frustrations.  If teachers out there would like to share this with their classroom, there is an educator's guide available for download, HERE.

Vince Vawter - source

Vince Vawter has admitted PAPERBOY is part memoir and part fictional story. As a boy who stuttered, he learned to overcome enough to have a successful career in the newspaper business. He currently lives in Tennessee with his wife.  For more on the author, visit his website, www.VinceVawter.com. You can also find him on Twitter, HERE and Facebook, HERE.

If you would like to purchase PAPERBOY, click the photo below:

I'll be linking up with Booking Mama and other bloggers for this week's Kid Konnection on Saturday. Check out Kid Konnection for other book reviews and posts related to Children's and YA books.

What We Want You to Know

This summer our son, Patrick, attended the nations best (in my opinion) Speech Camp called UI SPEAKS at the University of Iowa Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center.  SPEAKS stands for Speech Programs Educating Adults and Kids who Stutter.  Wendell Johnson was one of the founding fathers of the speech pathology program and part of its roots is the field of stuttering.  Patrick started attending this center this spring after our school speech pathologist and the University felt this would be a great program for him.  After attending group for a week or two each month, he then attended several session of Speech Camp.  This camp is so well known that there were kids there from as far away as Alaska as well as other states in the Midwest. 

As parents, stuttering can be frustrating.  You want your child to be successful and speak clearly as many times that is your first impression.  But, we have also learned many famous people were stutterers as well.  Some of these names may surprise you:
Mel Tillis
James Earl Jones
Nicole Kidman
Joseph Biden
John Stossel
Bruce Willis
Marilyn Monroe
Mike Rowe
Marc Anthony
Tiger Woods
Lewis Carroll
Jane Seymour
and many more.....check HERE for more.
Also, for more information on stuttering, you can check out the Stuttering Foundation website at http://www.stutteringhelp.org/.  We have learned a lot about stuttering and how to adapt and accept this difficulty.  If you haven't seen The King's Speech, it was an excellent movie, but one that also showed how frustrating stuttering can be for the person who has it.  It was an emotional movie for me.

Below is a video the kids at the Speech Camp put together to show how fun their time together was, but more importantly to teach others about stuttering.  If you want to know more about the program at the University of Iowa, there will be contact information at the end of the video.  The "What We Want You to Know" from the kids is......powerful!

Our son, Patrick gives his message at 3:31 and is featured several times throughout the video....even doing "the worm" and during a music video!







This time at the Speech Camp was such a great experience for him.  He was able to spend time with kids who know what it is like to stutter and learn how others cope with it.  He learned strategies to be able to handle his speech better.  The stutter may always be there, but he has definitely improved his approach.  There will always be situations where he is excited or nervous and the stutter will come out, but he now has strategies to use to control it.  I can't say how proud I am of him and how he handles his stuttering.  He doesn't let it affect his attitude or whether he has a conversation with someone.  He got to meet some awesome people during his camp including Adrian Clayborn, former Hawkeye football player and current Tampa Bay Buc and Matt Gatens, Hawkeye basketball player.  Huge deals for Patrick!!!

Thanks so much to Hannah, Annie, Toni, and all the others who helped make this camp possible for some awesome kids.  I can't recommend the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center enough.  If your child needs help in any of those areas and you live close to IA City, please give them a call!