A review by sandraagee
The Last Newspaper Boy in America by Sue Corbett
4.0
When I read the summary on the inside flap of this book, I got a warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feeling. Thankfully, this vibe was dead on for the tone of this book.
The premise is fairly basic: Boy looks forward to becoming his town's newspaper delivery boy, but the paper cancels delivery to his town just before he takes over the route. Boy - who is naturally smart and feisty - decides to fight back, slowly realizing that more is at stake than the money he would make delivering papers. Insert side plots about his small town's economic struggles after a factory closure and a shady carnival game with big prize money. Amazingly, all of these complicated plot elements come together smoothly in the end.
There's just something about the tone and the quirkiness of the characters that made me just love this story. Wil's role as his town's savior is actually very believable, since it's really his determination that gets the ball rolling that the community involved. I also appreciated the notes in the back of the book about the histories of the paper clip and newspaper delivery.
The premise is fairly basic: Boy looks forward to becoming his town's newspaper delivery boy, but the paper cancels delivery to his town just before he takes over the route. Boy - who is naturally smart and feisty - decides to fight back, slowly realizing that more is at stake than the money he would make delivering papers. Insert side plots about his small town's economic struggles after a factory closure and a shady carnival game with big prize money. Amazingly, all of these complicated plot elements come together smoothly in the end.
There's just something about the tone and the quirkiness of the characters that made me just love this story. Wil's role as his town's savior is actually very believable, since it's really his determination that gets the ball rolling that the community involved. I also appreciated the notes in the back of the book about the histories of the paper clip and newspaper delivery.