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The Paper Cowboy (2014)

by Kristin Levine(Favorite Author)

4.1 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

039916328X (ISBN13: 9780399163289)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Putnam Juvenile

review 1: This is the second Kristin Levine book that I have love. (The first being The Lions of Little Rock) This book cover so many tough issues; mental illness (in a time when no one really spoke about it), bullying, and child abuse. The story takes place during the 1950's and deals with the many issues facing the Wilson family. Tommy is the twelve year old boy who is the center of the story and he has to deal with the brunt of the issues that take place in the Wilson home. His older sister, whom Tommy is very close to, is in the hospital after an accident. Tommy then has to deal with his mom's undiagnosed, spiraling mental illness, his sister's paper route, the fact that he himself, is sometimes a bully, and trying to find out who the communist in the neighborhood is. Th... moree characters in the book are so well written I could picture each and every one in my mind. I could not put this book down. I would recommend it to any young reader who likes a good realistic story. Levine based this book on a period from her father's life. I now look forward to reading Levine's other book, Best Bad Luck I Ever Had.
review 2: This is definitely a story where the family is dysfunctional while set during the 1950s McCarthy Communist scare. Tommy attends catholic school and bullies others because he is abused at home by his mother who is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness. Not much was known about mental illnesses in the 1950s. After his sister is seriously injured the abuse gets worse because his mother blames him for his sister's injury. Tomy's emotions are honest and not always generous toward his mother, father, friends, and his neighbors. He begins to behave like Senator McCarthy searching for the communist in his neighborhood. While the abuse can be difficult to read at times, Tommy somehow holds onto his grit and determination because he views himself as a cowboy like John Wayne and Gary Cooper. While the fear of communism is not the main focus of the story (Tommy and how he copes with what is happening to him is ), it does have a large role. less

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