Wringer

By: Jerry Spinelli

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children's Book

""Deeply felt. Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity."" —The New York Times

""A spellbinding story about rites of passage."" —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

""A realistic story with the intensity of a fable."" —The Horn Book (starred review)

""Thought-provoking."" —School Library Journal (starred review)

In Palmer LaRue's hometown of Waymer, turning ten is the biggest event of a boy's life. But for Palmer, his tenth birthday is not something to look forward to, but something to dread. Then one day, a visitor appears on his windowsill, and Palmer knows that this, more than anything else, is a sign that his time is up. Somehow, he must learn how to stop being afraid and stand up for what he believes in.

Wringer is a powerful tour de force from Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli.

©1997 Jerry Spinelli (P)1997 Recorded Books LLC

Decent MG reading

I would say that this was a pretty decent middle grade or elementary read.

It really deals with the idea of peer pressure and how the main character is trying to fit into a group of kids who he knows he doesn’t want to be with but they are popular so he does whatever he needs in order to be a part of the group.

He unfortunately sacrifices his character in order to continue to be a part of this group of friends until he starts to realize perhaps his decisions and their actions are causing more harm than good.

The main point of contention is that the main character is expected to be a Wringer, someone who kills pigeons after they’ve been shot down. He doesn’t want to do this and he never wanted to do this. But there’s a part of him that believes he needs to because of peer pressure and possibly familial expectation.

Through the experience of taking care of his own pigeon, he realizes that perhaps the decisions he has made do not match up with the person he is.

The writing was pretty decent and the story was overall well put together.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

very slow reading

What did you like best about Wringer? What did you like least?

I like the narrator's voice and characterization, but he read the story much to slow.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Johnny Heller?

yes

Amazing Story

Loved it. A must read for people. It warms my heart that has a sad, happy mix

Slow Reading

I played this for my low leveled 5th grade readers as they read along in the book. Th complained often that they could read faster than this guy. They did however like the book.

I like everything about this audiobook.

it was the perfect speed and I enjoyed the way the reader read the book. He put enthusiasm into his reading.

Horible

Thought it was full thing but was only like two chapters
I HATE IT !