Copyboy by Vince Vawter - ADVISABLE

Copyboy (Paperboy #2) by Vince Vawter, 240 pages. Capstone, 2018. $16. 

Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In this sequel to Paperboy, Vic has graduated from high school, works as a copyboy for the newspaper, and will be starting college in the fall. Mr. Spiro has recently died, leaving instructions for Vic to bury his ashes at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Fulfilling this promise is very important to Vic, so he sets off for New Orleans without his parent’s permission. He meets up with some interesting characters, all determined to help him get to the mouth of the Mississippi.

This book is every bit as good as Paperboy. I didn’t think the author would be able to make it happen without Mr. Spiro, a key character in the first book. The people Vic meets in New Orleans have their own special qualities. Like Mr. Spiro, they have a deep understanding of life, and Vic takes all of it to heart. There is a strong sense of place in the Louisiana bayou, and Vic leaves realizing the journey was about him, not Mr. Spiro. Vic still stutters, but it isn’t front and center the way it was in Paperboy.

Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist