Wringer | Jerry Spinelli | A child's first complex experience with animal rights

Wringer | Jerry Spinelli | A Wringer for Passionate Kids

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Wringer

	Wringer Jerry Spinelli HarperTeen, 2004 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 258 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

He was not aware that he ever stopped crying.In his sleep a voice echoed down the long dark barrel of a cannon: You have run out of birthdays. In the morning he awoke suddenly to a flutter of wings.

Birthdays are an obsession where Palmer comes from, but if turning a year older means initiation into a violent practice he despises, he'd rather not. Unfortunately, Palmer cannot stop time any more than he can change tradition. So as this next and most important birthday approaches, Palmer knows that it's now or never. Something must be done.

A child's first complex experience with animal rights

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Spinelli, in his usual unique prose that captures the essence and fears of childhood, tackles the troubling subject of animal rights (in the form of a city-wide pigeon shoot and the ten-year-old boys' job to wring the necks of the downed birds), as well as the subject of growing up. Palmer, horrified at a young age by the city's tradition, lives in fear of the day when he will become a wringer. Meanwhile, he faces the pressure from his parents (his father is a prize-winning shooter), and more importantly from his peers: a gang of cruel boys that somehow include him, but with whom he constantly lives in fear of being rejected. Palmer befriends a pigeon. The plot seems very familiar and unoriginal, but it is treated with such humanity that it has a distinct life of its own. Palmer, as an animal rights aware child, is someone whom I can identify with. He faces the fears and issues of a moral dilemma that the rest of his community seems blind to. It's not so much a question of knowing right from wrong, but what to do what you can't really stand up for right, when you are vastly outnumbered by a morally-blind society. It's complex book, dealing with my complex issues, all done in a very deliciously Spinelli way. Grade: A-

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A Wringer for Passionate Kids

As this is the second Spinelli book that I've read and reviewed, I see a theme emerging: passionate, gifted children who are not afraid to stand up for what is right. In this case, Jerry Spinelli chronicles the tale of Palmer LaRue, a young boy who is trapped in a town of people who believe and expect its residents to kill pigeons at the annual Family Fest. What further complicates Palmer's life is that he is quickly approaching age 10, the age where boys are expected to 'wring' the necks of pigeons who are not shot outright. However, Palmer doesn't want to kill pigeons. In fact, he hoards a pet pigeon, Nipper, in his room. This becomes a dangerous game, as his 'friends' discover his secret and want Nipper for their own devious pleasures.

As peer pressure is a common thread in young adult literature, Spinelli does what he does best: deliver the tough stories without the sappy, happy endings. Life lessons are ensconced between these pages, and life isn't always pretty.

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Wringer

I think that Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli, is a captivating, moving and powerful book. I stayed up until midnight to finish this book. I found Spinelli's characters, situations, and dialog believable, though this book may be for more mature audiences than suggested. I think the Newbery Medal on Wringer is well earned.

Very Great!

I think that everyone should own a copy of this book! I like how it is very creative and fun to read. It was sitting in my book shelf for over a year, A couple of days ago I decided to read the book, because I have'nt. It was a surprise to me what I was missing! I think every child should have this book!

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The Wonderful Wringer

The name of my book is the Wringer; Jerry Spinelli made it. I liked the book because it is kind of a kids book but it's not it is for any age. I love the characters in this book. The book is about a boy named Palmer and he is turning ten years old, and when you turn ten years old you get to become a wringer, which basically means you have to twist the necks of the pigeons. But palmer has a pigeon, he feeds it, names it and the pigeon stays and comes back every day for more. But Palmer thinks that he can hide it from all of his friends. And it kind of works until the middle of the book. In the book the setting is like New York and nice looking houses, big cities.
The theme to this book would maybe be if you don't want to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing than don't do it just say no. It wont hurt anybody. I think that you should read this book it's great. You will have so much fun with this book. It is for any age. It is personally my favorite book I've ever read.

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