Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Originally Posted October 24, 2003

I loved Maniac Magee, and I loved Wringer by the same author, Jerry Spinelli. They are different stories, completely, but each brilliant in their own way. Wringer is a Newbery Honor book from 1998.

Wringer tells the weird story of a town that as a fundraiser for it's park holds a pigeon shoot, with live pigeons, each summer. The boys of the town "help" with the pigeon shoot by becoming "wringers" on their 10th birthdays, when they run on the field and wring the necks of any wounded pigeons to put them out of their misery. The story tells of a boy who dreads his 10th birthday, because he knows with complete certainty that he doesn't want to be a wringer.

It's an incredible story about boys, the pressures on them to be "boys", the pain and losses involved in succumbing to these pressures, and the courage and strength required to not give into them. Even though it has at it's core this weird unappealing pigeon death image, there's something about the way the story is told where you kind of know this boy is going to rise to the occasion and keep his own truth about the whole thing. So, with parental guidance, I would find this story to be OK for kids 8 or 9 and up, or with out so much parental involvement for 10 and up. I really liked it a lot and greatly appreciated it's message.

Love, Louise