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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780060592820
ISBN number: 0060592826
Label: HarperTeen
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: September 01, 2004
Publishing house: HarperTeen
Age index: Ages 9-12
Release Date: September 07, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 103899
Studio: HarperTeen
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
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 subsequent and most important birthday approaches, Palmer knows that it's now or never. Something must be done.
Amazon.com Review:
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli tells a story of peer pressure so foul, so horrifying, that Wringer should be shelved along with Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War. Nine-year-old Palmer dreads his upcoming 10th birthday. In his town, when boys are 10 years old they become 'wringers,' the boys who wring the necks of wounded pigeons at the annual Pigeon Day shoot. Palmer is sickened by the whole event. To make matters worse, his new buddies--Beans, Mutto, and Henry--have just discovered that Palmer has been hiding a pet pigeon in his room. What will Palmer do? Will he become a wringer to save face, or will he follow his heart? Wringer will appeal to preteens and younger teens who love to read suspenseful books on their own, but it would also be a good story to read aloud to spark discusion about the perils and nuances of peer pressure.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
In Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli, 9-year old Palmer dreads the town's tradition. When he turns 10, he'll be eligible, nay, expected, to become a "wringer." A wringer literally wrings the necks of pigeons wounded in the town's annual pigeon shoot, a long-standing tradition.
Palmer likes pigeons, however, and even adopts a wild one. How will he maintain his status with his peers if he doesn't contribute to the wringing?
There is more to this book than this, including peer-pressure, parental involvement, traditions, and harassment. But the key to this tale is the pigeon shoot.
Although this work is a piece of fiction, the town is a barely disguised Hegins, Pennsylvania, which had a large, organized pigeon shoot using "trapper boys" to wring the necks of pigeons until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that participants could be cited for animal cruelty (the court used the phrase "cruel and moronic" to describe the activity). These "shoots" continue today, but in private shooting clubs. Indeed, even in 2008, these shoots are legal in Pennsylvania, and there are ongoing investigations whether pigeons in New York are being trapped and sent to Pennsylvania for these shoots.
I think this book would stimulate vigorous discusion in grades 7-12. Heck, I'm ready to chat about it!
Rated by buyers 
-
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.
Rated by buyers -
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!
Rated by buyers -
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.
Rated by buyers -
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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