Wringer

Rating:
Summary: I really disliked this book with a poor message!
Review: I read a lot of newbery and young adult classics so I can recommend good books to my 10 year old son. This book won a newbery honor award, but I really disliked it. This will definitely NOT be one I recommend to my son. The main character, Palmer, is afraid of the day when he turns ten for two reasons - first, he'll get the "treatment" (essentially this means he'll get beat up) since that's tradition in the town (What's up with that??), and secondly, that he'll have be a "wringer." Of course you don't know what that means at the beginning of the book. Apparently this town has a tradition of holding a big event of shooting pigeons, and the ten year olds get the "privilege" of wringing the necks of any birds that don't die completely from being shot. In the middle of the book, he finds a pigeon in his window and he befriends it. Of course it gets captured and put into the cages to be shot.

I find this incredibly depressing that this kid is so terrified of this and his stupid parents have no clue what's going on. His father is always saying how great it's going to be for his son. Doesn't his father even know his son? I don't think it's a realistic story, and even if it were, why would you want to read it? It didn't have a good moral (not one I could find anyway), and I think that kids will get the message that it doesn't help to talk to their parents because they are clueless anyway.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Story for all ages.
Review: I read Wringer recently and I thought of it as a mix of feelings. It was sad, happy, jealous, and mad at the same time. I think it could be rated as a very good book but not as many people read great, but somewhat quiet writers like Jerry Spinelli.
All towns have a tradition. Now Palmer LaRue just happens to like pigeons. But the town he lives in, Waymer, it just happens that their tradition is that they have a Pigeon Day, where they shoot as many pigeons as they can. They have "wringers" where they wring the pigeons necks when they are wounded. Children become "wringers" when they turn 10. And Palmer is about to turn 10. But Palmer does not want to be a wringer.
I would recommend this book because Mr. Spinelli gives a detailed, realistic view of peer pressure, violence, bullying and a great human to animal relationship.

Rating:
Summary: The Dreaded Tenth Birthday...
Review: I was a bit hesitant when I started reading Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli. A book about killing pigeons in mass numbers wasn't exactly my idea of an enjoyable book...but I'm glad I decided otherwise.
I was introduced to an eight-year-old Palmer LaRue, a boy without any true friends. Palmer has a growing secret inside him he doesn't even consider telling anyone. Palmer is afraid of being a wringer when he turns ten. This occurs at the annual Family Fest. Pigeons are released and shot at; the wounded ones are what the 10-year-old wringers are for.
On his ninth birthday he's accepted into a group of boys (Beans, Mutto, and Henry, AKA the Beans Boys). Beans is the leader of the group and is quite a mean boy who enjoys tormenting people, especially Palmer's neighbor, Dorothy Gruzik. Beans calls Dorothy 'Fishface', and soon Beans' strong influence on Palmer causes him to call her 'Fishsface' as well. One night a pigeon tapping on Palmer's window causes him to wake up. Palmer doesn't realize it, but this little pigeon (whom Palmer names Nipper) is going to change his life forever. Palmer gets closer and closer to turning ten. As becoming a wringer at the Family Fest creeps up on him, Nipper's life is in danger, Palmer discovers who his friends really are, and he befriends someone he never imagined would impact his life.
I rated this book four stars because I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. Palmer's strong belief in what he thought was right, even under peer pressure, was truly inspirational. The only thing that prevented me from rating the book five stars was the choice of ages for the characters. If they had been possibly several years older, their thoughts and actions would seem much more realistic, but other than that, this is a book you should look into.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly morbid, but enjoyable
Review: My students really enjoy this book. Several had read it for a book report so I decided I needed to check it out. The main plotline follows a young boy who does not really wish to participate in the wringing of pigeons necks at the annual town festival (that's the slightly morbid part). Beyond that is a story of how a young boy deals with bullying and the annoying girl next door. It's not just your run-of-the-mill growing up story because of the pigeon plotline. That puts an unusual twist on what would be a rather boring story.

Rating:
Summary: The Wringer review-By,Remix Jr.
Review: The book that I read was the ''Wringer''. The book wasone of the best books that I read except in some parts I didn't understand. The book is about a boy named Palmer LaRuethat lives in Waymer. Palmer is about to turn ten there is going to be the biggest event of a ten year olds life. The event is an annual Family Fest and it's a tradition to become a wringer when you turn ten. But on palmer's tenth birthday he has something to tell but is afraid to say it which is that he doesn't want to be a wringer.

Rating:
Summary: the wringer
Review: The Wringer was a very humorus book but there were also some very emotional parts. 9 year old Palmer Larue was an average kid that had 3 good friends, Beans, Mutto, and Henry. In the town that these boys lived in, at the age of 10 you became a wringer and would run out on the field and wring the necks of the pigions. Although they were all good friends Palmer did not like the idea at all of being a wringer but his friends did. Palmers friend's always put him under pressure and sneak out at night to Palmers house and take Palmer to mysterious places. Then one night Palmer was awoken by a loud scratching noise. To find out what it was and what it was doing outside Palmers window you have to read the book. This "thing" outside of Palmers window ended up teaching Palmer very valuable lessons and helped Palmer end his fears.

Rating:
Summary: I thought this book was one of the best books I ever read.
Review: Wringer is one of Jerry Spinelli's best books yet. This is one of the best books I ever read in my life. I like a lot of Jerry Spinelli's books, like Maniac Mcgee and the Library card, but this is one of his best books yet. It won the Newberry Honor in 1998. This book is for kids ages 9-12. The book is about a boy named Palmer LaRue. He lives in a town where each boy at age ten becomes a wringer. A wringer is a person who wrings pigeons by the necks after they have been shot by the men at the yearly Family Fests' Shooting Day. Only there is one problem Palmer does not want to become a wringer. One day the worst thing happened to Palmer. A pigeon came tapping at his window. He decided to feed it. The bad thing was it kept coming back to his house for more food. He had to keep this a total secret. Palmer also had another secret. He had a secret friendship with a girl named Dorothy Gruzik. He could not tell his other friends about this because they don't like her. So, they would beat them up if they found out. So whenever he was around her he called her Fishface. I thought this was a good book because the charactors sound like real people. The book was easy to read because it had short chapters. I enjoyed the story because it was interesting and secretive. I would give this book a 4 out of 5.