Wringer (novel)

Wringer is a Newbery Honor-winning 1997 young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli.

Plot introduction

When Palmer LaRue turns nine , it is traditional to wring wounded pigeons shot at the annual Family Fest Pigeon Shooting Day. One day, a pigeon taps at Palmer's window. He names the pigeon Nipper, but keeps his existence a secret. Palmer then has to decide whether to value life, or be pressured into doing things he does not want to do. He befriends a group of kids who force him to do bad things he would never have thought of before.

Plot summary

Palmer LaRue grew up in a town called Waymer with a yearly tradition of letting pigeons out of a crate and shooting them with shotguns in order to raise money for the city's playground. Ten-year-old boys learn how to pick up the wounded birds that have not yet died and then wring their necks to "put them out of their misery." Palmer refuses to take part in such a horrific ceremony. When pressured by his peers, Henry, Mutto, and Beans, Palmer convinces them that he is one of them so that he will be considered cool by his classmates. Palmer keeps a pigeon named Nipper as a pet while keeping the pigeon's existence a secret. The day of the pigeon shooting comes and Palmer is nervous because he let his friend Dorothy release Nipper. It is then revealed that Nipper had been released near the railroad tracks, where people capture the pigeons and crate them for the shooting. The pigeons are released and Nipper is wounded. One of Palmer's "friends" happens to be at the shooting, and he brings the pigeon back onto the field to be killed by the sharpshooter. Palmer carries Nipper off the field in the midst of gunfire. Palmer realizes how he might have changed this tradition when he hears a kid from the audience tell his father that he wants a pigeon for a pet.

Reception

Wringer was praised by critics for its ability to address deep issues for middle schoolers, as did its precursor, Maniac Magee. In a School Library Journalreview of Wringer, Tim Rausch cited the novel for "Humor, suspense, a bird with a personality, and a moral dilemma familiar to everyone," characters who are "memorable, convincing, and both endearing and villainous," and a "riveting plot." Suzanne Manczuk, writing in Voice of Youth Advocates, commented that "Spinelli has given us mythic heroes before, but none more human or vulnerable than Palmer." New York Times Book Review critic Benjamin Cheever also had high praise for Wringer, describing the novel as "both less antic and more deeply felt" than Maniac Magee, and adding that Spinelli presents Palmer's moral dilemma "with great care and sensitivity."^[1]

References