Paperboy

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A 12-year-old Irish immigrant in late-19th-century New York City struggles to help support his injured widower father and younger sister. Kevin O'Donnell loves to read newspapers and secretly dreams of reporting for one, although his embittered father warns him to learn a trade. His luck changes, somewhat implausibly, when James Langley, the patrician publisher of the Chronicle, catches Kevin stealing a copy of his newspaper and, thinking him illiterate, dares him to read the front page. Kevin's analysis of the paper's style wins him a job as a messenger. As Mr. Langley somewhat abruptly discards his arrogance to become a type of father figure, Kevin faces new and ominous obstacles: his father's injury forces Kevin to assume sole support for his sister and fend off their evil landlord. Holland's (The Man Without a Face) plotting, like the characterizations, rarely rises above the pedestrian. The historical setting proves more nostalgic than precise, in part because the time is never specified. Ironically, for all the preoccupation with news, little use is made of contemporaneous events--except for portraying anti-Irish prejudice. A lackluster enterprise. Ages 8-12. (July) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-An unlikely but enjoyable story set in New York City in 1881. Kevin O'Donnell, 12, is eager to help his family. He loves to read the newspaper, which shows him "the large world beyond the slum that made up his own world." Although his father prefers that he learn a trade, when Kevin lands a job as a messenger for Mr. Langley, the owner of the New York Chronicle, "Da" is glad of the extra income. After Mr. O'Donnell becomes ill, the boy must look after his little sister, as well as contend with prejudice because he is Irish. Attentions from his boss earn him the enmity of the man's son, a lout with no interest in his father's business. When Kevin is accused of stealing, it is Mr. Langley who bails him out. The story concludes abruptly, with most of the ends tied up neatly. Kevin not only gets to keep his job-he will go on to journalism school as well. Undemanding readers will root for the young protagonist and not mind the plot contrivances and somewhat stereotypical characters.-Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Holland recreates the battles of thousands of Irish immigrants against poverty and prejudice in New York City in the late 1800s. Kevin O'Donnell fights to earn pennies to buy food for his little sister. Luck strikes when Kevin steals his favorite newspaper to sell and is caught by the owner, Mr. Langley. He takes a shine to Kevin, offers him a job as a messenger, and later begins to teach him to write; in the meantime, Kevin succumbs to his own prejudices, remaining suspicious of his wealthy boss. When his father is injured, Kevin assumes financial responsibility for the entire family, while also nursing a dream of working as a reporter on a newspaper. Falsely accused of theft, Kevin quits, then turns to stealing in an effort to keep the landlord at bay. Mr. Langley rescues him when Kevin is arrested, and everything comes out all right. Holland creates believable characters, driven to act by need and circumstance, and torn between right and wrong. The book may be useful for helping children understand a few basic concepts about writing while offering a suspenseful introduction to the difficulties faced by immigrants. (Fiction. 8-12)