Paperboy ~ Review

Paperboy
By Stan Crader

Paperboy takes up where The Bridge left us the shoe factory has closed and the new hat factory is getting under way.  But an even bigger change is coming to Colby - the new factory manager isn't from Colby and the racist elements within the small town are about to raise their heads.

As Tommy and Booger work their paper route they learn more about the workings of Colby.  Both boys grow as individuals as they deal with the various individuals along their route.

After having his first kiss (in The Bridge) with Wendy, Tommy finds himself thinking more of Melody.  Will Tommy ever figure out his feelin's where girls are concerned?  He can only hope.

But the past is about to find a resident of Colby and danger is close behind.  But what can a single mother with a teenage daughter have possibly done to be on the radar of the Chicago mob?

Tommy, Booger and their band of friends continue their fun as they start playing football under a new coach who is determined to turn them into a force to be reckoned with.  When not working or dealing with school they enjoy watching the antics of the high school football players and the cheerleaders.

Tommy also learns about the Tuskegee Airmen and World War I from George Koch, an elderly man in frail health.  Sometimes the greatest lessons of history are learned at the side of someone who has lived through it.  We need ears to listen and eyes to see so that we are able to grow and learn as we move throughout our day-to-day activities.

I received a copy of this book in conjunction with this Pump Up Your Book blog tour.  All opinions are my own.

About Paperboy

Paperboy tells the story as only an afternoon paperboy in rural America in the sixties can. Thousands of readers identified with the unique characters of Colby while reading The Bridge. They grew to love Tommy and the band of boys, were entertained by their childish pranks, and touched by their generosity.

In Paperboy, change is coming to Colby. The shoe factory has sold and a hat factory is taking its place. A factory manager has been named and he’s definitely not from Colby. There’s an influx of interesting newcomers.

The high school principal is also new to Colby. He must deal with teenage pregnancy, the snooping high school office secretary, and the Colby Curls rumor mill. He, too, has a mysterious past and uses it to his advantage.

The pregnant teen and her auto-mechanic single mother aren’t Colby natives either. Rumors about both abound. The mother has a past which touches the present, and eventually involves the entire town. Tommy and Booger, while delivering the Colby Telegraph, discover that Colby’s patriarch, Mr. Koch, has a heroic but classified history. While raking leaves for Mrs. Whitener, they learn the origin of her accent and how she got to Colby. It’s not what most people think.

Jupiter Storm, the town’s primary purveyor of gossip, whose opinion always exceeds his knowledge, is perpetually annoying. But Tommy and Booger learn that Jupiter is a decorated World War II veteran. And when a threatening stranger appears on the scene, the entire town learns of Jupiter’s unique but redeeming skill. How will Colby be different, and how will it be the same?

About The Author

Stan Crader’s first book, ‘The Bridge’ spent several days on the best seller list for Christian fiction at both BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com. His articles about flying have been published in flying magazines and local newspapers. He won a Bronze Quill award from the International Association of Business Communications for articles written for his company’s quarterly newsletter.

Stan was born and raised in Bollinger County Missouri. Coming of age in rural Missouri provided him the material for many of the rich characters in his books. He credits the variety of jobs he had as a child and the people with which he worked for providing him his creative foundation.

Stan’s childhood jobs included grocery store carry out, a paper route, mowing lawns, farm equipment set-up, sawmills, and janitor. “You learn a great deal about people when you see what groceries they purchase,” Stan says.

After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Missouri, where he met his future wife, Debbie at a Missouri / Nebraska football game. It was Debbie who first made Stan realize that his childhood was unique.

They spent the early years of their marriage living in Bollinger County, Missouri. Stan joined the family business and Debbie worked as a community nurse. As a nurse, working with a caring country doctor, she began to collect stories of her own.

The two of them raised three boys and a golden retriever as the life experiences continued. Stan began writing Christmas letters. Friends and family began to look forward to the somewhat informative but largely humorous Christmas epistle.

Stan’s first novel was written after the encouragement of those on his Christmas letter mailing list and the recipients of the company’s quarterly newsletter. He’s flattered beyond measure each time someone who has read ‘The Bridge’ asks about a sequel.

Visit Stan’s site:  http://www.stancrader.com

Please note that all proceeds go to support Resurrecting Lives, a non-profit that supports veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI).