A Book about Strangulation: Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Wringer (Trophy Newbery)
By Jerry Spinelli

Immediate gripe: the opening “article” sounds very newsy, but quickly starts including facts and words anyone who has taken a high school journalism class knows don’t belong in a newspaper. That aside:

Wringer is strongly reminiscent of What Jamie Saw with the neurotic-to-near-psychotic level of emotional intensity. Though my library had this in the junior fiction section, likely because the librarian didn’t read it enough to look beyond Palmer’s young age, I see why it’s seen as a book for teens. The violence in Palmer’s environment is overwhelming at times and raw. And real, I thought. Kids longing to wring birds’ necks without thought of what they’re actually doing, being downright horrendous to other kids just for kicks. Yep, there’s no nicey-nice here.

I loved the Stephen King-like quality of intensity, horrific imagery that’s expressed in plain language, and a sort of Americana neighborhood where boys play together outside. Nowhere do we see an X-box or Nintendo system.

Which leaves me with curiosity - there's a confrontation of brutality here that would be interesting to investigate more in-depth.

Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
Previous
Previous

MFAC YA Booklist: True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Next
Next

Crazy Awesome Loving It Book Cover For Halloween Good Night!