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STAINED book cover

STAINED is from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Nov 19, 2013).

HUNTED book cover

HUNTED is a teen novel from WestSide Books (December 15, 2011).
Caitlyn, a telepath on the run from government troopers, must choose between saving herself or saving the world.

SCARS book cover

SCARS is an edgy realistic teen novel from WestSide Books (March 24, 2010).
Kendra must face her past and stop hurting herself--before it's too late.

SkinWalkers: Walking Both Sides book cover

SkinWalkers: Walking Both Sides is a hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) fantasy for teens and fantasy lovers from HIP Books (May 2011).
When angry villagers attack the Skinwalker camp, Claire has to make a difficult choice. Whose side is she really on?

The Last Dragon (Dragon Speaker, 1) book cover

The Last Dragon (Dragon Speaker, 1) is a hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) fantasy for teens and fantasy lovers from HIP Books (Sept. 2009).
A boy who speaks with birds is the only one who can save the last dragon....

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves book cover

My Dear Teen Me is published in an anthology by Zest Books (Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves).

Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths book cover

My edgy realistic short story Comfort Food is published in an anthology by Graveside Tales ( Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths).

The Horrors Terrifying Tales: Book Two book cover

My paranormal-suspense story The Healer is published in an anthology by Red Deer Press (The Horrors Terrifying Tales: Book Two).

STAINED book cover

STAINED is from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Nov 19, 2013).

See Previous Book

Teen Books That Have Something to Say


Wringer

Review

Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli
HarperCollins,(1997)
ISBN-10: 0060249137

My rating:



Palmer does not fit into his town. In his town, when boys become 10 years old, they bcome wringers—boys who ring the necks of pigeons shot at the annual Pigeon Day shooting event. Palmer desperately does not want to become a wringer. He is sickened by the cruelty. That alone will make him the target of bullying and taunting if anyone finds out.

But to make things even worse, Palmer finds a pigeon and begins keeping him as a pet, opening up his window each night to let the pigeon in. As the shooting event draws nearer, he worries that someone will see him—or worse, that the pigeon will get killed. Palmer faces increased peer pressure, and has to decide if he will join the other boys in wringing pigeons' necks, or if he'll take a stand and face the consequences. A book with a lot of suspense and emotion, this is a great read about feeling different, experiencing peer pressure, and summoning up courage.

The main character is younger in age, but don't let that stop you from reading this wonderful book.


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Go back to Outside It All: Fiction About Not Fitting In to find great Teen Books That Have Something to Say.

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