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Title:The Paper Cowboy
Author:Kristin Levine
Book Format:Hardcover
Book Edition:Anniversary Edition
Pages:Pages: 352 pages
Published:September 4th 2014 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Categories:Historical. Historical Fiction. Childrens. Middle Grade. Family. Young Adult
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The Paper Cowboy Hardcover | Pages: 352 pages
Rating: 4.19 | 1154 Users | 241 Reviews

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Though he thinks of himself as a cowboy, Tommy is really a bully.  He's always playing cruel jokes on classmates or stealing from the store. But Tommy has a reason: life at home is tough. His abusive mother isn't well; in fact, she may be mentally ill, and his sister, Mary Lou, is in the hospital badly burned from doing a chore it was really Tommy's turn to do. To make amends, Tommy takes over Mary Lou's paper route. But the paper route also becomes the perfect way for Tommy to investigate his neighbors after stumbling across a copy of The Daily Worker, a communist newspaper.

Tommy is shocked to learn that one of his neighbors could be a communist, and soon fear of a communist in this tight-knit community takes hold of everyone when Tommy uses the paper to frame a storeowner, Mr. McKenzie. As Mr. McKenzie's business slowly falls apart and Mary Lou doesn't seem to get any better, Tommy's mother's abuse gets worse causing Tommy's bullying to spiral out of control.

Poignantly written, Kristin Levine proves herself a master of gripping and affecting historical fiction.

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ISBN: 039916328X (ISBN13: 9780399163289)
Setting: Downers Grove, Illinois(United States)
Literary Awards: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2017)

Rating Regarding Books The Paper Cowboy
Ratings: 4.19 From 1154 Users | 241 Reviews

Judge Regarding Books The Paper Cowboy
For me personally, this book just felt extra depressing the majority of the time: beatings, bullying, polio, car accident, burning accident, dog accident, depression, financial problems, slander, you name it. At the same time, I enjoyed the Downers Grove setting, the historical parts about Communism in the 1950s, and the more satisfying resolution. I do think that overall, middle school students would enjoy this Coming of Age book. It would be interesting to have students watch or read about

I thought that this was a good book. I liked how Tommy had to fight with his emotions and control his feelings. This isn't the type of book I would want to read if I had a choice. But I'm happy that we read it anyways because it gave a full perspective of how he solved his problems and made everything fine.

I love this historical fiction, coming of age story. Tommy's struggle between doing what he knows is right and his cruel actions is such a realistic issue for people. Although Tommy makes many mistakes, the reader can't help but root for him to find his way and help his family. The incorporation of the time period and the hunt for the town communist is a piece of history I think many students will find intriguing.



Tommy Wilson is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in a small town, Downers Grove,Illinois, in the 1950s when the Communist scare is rampant. Tommy wishes he were like his cowboy heroes but he isn't because he misbehaves. It doesn't help that his mother is moody and then her behavior escalates to beating Tommy because she can't control her emotions brought on by the stress of a new baby and the terrible accident where Tommy's older sister is seriously burned because she lights the fire in the

Incredibly thoughtful historical fiction for middle grade, in a historical period that is rare to find in MG/YA lit. I loved the 1950s backdrop that gives insight into McCarthyism/The Red Scare that lead to rising tensions at the start of the Cold War in small-town Illinois. I also liked how Levine wrote from a unique and interesting point of view -- taking a character who would often be the antagonist in a story and bringing them to focus of the story as protagonist. Bullying is a popular

Not only a great historical read, growing up in the 1950s, communist hysteria, but the fiction deals with some real coming of age problems....bullying, parental mental illness, family dysfunction, building community. What I loved most was Tommy's growth over the course of the story. I think every middle school reader can learn something from this narrative.