Ebook Newspaper Boy Leon Newton 9780741423931 Books

Product details Paperback 148 pages Publisher Infinity Publishing (May 2005) Language English ISBN-10 0741423936

Newspaper Boy Leon Newton 9780741423931 Books Reviews

• Eric O'Connor is an Irish American boy who is born into poverty in New York City in the early 1900's. Eric is one of five children who is torn by being an American but also wants to do what is right by following his father's Irish credo.
  Pat O'Connor, one of Eric's older brothers, has a different philosophy on life. He is not concerned about his Irish heritage and would rather only recognize the American side of his life. By growing up in poverty he doesn't share the same philosophies at his father or younger brother. He in turn would rather live his own life and take on his own beliefs.
  Kay Murphy is Eric's high school sweetheart. She loves Eric with everything inside of her bug gets blinded by anger when Eric is forced to make some tough decisions after high school graduation. In return, Kay is forced to make some decisions that will change both of their lives drastically.
  Peter Smith is the son of a wealthy banker. Eric and Peter, even though from different backgrounds become best friends. They are able to teach each other things about what it means to be a friend no matter what. Peter and Eric learn that with or without money people usually experience the same problems.
  Gretchen Marks becomes Eric's wife. She is from wealthy family on the east coast. She has only known what it is to have money. She has never experienced poverty a day in her life. Through this she is able to help Eric achieve some his goals but will their love withstand all the pressures they incur.
  The Newspaper Boy is a great book by Leon Newton. It deals with the different social status of people and lets people see that it is okay to be who you are. This book gives the readers the opportunity to see that no matter what life hits you with you can get through the ordeal. It also gives a since of hope that with a little hard work you can accomplish the things you set out to do. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
• The Newspaper Boy is the story of a young Irish boy who triumphs through sheer determination and application of will to intellect. He rises to the level of his potential, becoming a suscessful attorney in pre-WWI New York City. The setting is a working class Irish neighborhood on New York City's Lower East side. We meet Eric as a young teenager who, while immensely proud of his Irish roots and family, pursues the dream of success in America. He does not feel his ancestry is antithetical or exclusive to success, or vice-versa. In fact, the story describes his melding of the two. We follow him from his first job as a newspaper boy, through success at high school, heroism in combat, and into the vaunted halls of the Ivy League, rubbing shoulders with the denizens of American society. Although he chases the success that his willpower pushes him to, he never forgets his roots, especially not in a society that seems unwilling to allow him to do so. Eric's ties to his family are solidified by his brother, Pat, and his first love, Kay. Pat has simultaneously adopted and rejected the philosphy of their father, acknowledging the necessity of hard work, but eschewing it nonetheless for an easier but riskier life at the law's edge.
  
  The Newspaper Boy originally appeard as a short story in a collection of writings by the author, to be re-released as a book in its own right. The author has clearly devoted a lot of time to humanzing the people he describes, without over-simplifying or lionizing them. The reader is never unaware that Eric bears the pride of his people, but he instinctively knows that he must understand the world he wishes to join in order to successfully navigate within it. The author delivers Eric's story in a matter-of-fact style that makes his integrity the main character. Although the book is a novel unto itself, it is clearly written with a varied audience in mind. The writing is clear and striaghtforward, but rests on the lushness of the author's description. I found the book's pacing to be consistent, with interruptions only where detail was needed. The book keeps its focus on Eric, and those in his life, but in doing so draws a rich tapestry of turn of the century life in New York for a young Irish man.
  
  It is clear that the author has drawn on a number of historical sources to describe a slice of Americana. Although the book focuses on Eric's transformation into a "bona fide American", Eric is never derisive to his own heritage. The author clearly enjoys his subject, and introduces the reader to history that may only be known only to those a part of it. He showcases the contributions of the Irish community to New York City at large, and eventually WWI. He also reveals the depths of anti-Irish sentiment that permeated the city. It is with a professor's eye that he describes the setting for his novel, but communicates it in an easily understandable and enjoyable format. Although I had initially assumed this to be a book for young adults, I found the book easily lends itself to an older and broader audience. As a student of History myself, the book references bits of history in the form of "teasers", which inevitably lead the reader to want to know more and investigate, and in so doing, continue the reading-learning circle.
  
  Reviewed By Angela Hailey, Black Butterfly Review