"Wringer" takes place in the rural town of Waymer, a community known for a yearly event: Pigeon Day, during which sharpshooters fire at pigeons as they are released from cages. Those unfortunate birds which fall to the ground wounded, but not killed, have their necks wrung by boys known as "wringers." Traditionally, a Waymer boy becomes a wringer at age ten.

The novel follows the story of a Waymer boy named Palmer who does not want to become a wringer, but faces intense peer pressure to join in the tradition. "Wringer" is an intense study of social pressure, gender roles among children, bullying, and the rationalization of violence. The book also contains a memorable portrait of one very special human-animal "friendship." Palmer is a compelling hero, and Spinelli's stark writing style has a lyrical beauty which reminded me of Ernest Hemingway. Particularly interesting is Spinelli's use of symbolism involving popular culture icons. This is a remarkable novel which I recommend highly to readers of all ages.

20 of 22 found the following review helpful:


Wringer  Apr 25, 2001 By Sarah Horton
Mills, Claudia. "The Structure of the Moral Dilemma in Shiloh." Children's Literature 1999: 185-196. Spinelli, Jerry. Wringer. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. The novel Wringer tells the story of Palmer LaRue, a young boy who faces a number of crucial decisions. The book takes place within a little over a year. Palmer celebrates his 9th birthday in the first half, then his 10th birthday in the second half. Palmer's group of friends consists of three boys, Beans, Mutto and Henry. The boys' main goal during their childhood is to become a wringer. A wringer is a young boy, 10 years of age, whose job is to break the necks of pigeons who aren't completely shot and killed during the annual pigeon shooting contest in their town. The only problem is that, Palmer dreads his 10th birthday because the last thing he wants is to become a wringer. Throughout the novel, Palmer faces this moral dilemma, and he must decide whether he should please his friends, his parents, society, or himself. Claudia Mills explains this struggle when she comments that; " children are trying to sort through their moral obligations against a background of their parents' beliefs...and transmitted beliefs of their culture"(185). Palmer's gang of friends all desire to be wringers, with the exception of Henry who just plays along so that Beans and Mutto will accept him. Since they constantly put pressure on Palmer to be "cool," Palmer goes along with them to be accepted not only by his friends, but by society as well. The pigeon-shooting contest is a known tradition in the town where Palmer lives and he thinks something is wrong with him since he doesn't like the activity. He exclaims, " I'm going to be ten in 71 days, and then I'm going to have to be a wringer and I don't want to. So what kind of kid am I? Everybody wants to kill pigeons but me. What's the matter with me?" Palmer believes he has the problem, when in actuality he is acting on his conscience and what he believes is morally right. According to Palmer, killing pigeons is wrong because there is no reason for it. When his younger friend Dorothy asks him why people kill pigeons, he simply says, "He was born a pigeon"(185). With this comment Palmer is reinstating the fact that the killing of the pigeons is done for no good reason at all. The townspeople support the shootings because it brings money to their park facilities. However, Mills writes that in the novel Shiloh, Marty's character "claims that it is love, not money, that should establish relation of belonging"(192). This theory also holds true in Wringer, because Palmer's love for Nipper, his pet pigeon, he believes is a much stronger force than the town park money problem. Throughout the story, Palmer continually struggles with what his dad thinks of him. Palmer's dad won the "sharp-shooter" award one year at the pigeon shootings, and Palmer believes that his dad will be disappointed in him if he tells his dad how he really feels. Later on in the story, Palmer is relieved to find out that his dad really didn't plan on pressuring Palmer into anything he didn't want to do. This realization makes Palmer much happier toward the end of the novel, and with his parents around to support him, he doesn't feel as insecure about his feelings anymore. Palmer LaRue, the main character in Wringer, struggles with moral dilemmas: he desires to please his family, friends and town, but he also wants to do what he feels is right. As the novel progresses, Palmer feels more strongly about his ideas; and at the conclusion of the story, he knows his decision is the right one for him.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:


Wringer  Jan 09, 2001 By Sandy Keppel
Have you ever been pressured to by so-called "friends" to do something you didn't want to do? That's exactly what Palmer's position was in the book, Wringer. Every year, Palmer's hometown would hold a Family Fun Fair, and every Family Fun Fair, there was an Annual Pigeon Shoot. Five thousand pigeons would be shot, and the wounded ones' necks would be wrung by "wringers". Palmer did not want to be a wringer, and he didn't want to be old enough to be one. His "friends", Beans (Arthur), Mutto (Billy), and Henry (George) all wanted to be wringers. Palmer, of course was the misfit, so unlike them, he didn't want to be one. When a typical January snowstorm hits the neighborhood, something other than snow blows in. To Palmer's horror, it is a pigeon, which was too dumb to realize it was at the wrong town, and at the wrong house. The pigeon, dubbed "Nipper", begins to visit Palmer's house regularly. Palmer decides to keep him as a pet in secret, without Beans, Mutto, Henry, or his parents know. His neighbor, Dorothy Gruzik comes every day to visit Palmer and Nipper. They all become good friends. Things begin to get bad with Nipper's arrival. Every day, Nipper would fly near Palmer and even land on his head in some occasions. Palmer tries everything to evade Nipper- he stays after school, he goes home a different route, he even disguises himself. Nipper would always make Palmer feel emabarrassed. The day of the Pigeon Shoot grows nearer and nearer, so Palmer decides it's time for Nipper to leave. He depends on Dorothy to let Nipper go. Dorothy does this deed, but at the wrong place, at the wrong time. She lets him go at the railroad yards- the same place where the pigeons are caught! Does Nipper get caught? Will Palmer save him in time? Read this book to find out. What would you do to save a friend? Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to read Wringer, a book you will never put down.

12 of 15 found the following review helpful:


Wringer  Jul 04, 2000
Wringer is a great book for the upper elementary student. It is about a boy named Palmer who faces many real challenges is his life. He is dreading the day of his tenth birthday because that is the day he will become a wringer. In the town that he lives in they have an annual pigoen shooting day. Boys ten and up must run out onto the field and wring the necks of the wounded pigeons. Palmer thinks this is terrible and he doesn't think that he can be a part of this tradition. During the time before his birthday he gets invovled with a gang. This gang pressures him into things he doesn't want to do. It is an excellent story of peer pressure. Then one day a pigeon comes to his window and ends up being his house pet. This has to be kept secret from his friends or they might kill the pigeon. He confides in his neighbor Dorothy, who helps him keep his secret. Palmer's birthday is fast approaching and he must make a decision. A decision to follow the crowd or do what he feels is right in his heart. A great story of a boy's inner struggles to do the right thing.

9 of 11 found the following review helpful:


this book is awesome  Jan 17, 2000 By Kate
i've read a lot of reviews from people who think it's 2 violent... well guess what! the world is violent so get over it! it's a great book, so forget the ironic subject and pay attention 2 the flowing sentences and the way jerry spinelli describes this 10 year old's world. i am in 6th grade and to the 5th grade teacher who thinx it's 2 violent, i read this book last year and i still remember, THE KID'S NAME IS PALMER! read this book if you get a chance... it will be a big mistake if you don't thanx

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