Promises to Keep

Copyboy by Vince Vawter

The promise seemed simple at first. Find the end of the river, the mouth. Spread the ashes.
​But the closer I got, the more complicated everything was getting.

Those who have read Vince Vawter’s Paperboy, may be surprised with Copyboy The cover states that it is “the sequel to Paperboy, a 2014 Newbery Honor Book.” The cover image of a young boy, with bag slung over his shoulder suggests this is a continuation of this youngster’s story. However, the narrative does not pick up where Paperboy left off. Vic has grown up. He’s doesn't deliver newspapers. He’s a high school graduate, headed for college. He has secured a job at the local newspaper office, owns a car, and possesses a mind of his own.

This is the story of Vic’s personal odyssey, fulfilling his promise to Mr. Spiro, the man who befriended the shy stuttering eleven-year-old. Before beginning a job at the Memphis newspaper and prior to his freshman year, Vic surreptitiously leaves home and travels to New Orleans. He is searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, where Vic plans to honor Mr. Spiro’s request to have his ashes scattered at the point where the river meets the ocean.

"It’s just something I have to do. For Mr. Spiro...and
​m—aybe for myself.”

Exactly where is the mouth of the Mississippi? The task proves to be more elusive than he initially thought it would be.

Through a contact from his hometown newspaper he meets the Henri Moreau family, who offer to assist him in his search. Vic is attracted to Philomena (Phil) Moreau, Henri's strikingly beautiful, no-nonsense daughter whose life revolves around the family business guiding deep-sea fishing expeditions. The two develop a friendship which at times skirts close to the edges of romance. 

He encounters his share of obstacles during his quest. In addition to determining the location where the ashes should be scattered, Vic is involved in a boating accident and sustains a serious head injury. Phil's former boyfriend attacks the boat with Phil and Vic onboard. A more serious threat is the gathering storm, Hurricane Betsy, headed toward New Orleans.

Vic's original plan for depositing Mr. Spiro's ashes must be abandoned.  While things do not work out as he had envisioned, he leaves New Orleans confident that he has fulfilled the spirit of Mr. Spiro's final request.  

The journey he sent me on to spread his ashes was his gift to me...It wasn’t about him. It was about me.

Breaking away. Finding meaning and purpose in life. Coping with uncertainty. Growing up is both a journey and a struggle. It seems appropriate that this personal coming-of-age saga is set during a turbulent historical event. Vawter captures the essence of rite-of-passage in this new chapter in Vic's life.

Personal Note: Scenes of the Moreau family preparing for Hurricane Betsy brought back memories of hurricanes that I have experienced. Recently, there were tense moments as we boarded up windows, secured exterior property, prepared the house for flooding, and then evacuated in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. In fact, I kept talking to the text through this entire sequence, urging the characters to move more quickly with their evacuation plans. The uncertainty and ominous feeling of preparing for the anticipated destruction are captured in tiny details: constantly checking for updates on the approaching storm, clearing all debris around the home which could possibly become projectiles, planning evacuation routes.

Wisdom from Mr. Spiro

Mr. Spiro was right. We don’t own books. We borrow them and pass them on. What we own is what the books leave inside of us.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: August 1, 2018  Publisher: Capstone Editions  ISBN: 978-1630791056