I regularly run across news stories about the decline of the newspaper industry, but I was shocked when I saw the newspaper stand at my local gas station.  The papers are so puny now, printed on shrunken, skinny paper, a telltale sign of the Internet takeover of media.

Sue Corbett’s The Last Newspaper Boy in America (Dutton, 2009)  explores a similar theme.  Protagonist Wil has been dying for his twelth birthday because he’ll finally be old enough to inherit the family paper route.  In the small town of Steele, Pennsylvania, Wil’s family has delivered the paper for four generations.  Grandpa, dad, and two older brothers all delivered the paper, and now it’s finally Wil’s turn.  Finally, a chance to beat dad’s speed record.  A chance to perfect a near-perfect aim.  A chance to save up for a laptop (no more having to go to the library to surf the Internet).

But the day before his birthday, Wil discovers that his route is about to be cancelled.  The town of Steele is just too small, especially since the hairpin factory closed, to justify a route.  Wil rides twelve miles on his bike to complain to the editor.  But it’s a corporate decision made by higher-ups in a far-off city.  Wil’s parents try to help him face the hard facts of business.

But “Wil of Steele,” as he is called, won’t take no for an answer, and soon he’s on a mission for change.  In the end, Wil’s determination (along with some help from family and friends), not only save his route but his town as well.