Copy Boy: Book Review and Giveaway

Review at a Glance

• Copy Boy
• My Rating: 3.5
• Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction
• Format: audiobook*
• Publication Date: June 23, 2020
• Author: Shelley Blanton-Stroud

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Copy Boy Book Blurb

Jane’s a very brave boy. And a very difficult girl. She’ll become a remarkable woman, an icon of her century, but that’s a long way off.

Not my fault, she thinks, dropping a bloody crowbar in the irrigation ditch after Daddy. She steals Momma’s Ford and escapes to Depression-era San Francisco, where she fakes her way into work as a newspaper copy boy.

Everything’s looking up. She’s climbing the ladder at the paper, winning validation, skill, and connections with the artists and thinkers of her day. But then Daddy reappears on the paper’s front page, his arm around a girl who’s just been beaten into a coma one block from Jane’s newspaper―hit in the head with a crowbar.

Jane’s got to find Daddy before he finds her, and before everyone else finds her out. She’s got to protect her invented identity. This is what she thinks she wants. It’s definitely what her dead brother wants.

Giveaway

My Thoughts

As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:

• 1 star: Did not finish
• 2 Stars: Finished but do not recommend
• 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
• 4 Stars: Loved this book!
• 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.

There is a part of me that wants to give Copy Boy 5 stars, and I honestly think with a few minor changes it could be.

The idea of the book is phenomenal. It’s not just about a woman pretending to be a man to get her dream job, it’s also about a woman finding her truth through a fog of lies. Jane struggled through poverty, sexism, and a really messed up family to try and make it as a reporter.

The ending is where Copy Boy shines for me. I don’t want to give anything away, but once the story hits its stride, we really get to see Jane shine. Through action and inaction, we see her accept the woman she is and make a life as herself. Its honestly beautiful.

I didn’t expect the elements of magical realism throughout, and maybe if I had, they wouldn’t have felt so off topic or out of the blue. But I loved the idea that her twin spoke to her and she could choose to listen or not. Jane finding her voice is really the point of the book.

The only thing I would change is the middle of the book. The beginning grabs the reader with lots of action and emotion, but once Jane begins her life as Benny, things really seem to slow down. Don’t get me wrong, a lot happens, it just seemed like the events could be more streamlined, keeping the pace of the book up.

Besides that, Copy Boy is a wonderful book that any historical fiction fan will devour.

Thanks so much to Shelley Blanton-Stroud and iRead Book Tours for my copy of Copy Boy in exchange for an honest review.