The Paperboy - Paperback

by James Matthews (Author)

Summer, 1996. Sixteen-year-old Jake Jensen delivers newspapers at dawn, fixes engines by day, and carries a secret that could ruin his life in his small Wisconsin town: he's gay, lonely, and running out of hope. Then the silent boy next door moves in.

Josh Allenton doesn't speak. He barely reacts. And behind his bright blue eyes is a past so brutal it still holds him prisoner. But where everyone else sees someone broken, Jake sees someone worth knowing. What begins with shared silences, old video games, and afternoons by the lake slowly becomes something neither boy expected-trust, first love, and the fragile chance to heal.

For Jake, loving Josh means risking everything: his reputation, his safety, and the future he's barely begun to imagine. For Josh, loving Jake may mean finding his voice after years of fear.

Tender, aching, and ultimately hopeful, The Paperboy is a coming-of-age love story about faith, trauma, first love, and the quiet courage it takes to choose joy in a world that has given you every reason not to.