Nebraska Avenue

 

Nebraska Avenue by Vincent Rubino
6/22/26; 246 pages
Atmosphere Press

Nebraska Avenue by Vincent Rubino is a delightful, nostalgic, very highly recommended coming-of-age novel set during the Bicentennial summer of 1976 and follows a group of paperboys.  I enjoyed every part of this excellent novel. 

Thirteen-year-old Artie Mooney and Wally Tazowski are best friends and Newsday paperboys who live on Nebraska Avenue in the neighborhood called "The States" because all the streets are named after U.S. states. It's located in North Bay Shore, Suffolk County, on Long Island. When a new family moves into a house on Nebraska Avenue (where the despicable Billy Sullivan used to live), the two meet their new neighbor, fourteen-year-old Vinny Perino. 

The three boys quickly make friends, add a third to practice baseball with and have Vinny sign up for an open route with Mr Raviola to deliver the Newsday newspaper. Artie and Wally help Vinny find a milk crate to strapped to his bicycle handlebars and hold the newspapers. Vinny, in turn, finds a group of friends with the paperboys, including Artie, Wally, Franco, Gabby, Lenny, and Curtis. When it seems a burglar is targeting homes on Vinny's route, Corporal Tim Benton and officer Jon Owens question Vinny. Benton believe Vinny, but Owens seems to have a grudge against paperboys.

This is a well-written, well-paced, wonderful, and enjoyable journey back to 1976 that can be humorous and nostalgic, but also includes some shenanigans and a crime to solve by the paperboys. I loved the way the characters interacted with each other and made plans. This is the perfect novel I needed to read this summer right before the 4th of July. Rubino includes all sorts of details based on the time period, when kids were out on their bikes or walking everywhere without a whole lot of supervision. (During this time I would have one of the older sisters annoyed by the kids.) 

The character are all portrayed as realistic, unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses. It is easy to tell them apart because they all have their own distinctive style and personality. The dialogue and discussions between them is realistic because Rubino is recalling his memories of the time period and his friends. He also captured the homesickness you can feel when moving into a new area, even as a child, which I totally understand. 

Nebraska Avenue is an excellent choice for everyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories in a historical setting that also include humor. I really love this novel. Thanks to Atmosphere Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.