Copy Boy

A Novel

By: Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Narrated by: April Doty

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

“This is Raymond Chandler for feminists.” (Sharma Shields, author of The Cassandra)

"An engrossing work of fiction. An expressive and striking story that examines what one does for family and for oneself." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Underneath a neatly crafted thriller is a deeper story about social mobility, gender inequality, and the higher hurdles women — particularly those of a lower class — are sometimes forced to jump over in order to make a name for themselves.” (Paperback Paris)

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.

©2020 Shelley Blanton-Stroud (P)2020 Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Great Book!

Great narration good writing

just not my cup of tea......do want to recommend to others though.

Better than Okie Pies

When I spotted the billboard advertising "Okie Pies" along I-40 (Historic Route 66) an hour's drive from Bakersfield last week, I felt exhilarated. This iconic sign coincidentally heralded my completion of the audiobook for Shelley Blanton-Stroud's Copy Boy during our long drive through the southwest. As my husband and I drove hundreds of miles through the high desert, oftentimes without signs of civilization on the horizon, we were drawn into this dense-pack of a story about a family driven from Oklahoma during the 1930s Dust Bowl to California, the purported land of milk and honey. More precisely, this story is about Jane, a young protagonist who personally walks the reader through every gritty obstacle she encounters in her determination for a better life than the one thrust upon her by fate and family. The author has created a setting rich in history, folklore, mysticism, and best of all--a full bore mystery. Bravo to skillful author Shelley Blanton-Stroud and to April Doty, the marvelous narrator of this audiobook.

Love a glimpse into the people struggling in SF in 1930

Very enjoyable book in 1930 SF life. I loved the characters and how the narrator gave them life. I was a bit confused by the whole brother Bennie suddenly inside her. And a professional editor might help to fix the grammar. Mostly too many she’s. She, she,she. But all in all a book you cannot put down!!