A novel set in a town that celebrates an annual Pigeon Day, on which pigeons are released into the air and shot. Ten-year-old boys act as “wringers”, collecting injured pigeons and wringing their necks to put them out of their misery. Nine-year-old protagonist Palmer is pressured by his friends into becoming a wringer but finds a companion in a pigeon, “Nipper”. As the annual Pigeon Day approaches, a budding crush combined with peer pressure lead to events that put Nipper in danger…

Novel · United States · 1997