He is also extremely proud of him when he does so. He is not as sensitive as Victor, or as intuitive, but he is a very good friend, and he helps Victor express himself. He is an active, rambunctious boy who loves hurling mud clods and joke fighting with his cousins. Rat is Victor's best friend and it is his paper route that Victor takes over whilst Rat is visiting family in the country. He is a plucky, courageous kid who manages to face his stuttering head-on as he starts a new grade at school, taking the bull by the horns instead of letting it be something that the other children can tease him about throughout the year. His favorite person in the world is Mam, the colored housekeeper who looks after the family, and he does not believe that anyone should be judged by color, or race, but by their soul instead. This is not surprising since he hates to be judged by his stutter.

Victor is a boy who judges on character, not on appearance. He also has his first infatuation, although he cannot name it as such, he develops rather a crush on Faye Worthington and cannot stop thinking about how pretty she is. When he takes over Rat's paper route, Victor meets more people than he has in his life, and although he barely knows them starts to consider them friends.

After finding out his father is not his father, he does not get angry, or resentful about the man who acts as his dad, but appreciates him even more because he know he is a great father because he wants to be not because he is obligated to be. Victor is a sensitive and loving boy who comes to his own conclusions with great thought. Victor likes to read, and is a good poet, surprisingly passionate about words even though it is his inability to express them that makes his life difficult.

This takes rather a toll on his confidence, making it even harder to speak to people. Victor has an extremely debilitating stutter that makes his speech un-initelligible and also makes people assume he is mentally backward in some way. Victor is eleven years old, smarter than the average kid, and a far better baseball pitcher than most of his peers. Victor is the central character in the novel, and everything is narrated through his point of view. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey