The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers was sent to me by Waterbrook Multnomah to review and I am so glad that they sent it!  This was one of the best books that I have read recently!

SUMMARY

The Charlatan's Boy is a tale of an orphan boy, named Grady, and his search to find himself. Grady is an orphan who has been brought up by a man named Floyd.  He doesn't know how or where Floyd found him.  Every time Grady asks Floyd about where he came from, Floyd gives him a different answer. Floyd is the charlatan. He is a master storyteller. He and Grady have never had a real home.  Instead, they travel around in their wagon and make a living as showmen.  For most of Grady's life, their show has been based on a local legend. There is a legend that "feechie" people live in the swamplands on the south of the island of Corenwald.  They are said to be a ruthless and uncivilized people and the city dwellers are afraid of them.  Floyd takes advantage of this fear and has created a "Feechie" act in which he pretends to be a feechie expert who has caught a real live he-feechie.  Grady plays the part of the he-feechie.  For a long time, their act has been a success, but now, the people of Corenwald have stopped believing in feechies.  Floyd and Grady have to come up with new acts.  These acts range from reading the bumps on peoples skulls to selling worthless remedies.  All of these different acts make for a very fun reading experience as Floyd and Grady get into all kinds of trouble and mischief.  No matter what they try, they still feel that they were made for the "feechie trade".  As they try to reinvent themselves, Grady tries to find out who he really is and where he belongs.

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK

-This book really ties into the issues of friendship, trust, and family

-It has a lot of interesting twists and outrageous actions

-The author writes the book in a sort of southern slang style that is really fun to read

-There are many funny parts to it

THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK

-I like everything about this book!

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR:

-Anyone who can read it; young, middle, old, all!!

-I think that this book would be great for those boys who don't like to read so much because I think that it would appeal to most boys because of all of the action.

A FEW THOUGHTS

-I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars

-It is not a Christian book but there is nothing bad in it or anti-Christian

-Homeschoolers could use this to compare and contrast different regions and their traditions

*You can check out the website for this book HERE