{"id":36057,"date":"2019-03-26T21:22:46","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T01:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36057"},"modified":"2019-03-26T21:22:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T01:22:46","slug":"review-of-sweep-by-jonathan-auxier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36057","title":{"rendered":"Review of Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sweep<\/p>\n

The Story of a Girl and Her Monster<\/em><\/p>\n

by Jonathan Auxier<\/p>\n

Amulet Books, 2018. 358 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written September 23, 2018, from a book sent by the publisher
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#2 Children’s Fiction – Fantasy
\n2019 Sydney Taylor Gold Medal<\/a><\/p>\n

The way this book begins gives you a feeling of the magic to come:<\/p>\n

There are all sorts of wonderful things a person might see very early in the morning. You might see your parents sleeping. You might see an unclaimed penny on the sidewalk or the first rays of dawn. And if you are very, very lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the girl and her Sweep.<\/p>\n

Look! Here they are now, approaching through the early fog: a thin man with a long broom over one shoulder, the end bobbing up and down with every step. And trailing behind him, pail in hand, a little girl, who loves that man more than anything in the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The girl, Nan, is the assistant to the Sweep and life is beautiful by his side.<\/p>\n

But one night, the Sweep doesn\u2019t come back. He leaves her his hat and coat, with a charred clump of soot in its pocket. She calls it her \u201cchar,\u201d and it\u2019s oddly comforting and unnaturally warm, as she lives the difficult and dangerous life of a \u201cclimber\u201d \u2013 working for a sweep who is not kind or loving with a bunch of other stray kids who have no other home.<\/p>\n

But one day, when Nan\u2019s life is in danger in a tight chimney, she calls out for help \u2013 and the char in her pocket comes to life and breaks through the chimney. She ends up escaping from the cruel master and hiding out with her char, who quickly grows into a creature bigger than she is herself. He\u2019s oddly innocent and very protective of her \u2013 and eventually Nan figures out that the Sweep made her a golem to protect her. She names him Charlie<\/p>\n

This lovely book tells about Nan and Charlie\u2019s adventures in the city, trying to make a home for themselves and escape her cruel master, who is looking for her since she escaped the chimney and was thought to be dead. Meanwhile, we learn about the horrible plight of all the climber children in Victorian London. Can Nan and Charlie make things better for them as well?<\/p>\n

But the main trouble with loving a golem? He only lasts until his job is done.<\/p>\n

TheScop.com<\/a>
\namuletbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/sweep.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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