The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

“I only know one man who might be able to tell me where I come from, and that man is a liar and a fraud.”

As far back as he can remember, the orphan Grady has tramped from village to village in the company of a huckster named Floyd. With his adolescent accomplice, Floyd perpetrates a variety of hoaxes and flimflams on the good citizens of the Corenwald frontier, such as the Ugliest Boy in the World act.

It’s a hard way to make a living, made harder by the memory of fatter times when audiences thronged to see young Grady perform as “The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp.” But what can they do? Nobody believes in feechies anymore.

When Floyd stages an elaborate plot to revive Corenwalders’ belief in the mythical swamp-dwellers known as the feechiefolk, he overshoots the mark. Floyd’s Great Feechie Scare becomes widespread panic. Eager audiences become angry mobs, and in the ensuing chaos, the Charlatan’s Boy discovers the truth that has evaded him all his life—and will change his path forever.

This was a very interesting book. I had heard great reviews about it, but I wasn't sure what to expect when I cracked it open.

I have a read a lot of books, but never a book like this one.

Rogers takes you inside Grady's head, his writing style is very unique. It made me think of Gilbert Morris' Barney Buck series (just the writing style - all country like). The words in this book were my favorite. I'd laugh and read them out loud. Words/sentences/chapter titles like "feechiefolks", "In which we commence terrorizing the populace", "goozle", "gumption", etc.

And the plot was actually pretty good, the characters were quirky and felt almost real, and the feechies...Any book with feechies in it HAS to be good.

I'd never read a book about shows on the road (besides circuses) and charlatans, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading about it. It was interesting seeing Grady's point of view in the story - you usually never see it from an entertainers point of view.

I recommend this book to any who is interested in feechies, the world's most beautiful eighty-two-year-old woman, Pete's Dragon (and who DOESN'T love that movie?), alligators, or cowboys.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Holy Bible, ICB

This is the Holy Bible, for younge girls. It has a dictionary in the back, which could be very helpful for younge readers. It also had a section in the back of God's promises. I think that's great because children need to know what God says, and He does have many wonderful promises for them that they may not know about otherwise. There were "Memory Verses for Life" that I thought were really nice, because it can help encourage kids to memorize scripture, and gives them an idea of what verses they might like to memorize. I loved the translation, International Children's Bible (ICB). It was so easy to understand! It made the Bible seem more storylike and kept Biblical truths at the same time.

I think that this is honestly a great Bible. It's simple, and the Preface helped assure me that it was translated accurately. The design of the Bible is cute and girly, and the 3D designs on the front seem durable, like the rest of the Bible. I thought the print was easy to read, and wasn't too small, especially considering the size of the Bible. I would recomend this Bible translation to anyone with a child, and this Bible to anyone with a little girl.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.