The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

Floyd has the orphan Grady do all sorts of crazy antics to try to scam a few dollars off people. They try to dress Grady up like a swamp creature and sell tickets to see him. Once they even had an Ugliest Boy in the World routine. The money runs out and they need a new gig. That's when they think up a great feechie scare to drum up business.

You can hear an old man on a bayou reading you this story. I may be saying this because I am Southern and it appealed to my roots, but I thought the writing of this tale was masterful. Jonathan wrote in a way that I genuinely felt as though he were speaking to me with the dialect and intonations. I loved Grady right off the bat and couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what happened to him.

The more amazing part to me is how much is alluded to in the book. My mind is still unpacking it all. I think I will be for some time. It amazes me how clear things about ourselves can become as we see ourselves as characters in a story. I was Grady for a long time. Five stars. A great piece of fiction.It is fun and full of wisdom. I think Andrew Peterson said it best, "It's like CS Lewis meets Mark Twain." This is a great book to facilitate discussion in the family.


The Charlatan's Boy was graciously provided by Waterbrook Publishers for review.