Review - The Charlatan's Boy

by Billy Burgess

May 22, 2012

@coffeeramblings

Grady is an uneducated 12-year-old orphan who is caring, innocent, and generally a nice person, but he is not particularly good looking. With no family to love, he travels the countryside with a con artist named Floyd. Together they work as a team to swindle wages from the town folks by using a variety of schemes, such as Grady performing as “The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp.”

Floyd knows all the tricks of their trades, and with Grady’s help, they plan to create a Great Feechie Scare, hoping they will get rich. After a life of being a liar and a fraud, young Grady starts to wonder what kind of a person he is becoming.

WaterBrook Press was nicely enough to send me this copy in exchange for my review. I am glad I picked out The Charlatan’s Boy for my first review with them. Author Jonathan Rogers has creatively twined a charming folk tale in the swamps and wild country of Corenwald. Grady is a sweet and fun character to get to know. My favorite part of the book is when Grady accidentally goes to school. Everything that comes out of Grady’s mouth is hilarious, but the poor boy never actually means to be funny, as he is just not use to a normal life. Overall, I enjoyed reading about Grady’s adventures. I recommend The Charlatan’s Boy to all readers, young and old.