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THE SUCCESSOR TO TWAIN

by TAMMY CUEVAS

August 6, 2012

@selftaughtcook2

Grady has no memory of his origins. Not for lack of trying, though; he has spent many hours trying to remember a family or home before Floyd, a huckster who makes his living perpetrating hoaxes on villages. Each time he asks Floyd where he came from, he receives a different story. One story is that he found him squawling under a palmetto bush; another story is that his real mama gave him away because he was too ugly to keep. Grady is inclined to believe that one, because he looks different from everyone else. He looks like a feechie, and Floyd makes a living by showing Grady as a "genuine, real live, he-feechie". As they make the rounds fleecing the villagers, Grady is on a journey to the knowledge of who he truly is.

If I believed in reincarnation, and I don't, I would claim to have found the "genuine, real live, reincarnation of Mark Twain". Jonathan Rogers' writing style is so reminiscent of Twain that it is eerie. For everyone who ever felt sad because they realized they had read all of Twain's works, and now there is nothing to look forward to, here is the answer. And when I read his blog and realized that he also likes and is influenced by Flannery O'Connor, I was even happier. Anyone who likes Twain and O'Connor is okay by me. This novel was categorized as YA, but this middle-aged woman enjoyed it just as much today as I would have at 13. Jonathan Rogers is a writer for all ages.

Definitely 5 stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program . I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”