Book Review: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

Title: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Author: Jonathan Auxier
Copy Obtained: Purchased

About the Book from Goodreads
For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on "climbing boys"--orphans owned by chimney sweeps--to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived--and a girl. With her wits and will, she's managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again. 

But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature--a golem--made from ash and coal. This is the creature that saved her from the fire. 

Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a life together--saving one another in the process. 

One sentence review: A sweet story about a girl finding her way and finding a place to belong. 

Best for readers who: Like stories with a bit of magic.

Best Stick-with-You Image: Her climbing through the chimneys.  So claustrophobic!!! 

Library Thoughts: For sure. Perfect for middle school and upper elementary students.

I enjoyed this book, but I will say I didn't love it fully. The story was great. I loved the whole chimney sweeps - very interesting especially when you read the author notes at the end. I learned a lot about chimney sweeps. I loved how it was about a girl who was very independent but also clearly wanting a family of some sort. And I loved her monster or golem or whatever you want to call him. Loved him! He made me laugh, made me cry - he was wonderful. By far my favorite part of the book! So overall I loved all that. 

I think my issue was with her - Nan. She just rubbed me the wrong way some. I was supposed to feel for her and understand her. I understood she was the way she was because of how she grew up. I got that. But so many times she made such rash, non-thinking decisions that it frustrated me. I wanted to care about her so much more than I could because her actions and treatment of people got in the way of that. Not enough to dislike the book, because as you can see above I did like it. Her character just kept me from liking it 100%. 

Now I'll still fully and enthusiastically sell this book to my students because I know many won't feel the way I did. I think my being an adult affected much of how I felt! And that cover! That alone will help me sell it to kids!