ksaunders521's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
johanna_b's review against another edition
5.0
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 just when the worst comes and Nan thinks she’s at the end she is saved by a mysterious creature called a golem. Together they embark on a journey and start a new life together but even then life is never as easy as it seems…
Our Mom read this book aloud to us and it was truly sensational. You forget how young Nan really is because her maturity and strength exceeds that of any eleven year old that I’ve ever met. This is a book full of courage, sacrifice and love and would highly recommend it to people of all ages. To be honest I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy a book with a monster in it but really loved how he played into the story as well as the historical insight to life as a chimney sweep.
Thank you to Jonathan Auxier and everyone who made this book possible! It is positively beautiful.
Our Mom read this book aloud to us and it was truly sensational. You forget how young Nan really is because her maturity and strength exceeds that of any eleven year old that I’ve ever met. This is a book full of courage, sacrifice and love and would highly recommend it to people of all ages. To be honest I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy a book with a monster in it but really loved how he played into the story as well as the historical insight to life as a chimney sweep.
Thank you to Jonathan Auxier and everyone who made this book possible! It is positively beautiful.
christinafrancisgilbert's review against another edition
5.0
What a delightful story. Not in the sense of it being full of positive experiences or treatment of characters but more for the underlying representation of true friendship and the didactic nature of its storytelling.
Nan Sparrow, a young climber, having lost her friend and guardian the Sweep five years before, works for a ruthless chimney sweep. She is caught in an accident and feared dead, but wakes in an abandoned attic, looked after by a mysterious golem creature made from soot and ash. Each character learns from the other and their friendship is central to the plot. A busy plot with lots going on and we are drawn to follow Nan and her 'monster' through Victorian London.
The narrative intrigues the reader with its added details taken from literature like William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, works from Charles Dickens and Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies.
It builds up to incidents, which renew our trust in the good nature of humanity and the need to care for others. Particular horrors of the Victorian age are presented in an informative, emotive manner, such as chimney sweeping, social class differences of the age, poverty in Victorian city life, May Day celebration and abuse for low-paid workers.
I love the idea of 'Story Soup', which is explained in one of the earlier chapters, as a beautiful moment when the protagonist Nan remembers listening to her lost friend the Sweep who 'would take out each object as he talked, weaving it into the story ... And even though they had eaten nothing, the girl still ended her day with a belly full of story - which sticks to the ribs even better than mutton.'
I am even more grateful for the way Jonathan Auxier gives an author's explanation for how his story and characters developed for him, inspired by a number of significant objects or experiences: a clay golem figurine, a battered copy of The Water Babies, a swaddling cloth and a library card. The Author's Note at the end is marvellous. 'How does one create a story?' indeed!
The structure of the novel works perfectly for me too, with its story divided into the first half Part One: Innocence and the second Part Two: Experience. The whole story is lyrical, so well researched and magical in its incorporation of references from classical literature. Awesome.
'We save ourselves by saving others.'
Review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
Nan Sparrow, a young climber, having lost her friend and guardian the Sweep five years before, works for a ruthless chimney sweep. She is caught in an accident and feared dead, but wakes in an abandoned attic, looked after by a mysterious golem creature made from soot and ash. Each character learns from the other and their friendship is central to the plot. A busy plot with lots going on and we are drawn to follow Nan and her 'monster' through Victorian London.
The narrative intrigues the reader with its added details taken from literature like William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, works from Charles Dickens and Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies.
It builds up to incidents, which renew our trust in the good nature of humanity and the need to care for others. Particular horrors of the Victorian age are presented in an informative, emotive manner, such as chimney sweeping, social class differences of the age, poverty in Victorian city life, May Day celebration and abuse for low-paid workers.
I love the idea of 'Story Soup', which is explained in one of the earlier chapters, as a beautiful moment when the protagonist Nan remembers listening to her lost friend the Sweep who 'would take out each object as he talked, weaving it into the story ... And even though they had eaten nothing, the girl still ended her day with a belly full of story - which sticks to the ribs even better than mutton.'
I am even more grateful for the way Jonathan Auxier gives an author's explanation for how his story and characters developed for him, inspired by a number of significant objects or experiences: a clay golem figurine, a battered copy of The Water Babies, a swaddling cloth and a library card. The Author's Note at the end is marvellous. 'How does one create a story?' indeed!
The structure of the novel works perfectly for me too, with its story divided into the first half Part One: Innocence and the second Part Two: Experience. The whole story is lyrical, so well researched and magical in its incorporation of references from classical literature. Awesome.
'We save ourselves by saving others.'
Review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
losquish's review against another edition
5.0
Love love loved it!
This story is told with beautiful prose, but it tells a story both happy and sad.
It mostly seems sad, but it is absolutely worth the payoff. It’s hard to explain just how much I loved this book without spoiling it all, so I will just list some major themes and topics.
Victorian London
Chimney sweeps and climbers
Kids doing kid things, but in Victorian London depressing ways
Loss, grief, denial, hardship, working hard for little to know payoff.
Hope. Love. Found family.
This book was also a very quick read! It has re-read potential as well, knowing how it ends does not take away from the journey of starting back at the beginning.
This story is told with beautiful prose, but it tells a story both happy and sad.
It mostly seems sad, but it is absolutely worth the payoff. It’s hard to explain just how much I loved this book without spoiling it all, so I will just list some major themes and topics.
Victorian London
Chimney sweeps and climbers
Kids doing kid things, but in Victorian London depressing ways
Loss, grief, denial, hardship, working hard for little to know payoff.
Hope. Love. Found family.
This book was also a very quick read! It has re-read potential as well, knowing how it ends does not take away from the journey of starting back at the beginning.
katieproctorbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my goodness I loved this book SO much. Nan Sparrow is a young girl in Victorian England working as a climber for a chimney sweep. There is so much history here, magic, love, and kindness. There are ugly truths about the real world but the story unfolds in such a hopeful way. It’s a perfect middle grade read, IMO.
elfqueenvik's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a mixture of Historical Fiction and Fairy Tale. All the elements are woven tovether perfectly and the story itself is whimsical and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this story and parts practically made me bawl like a baby. Its safe to say that this is a new favorite of mine.
Many thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy.
thecontrarybookworm's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not going to lie, I did not want to read this book at first. I’m not a fan of historical fiction, and a story about monsters and chimney sweeps in England does not sound very appealing. But it’s highly rated and recommended, so I decided to give it a try.
To be honest, this was one of the very best historical fiction books I’ve read. Auxier creates a cold world of struggling characters trying to make a home amidst the cruelties of child labor, yet it’s one you don’t want to leave.
Nan Sparrow is a climber — a girl owned by a chimney sweep and forced to climb up tiny flues all day. Her master, Wilkie Crudd, is cruel, and she and the other children have barely enough to eat. But this is the only thing she’s ever known, sweeping. And she is desperate to find a man, one who cared for her until she was six years old until she found herself alone.
The Sweep made her see the magic in everything, keeping the two of them lighthearted. Indeed, they kept each other alive for half a dozen years until he vanished.
One day, Nan nearly dies in a chimney fire but awakes unharmed in a room with her char — a tiny piece of the Sweep’s love — miraculously alive. Together, Nan and her monster find a home together and realize the truth about love.
This book made me smile, it made me (almost) cry, and I loved Nan’s character, how brave and kind she was.
Ages: 9-14. There is some violence and related elements.
To be honest, this was one of the very best historical fiction books I’ve read. Auxier creates a cold world of struggling characters trying to make a home amidst the cruelties of child labor, yet it’s one you don’t want to leave.
Nan Sparrow is a climber — a girl owned by a chimney sweep and forced to climb up tiny flues all day. Her master, Wilkie Crudd, is cruel, and she and the other children have barely enough to eat. But this is the only thing she’s ever known, sweeping. And she is desperate to find a man, one who cared for her until she was six years old until she found herself alone.
The Sweep made her see the magic in everything, keeping the two of them lighthearted. Indeed, they kept each other alive for half a dozen years until he vanished.
One day, Nan nearly dies in a chimney fire but awakes unharmed in a room with her char — a tiny piece of the Sweep’s love — miraculously alive. Together, Nan and her monster find a home together and realize the truth about love.
This book made me smile, it made me (almost) cry, and I loved Nan’s character, how brave and kind she was.
Ages: 9-14. There is some violence and related elements.
thatsoneforthebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Recommended to me by my 9yo, this book mixed charming fantasy with gritty historical fiction around the seriously messed up lives of chimney sweeping children in Victorian England. Amazing world-building and lovely writing!
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
5.0
This was an unputdownable, devour in a day, kind of book. Nan is a chimney sweep in Victorian England. She used to be under the care of "the Sweep", but he left one night leaving behind only his hat and a bit of char. This char is magic as it always holds a bit of warmth to keep Nan from freezing on cold nights. But at some point (early in the story) it gets much more magic than that and we get to meet Charlie.
This book is middle grade perfection. Absolutely shows you the world through another's eyes, has that bit of magic thrown in, prizes friendships and learning and story. It is recently what middle grade should be.
This book is middle grade perfection. Absolutely shows you the world through another's eyes, has that bit of magic thrown in, prizes friendships and learning and story. It is recently what middle grade should be.