I love to read. What I love even more is receiving books for free. I found this great program called "Blogging for Books" which gives away free books in exchange for a blog review. My first thought was "What's the catch?". Well, I haven't found one! No credit card required, no trial offers to sign up for, and I received my first book within a few days of requesting it.
The book I chose is "The Charlatan's Boy" by Jonathan Rogers. From the book cover:
"As far back as he can remember, the orphan Grady has tramped from village to village with a huckster named Floyd, pulling a variety of hoaxes and flimflams on the good citizens of the Corenwald frontier. It's a hard way to make a living, made harder by the memory of fatter times when audiences thronged to see Grady perform as "The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp." But what can they do? No one believes in feechies anymore.
Unless Floyd and Grady can make them believe.
Armed with the tricks of their trade, the charlatan and his boy set out to create another Great Feechie Scare, which Floyd swears will make them rich. But while Grady longs for the days when he played the feechie, he can't stop wondering if, after a life of lies, he'll ever know who he really is."
This book is a young adult novel about a boy named Grady and his travelling companion, Floyd. Grady has no idea how or where Floyd found him or why Floyd kept him. He's tried to get the story out of Floyd but showmen aren't the best at telling the truth. The two of them travel Corenwald with their many get rich quick schemes such as "The Ugliest Boy in the World", a short time as phrenologists, and of course their famous "Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp" act. Grady loved the feechie act and was thrilled when their Great Feechie Scare seemed to be working. All the while, he continued to wonder where he came from and scour the villages for someone as ugly as him who could possibly be his mother. Grady finally gets the answers to his questions in a completely unexpected ending.
"The Charlatan's Boy" is available through most major retailers with an MSRP of $13.99.
