This moving, detailed blend of historical novel and fantasy is one of the best I've ever read. It's one of those stories that shines on many levels. Through Nan's experiences, I learned a lot about the plight of children who worked as chimney sweeps in Victorian England and how their exploitation helped the movement against child labor to get started. It also had literary references to the poet William Blake (author of Songs of Innocence and Experience and a champion of exploited people like chimney sweeps and enslaved people) and Frankenstein, whose nameless monster is somewhat like a golem. I loved the character of Charlie; I've always felt sympathy for golems in their stories and the author of Sweep captured exactly why I feel this way. I won't give anything else away...I just want to say that this book is a must read if you love a complex story that will make you laugh, cry, and want to learn more.

And a good story.

Nan's "Sweep" has dissapeared, and she misses him. After almost dying in a chimney fire, she finds that the little soot in her pocket has turned into a golem, with the intention to protect her. This is a really, really sad book, and it almost made me cry at some points. SPOILER ALERT: Violence and Sadness: All the chimney sweeps' lives are super sad. Nan misses what the book calls "Her sweep" who acted like her father, and has dissapeared. Important characters die, and Nan's life is put in danger; it is noted that her boss doesn't care about the chimney sweeps at all.

Its sad, happy and a great book. There is a golem named Charlie who is really made out of soot and Nan (the girl in the story) is a chimney sweep.

This book was super dooper awesome and I loved it.