What a beautiful story of resilience and growth!

I wish I had written my review immediately after reading Sweep, but there was much to ponder on and process.

I saved many quotes, too many to be able to include them all here. A lot of them revolved on finding your purpose in life. One must have a purpose:

"You're like Isaac Ware. Miss Bloom sees it. That's why she's taken a shine to you. I've known it my whole life." He was looking right at her. "You are destined for something great, Nan Sparrow."

Nan tapped her spoon against the bottom of her dish. "I'm just trying to keep alive."

"Keeping alive isn't enough. You have to live for something. You need purpose." (p. 269).

***

Here's another great passage:

She shook her head, remembering the sight of Crudd's battered face. However handsome he may have once been, he would never be so again. "I don't think there'll be too many more weddings in the Clean Sweep's future." She said it in a way to let him know she was proud. "I think it's fitting. Folks ought to look the way on the outside that they are on the inside."

"Nan?" Charlie said. "Do I look on the outside the way I am on the inside?"

Nan hesitated. She knew what Charlie looked like. And the way he had looked in front of Crudd—smoldering and huge. If he hadnt been a monster before, he was then. "Actually, I think I was wrong to say what I just said. My whole life, folks have treated me like I was nothing—just because of how I looked. And maybe that's the problem. If we all could just ignore the way other people looked, then we could see who they really were."

Charlie nodded. "He called me a monster. Just like those other people." He looked down, kneading his thick fingers. "I tried reading about golems in our book of beasts. I saw the word 'monster' there, too."

Nan put her hand on his. His fingers were warm and crumbly and just the right size. As though they had been made for her. "So what if you are a monster?" She squeezed his hand. "I wouldn't have it any other way." (p. 211-212).

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster - Likewise Book Reviews

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