Review of Street Sweeper

[Astral Magi]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Street Sweeper" by Paul Drewitt.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Newly graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Dr.Joanne Winter is ready and eager to save the world from drug addiction. Living a sheltered life with her mother and brother in an affluent suburb soon comes to an end when she approaches her mentor, Professor Susie Wallace, to help her. Jo's plan is to prove to the scientific community that using placebos would be a highly beneficial method of aiding in curing drug addicts. Susie encourages her and even gets her plans approved by the Medical Council which leads Jo down a spiralling path of street life, drugs, gangs and crime. She soon finds herself part of the drug scene after winning the trust of a pair of drug addicts and comes to realize that she too has become a Street Sweeper.

As Jo struggles to focus on her mission, the stark contrast between street life and the sheltered life she grew up in, becomes inescapably obvious.
Characters such as Charli, Sam and Mary add an edge to the plot, being streetwise addicts that need to be convinced to allow Jo into their lives.
She is deprived of simple daily rituals like taking a shower or having a safe place to sleep. Social problems are explored, leaving one to ponder on the fact that drug addictions are more often than not the result of circumstances which people are trying to escape from. Will Jo be able to escape the web of drugs and deception that she wove for herself?

Paul Drewitt succeeds in creating believable situations and characters, in Street Sweeper, bringing them to life and evoking empathy in the reader. I like the touch of irony that is incorporated by Jo losing her old self and becoming the street sweeper that she was only supposed to act as, serving as a warning to those who may feel the need to experiment with drugs to prove themselves.

Although I enjoyed the read, I do feel that more depth could have been added to some of the characters, perhaps exploring their thoughts and feelings in more detail. Other than this minor critque, I feel that it is generally a good read.

Although the book is in need of some extra editing, the insights into the lives of those who land up homeless and using drugs are depicted eloquently and with a great deal of empathy. The story is fast paced and the use of profanity, explicit scenes and violence is to be expected when drug addiction is depicted in all its ugly gory detail.

I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars, because even though there are some mistakes, it succeeds in creating awareness of the humanness of people that are mostly treated as outcasts. This book is a good fit for anyone seeking an action packed story with a lesson or two. Due to some scenes that depict violence and others that are sexually explicit, this book is not suitable for the young.

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Street Sweeper
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[Kaushiki Parihar]

The book's sounds enlightening as it touches a very important issue of drug addiction. Thanks for the nice review.

[markodim721]

I like that the plot of the book contains streetwise characters. Thanks for the good review.

[Astral Magi]

The book's sounds enlightening as it touches a very important issue of drug addiction. Thanks for the nice review.

Thank you. It is a riveting read.

[Astral Magi]

I like that the plot of the book contains streetwise characters. Thanks for the good review.

Thank you. I enjoyed reading it.

[Muna Chizzy]

I love action packed story, seems like a book one will enjoy and learn alot from, especially in the aspect of drug addiction. Thanks for the review.

[Astral Magi]

I love action packed story, seems like a book one will enjoy and learn alot from, especially in the aspect of drug addiction. Thanks for the review.

If action is what you enjoy, then this book is for you.

[Janet Kimetto]

This is an interesting plot. Had me wondering if using placebos could really work like Jo thought. Thanks for the wonderful review!

[Astral Magi]

This is an interesting plot. Had me wondering if using placebos could really work like Jo thought. Thanks for the wonderful review!

Hi there. Many tests have been done regarding placebos and it seems that there is a definite correlation between health and mind.