ARA Review by Hokageq of The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid

[Hokageq]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid by Gary Robinson is the story about a unique journey in life. The story centers around a character named Duke and the circus life. It is the story of how Duke came to be a sword swallower, which I found to be quite interesting. The story also includes two of his very close friends.

This story is written in three different parts: The Sword Swallower’s Journey, The Destructive Path of Chico Kid and An Eccentric Friendship and Unconventional Mentoring. I loved all three of them. The book opens with the delivery of a package. Which then brings about a flood of flashback memories. The character Duke travels from city to city performing and returns to the place where his journey begins. Then he retells how the circus people became his family. How this family helped him overcome so many hard times in his life. I found these side characters to be well written and rather interesting. I found some of it hard to read because it was pretty hard to read about to me.

I enjoyed the realism in this book as far as writing and language are concerned. I haven't lived a similar life to any of these characters but I can relate to dealing with people that have drug and alcohol addictions. I found that it was an interesting spin on it.While I really enjoyed the first part of the book, I felt that the second two parts were less well-developed. Still, there was plenty to think about as I read the book, and it was still an interesting story.

If you have issues with reading about drug and alcohol use or abuse, avoid this book. If you do not like books with strong language, this one has quite a bit, so skip this one. I’d recommend this only to a reader that is okay with reading about the things mentioned above and who is looking for something that will challenge their thinking sadly I will be giving it 4 out of 5
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