Official Review: Chewed Confessions by Cheryl Kirwan

[Reading lady]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chewed Confessions" by Cheryl Kirwan.]

---

Share This Review

---

Chewed Confessions by Cheryl Kirwan is a very different book. This is a collection of stories told by the piece of gum that is being chewed. We meet nine different characters. Their thoughts and history are related to us by the piece of gum selected by that character to chew that day. We hear from nine flavours in all; everything from cherry jubilee to triple bubble to peppermint. Who would have thought of telling a story using gum as the narrator? An interesting twist on perspective!

The book was well written, easy to read and interesting. I would rate it 3 out of 4 stars.

I am rating it three stars because the writing style is excellent, the stories interesting, the characters are well developed and they are realistic. The reader is presented with a variety of personalities, each of whom is dealing with a real issue. They are all thought provoking stories and explore a broad spectrum of human emotions. I enjoyed the humour she used to describe what the gum was experiencing and I also felt she did a nice job of resolving each situation, again in a realistic manner. It was also neat the way the character in each story was connected to the next one.

I could not give four stars however, for the following reasons. The first thing that I noticed was the chapter headings, which were the gum flavours. Whoever heard of gum that is flavoured minty chocolate, or clove? Can't imagine wanting to chew clove flavoured gum even if it was available! So she lost a few points on realism there. Also I am not particularly fond of short stories, which these were. I like something that goes deeper and is more involved. Each of these stories (or at least several of them) could have been expanded into a full length novel or a few of them could have been combined to make a novel. I was left wondering, at the end of some of the stories, what happened to them; characters such as Jason, Abby, Zeke orRudy. As I was reading I was expecting that eventually something would transpire to bring some of these individuals together but that didn't happen. Each chapter was an interesting excerpt from a day in the life of that character but there was no plot to the stories. I was left wanting more in most cases.

I think someone who is looking for an easy, enjoyable, light read would like this book. It was a fun read.

***
Buy "Chewed Confessions" on Amazon
Buy "Chewed Confessions" on Barnes and Noble

[cherkirwan]

Hi Reading Lady,

Thank you so much for taking your valuable time to review my book Chewed Confessions. Also, thank you for the kind words and 3 star rating. Glad you enjoyed the short stories. I understand about the chapter heading names of the chewing gum, but I had to create flavors as it would have been a legal process to get permission to use existing gum flavors. Your review is very much appreciated and wish you all the best. Take care. Cheryl

[Reading lady]

Thanks for explaining that. I wasn't aware of that problem. Good luck in your writing career.

[Mickaila]

Good job on the review! Also, very interesting about the gum flavors, I didn't know there would have been a need for permission.