I picked this up because I wanted something “easy” to read after a fairly taxing nonfiction read. Well, joke’s on me because Sweep was far more complex than what I expected from a Middle-Grade story and pretty much sucked me in and left me in tears by the end of the story.

As you may expect by its subtitle, Sweep is the story of Nan, a chimney sweep, and her char-turned-sentient friend Charlie. The story starts when Nan, literally stuck in a tight spot, is almost burnt to a crisp. This act, however, serves to wake Charlie and the two of them start to build a life together in an abandoned house.

Sweep manages to mix both the innocence of childhood and friendship with the tragedy of child chimney sweepers. Auxier certainly doesn’t hold back when he writes about the dangers of the “job” and the reasons children are so often forced into it. I was basically tearing up during the book because the life these children lead is just so heartbreaking.

At the same time, there’s something about Charlie’s naivety and opposition to being a ‘monster’ that warmed my heart. I completely understood why Nan, emotionally aged by her tough life, wanted to protect this gentle giant. (I was also reminded of Baymax whenever I first met Charlie, though I suppose it’s because I’ve not seen many characters like them!)

There is also a good helping of magic in the story, all thanks to Charlie. I won’t spoil the book for you, but I liked how Charlie’s story tied back to Nan’s. I still don’t know all the answers about his existence and about the man who raised Nan, but I found that finding answers was less important by the end. What I wanted to see, and what I got, was a beautiful friendship between Nan, Charlie, and Toby.

Toby, by the way, was a lovable supporting character. In true Middle-Grade fashion, there is no romance here, only hints of it as Toby wants to hold Nan’s hand at a festival and Nan sometimes blushes. Instead, the focus of Toby and Nan’s friendship is really their friendship, and we see Toby’s generous heart as he tries to take care of her in her own way.

I found out about Sweep through Katie’s review on it and in her review, she wonders if kids will be eager for Sweep. It’s a valid question – the topics here can be dark and the story isn’t the flashiest. But as I see my niece enjoy Matilda, another story that also deals with child abuse, I start to think that young children can enjoy this book too.