Monday, January 31, 2011

My Review: The Rogue Shop by Michael Knudsen


I think I have a crush on Chris Kerry. Okay, so he’s the fictional main character of Michael Knudsen’s novel, The Rogue Shop—but, my goodness, I think he’s adorable.

Tall, dark, and Texan, with an unassuming air and curious enough about life to befriend a lonely old lady who practically lives in the basement of the tuxedo shop where he works. Even getting along with Travis, who is so consumed by what he views as his physical shortcomings he has trouble seeing he can make real friends. Oh, yes, Chris is definitely a keeper.

Mike has done a great job in The Rogue Shop introducing us to characters who are warm, rich and vibrant—and mildly irritating—sort of like relatives we don’t visit often enough. He tells the story of Chris, who comes from Texas to Utah to get his college education—and nothing else—but ends up getting an entirely different education in addition to his academic studies.

Oh, dear, I’m starting to sound a bit like Travis.

I’m not going to lie. I really, enjoyed this book. It’s clever, humorous, and entertaining. And even a little heartwarming. It’s great fun to read a book and have my kids ask me “what’s so funny?” every time I laugh out loud.

Remember, this is the last leg of our blog hopping contest, for which the prize on my blog is a $15 Amazon gift card. Check out Maggie Fechner's BLOG, Mike's BLOG and Dan Harrington's BLOG for their posts. And, for a review of the rules for my contest, click HERE.

2 comments:

Michael Knudsen said...

Thanks for the great review, Cheri, and good luck on the "hop"!

Cami Checketts said...

Thanks for the review. I will definitely check this book out. I haven't read Michael's work before, it's always fun to find a new author.