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Title: Clean Sweep
Author: E. B. Lee
Published: 20th of July 2021
Format: Digital – 292 pages
Hello Hello! How are you today?
I’m sorry I’ve been absent from the blog for over a week. I had my wisdom teeth taken out under general anaesthetic last Monday and long story short… recovery has been very slow and painful. I’m still not very good and the pain meds are making me quite depressed.
I was already a fair way into this book when I had this operation and while I was enjoying it, it was just not the right book for my mood. I’m going to try to finish it when I’m feeling better but I didn’t want my bad mood to reflect on my thoughts of the book because it is very poignant, has very strong themes and is beautifully written… So here are 5 reasons why YOU should read Clean Sweep by E. B. Lee!
Thank you so much as always to Dave for letting me be part of this tour, and thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… which I hope to write soon, but at least here are some of my thoughts already!
Trigger warnings: death, homelessness and struggles associated, alcoholism, drug use/abuse, drug dealing, lies, corruption, mention of cult, mention of disappearance, multiple scenes of illness, dogs in pounds.
5 reasons why you should read Clean Sweep by E. B. Lee
A strong, poignant and important theme
I would say that the main plot and theme of this book is homelessness, so a very tough topic but also an important one to be aware of and learn more about in order to change things and provide help to those who need it. It has some very vivid depictions of homelessness and I really like how the author has turned Carli into a militant figure trying to make real and visible changes!
The truth about homelessness… but also hope from helpers
As I mentioned in the trigger warnings, this book shows us that homelessness int just living and sleeping on the streets, it’s also being prey to corruption, to violence, drugs, alcohol and even sometimes falling victim to crime such as murder. This book shows that it’s not okay to be complacent and feel comforted by the fact that we have a roof over our heads because so many people don’t and a lot of time they just need a little nudge in the right direction. Which is my second point: this has a Christian undertone to help one’s neighbour and I liked the way this message was conveyed. Even though I’m not in any way shape or form a religious person, I can definitely say that church runs and drop-in centres run by a lot of religious entities are very important and bring hope to people living on the streets.
A beautiful writing style
Even though I was definitely not feeling this book right now with my mental state and the very difficult topics it goes into, I can’t not mention how beautifully it is written. The author has a very nice way with words, making her story poignant without being crass or horrific, even though it talks of horrors. It deserves to be read when my mind is back to its normal state so I can appreciate more than the writing style!
Creativity is key!
A nice little addition to this story and a secondary plot (I would say) is that Carli, our main character is also an artist trying to find her roots again. I have been really enjoying the scenes where she paints or draws, especially when she uses her talent to reach out to the women she has been tasked with helping. My father was an artist and I used to spend hours watching him paint, so these parts are kind of nostalgic to me, and beautifully written!
Intriguing and realistic characters
And a final reason to pick up Clean Sweep by E. B. Lee is that it has some really interesting characters. I especially like Carli, Kristin, Mercy, and a lot of the people living on the streets. I want to learn so much about them, how they ended up there and see them move towards getting off the streets for good. I’m also intrigued by two little mysteries that are ongoing, so I hope to learn all about them soon.
So those are my current thoughts on this book, which is as you can tell, really interesting, poignant and well written. It deserves to be read when my mind and mental state aren’t all over the place, so I’m hoping that will be sooner rather than later.
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and I hope you will pick up this book!
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx