Cancionero

by Randolph Parrish

Juvenile fiction:
About a boy who saved a town -- almost.
Jeremy, a kid nobody wants, gets dumped in an orphanage full of other kids nobody wants. That would be the end of the story, except for an ancient spinster jilted in youth; a presumptuous and vain but cowardly mayor; a drunkard who is trying to find a second chance; a bully; a girl who can't keep her socks clean; and a forlorn Western town.
You're never a reject just because somebody else says so.

Genres: Fiction

182 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Katie Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cancionero is a small, poor, dusty town in Arizona where few people venture. In this town is a shabby orphanage where children are sent to be forgotten. Jeremy is a young boy, rejected by his father, sent to the orphanage to become one of the forgotten. However, through his talent, good heart, and courage, Jeremy is able to help the orphanage, the people, and the town.

This short book has a folktale feel about it and is an enjoyable read. The characters are realistic and relatable.

I won this book in Goodreads giveaways.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can one child really save a town? Jeremy comes to town as an orphan but he is about to shake everyone and everything up.
This tale has everything...rejection, bullying, redemption, and simple survival.
Characterization keeps this story interesting and the pace remains pretty steady but not too slow. The plot is easy to follow and the town is pretty much dead, but little miracles can happen.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am grateful to have won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. I intend to use for a Summer Learning Program prize at the library where I work. Overall, it is an enjoyable read.

This story reads like Lemony Snicket's books, as far as language goes. And, I am happy to say that the voice remained throughout. The story is also fairly interesting and at times gets a chuckle!

My critiques: I was somewhat distracted by typos throughout. Also, although the introduction of the various characters is necessary in their own chapters, it is done in a haphazard way that distracts from the flow of the story. Dividing the book into parts may be more useful, as far as organization and flow goes.

Finally, I would say that the book could use more editing, but I think it has potential. Further editions could be quite good!

[Pastel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming little story about a shabby Western town filled with quirky characters. The author has a lot of potential, and with a good editor/beta this story could be amazing.

I saw this title on a giveaway (I didn't win), and I loved the cover (I thought it was Credence Barebone fan art, lol), and jumped on Amazon to read a preview. The narration has an easy, conversational flow. It feels like someone is sitting beside you, telling you a tale while you relax on a porch on a hot summer night in Arizona, drinking beers and being nostalgic for childhood.

I got it for less than a dollar on Amazon!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book. A little strange at first. The story seems to jump around, but it comes together at the end. I liked it.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable to read. I like the writing style and the story.

[Marlana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this e book on good reads. It was a cute story. Really would have liked to see how the future left these children when they were old enough to leave.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Kindle edition of this book is absolutely riddled with errors. Dozens of typos and missing and duplicate words fill the pages. The formatting and punctuation are both a complete mess. The tense randomly changes in multiple paragraphs. The constant misuse of semicolons and (massively overused) dashes just make it unpleasant to look at. At first I was willing to blame this on the editor, or lack of, because the story was intriguing enough. But when I saw “there” when it should have said “their”, it was over for me.

I did read the entire book, but I don’t recommend reading the Kindle edition if you have any kind of standards for literature. I am the first to admit that I am a grammar snob. But the amount of errors in this book takes it beyond just cringing at the lack of a comma. It is completely unacceptable and frankly, I think, irresponsible to publish a book with quite literally as many errors as there are pages in the book, especially seeing how it is geared toward younger readers.

The sad thing is, it really could have been a decent book, if anyone had bothered to proofread it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a recently edited version of this story, so the issues described in earlier reviews have been resolved.

This was a charming story about the children and adults associated with an orphanage. The story is beautifully written, the prose a delight to read. The characters are quirky and memorable. I also loved the dry wit contained within, as well, such as the following:

"A man wanting a mule might discover an entire inch and a quarter at the bottom right hand-corner, listing addresses where such might be found. A man wanting a mate might find a similar column, of similar size, in the lower left-hand corner. And such was the difference between these items that they were seldom (if ever) confused with one another."

It was an interesting contrast that some of the children were there because of abusive parents, who seemingly sent them away. On the other hand, the new school teacher gets a motherly figure in widow in whose home he takes up residence.

[Cindy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book after a contest, and thought the story was very cute. It has a lot of potential, but as others have stated there are a large number of typos and errors which do distract some from the story when you have to stop and try to figure out what the author is attempting to say. With that being said, the author does a great job with the actual story. I would have liked to see the ending more developed. It seems that 21 of the 23 chapters are setting up for a grand finale, and then the last 2 chapters are a quick wrap up. All in all, after some editing, i think children will really enjoy this story.

[Sandy Mckenzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the first time ever, I am giving this book a 1. I did not enjoy it at all, had to make myself finish it. Cancionero is an orphanage in a dreary town. Jeremy was sent there by his mean father. Each chapter was basically a new character, each as unique as the other. The writing style I think was what I didn't like. Oh well, to each their own.

[Anneliese Grassi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story, slow read

Unfortunately, I did not love this book. It was just too all over the place . With how short the book is, there is just too much filler and not enough nitty gritty. The storyline is good, but I just found that overall it was just a bit slow for my liking.

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Adrienne Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute plot

It was overall a good story and had some cute ideas. The description of each character got a bit tedious and I felt that more description could have been put towards developing the plot instead of describing the characters in such extensive detail. Also the typos got really annoying and this book could use more editing. But overall it was a cute story.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a strange story I thought in the beginning, but as I continued reading I found myself becoming more and more interested in the characters. It's written in a different style and I did enjoy it. It was not what I expected and was pleasantly surprised it turned out that way.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway.

I enjoyed this story and think the author has enormous potential. It’s a quick read that is easy to get through, but deeper themes can certainly be explored.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads. I found the story to be cute and it has potential. The author spends a lot of time building up the characters and less time with the actual story. With a good editor and some revamping this book could be much better.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway of the Kindle book, post-publication.

This is a cute book. I enjoyed it except for the spelling and punctuation errors, overuse of semi-colons and dashes, and misplaced parentheses. An editing is in order. Nonetheless, it is a good story.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.

It was a DNF for me. I completed 30% before I had to put it down. The story progressed so slowly and there were many spots I had to read more than once. I spotted multiple grammatical errors and it just didn't interest me.

[Delfina Trevisan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a feel good story in the end. book was easy to read. possible sequel as still some loose ends that could be tied up. simple & straight forward book that did not need too much concentration

[Karen Gail Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming fairy tale. The little book need spell check and some editing for punctuation, but the story touches your heart.

[Yvonne Winter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
I think this started off strong, but lost its way about a third of the way in. Lots of typos. Story felt thrown together and rushed towards the end.

[Sol Stammen · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple, and enjoyable (despite a few spelling errors)

[Kathy Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this Kindle edition book in a Goodreads
Giveaway. Thank you to everyone involved.
A good book - easy to read - enjoyable.

[Leslie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read due to the typos and inconsistencies in characters.

[D.T. Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming

[Cherime MacFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grand little story

I found it to be a delightful read. I do recommend this to anyone wishing a light read with a sweetness worth savoring.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a free copy through a goodreads giveaway.

Cancionero is the story of a very small town and its orphanage. The story focuses on a few different characters and is extremely descriptive. In some cases, the descriptions really add to the story. In others, they really drag on and have very little to do with the story. I personally found the story to be quite charming, but the actual plot was very short and there were a lot of errors that should have been caught in editing.