Format: Paperback
Publisher: Rock The Boat
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Release Date: June 13th 2017
Buy The Book: Book Depository
Willow has everything: a rich daddy, a pony and a place at a prestigious boarding school. Everything except the one thing she really wants—a father who cares enough to find her when she runs away from home.
On the eve of her father’s wedding, Willow runs again into the unknown. Her mother was a circus performer and Willow longs to follow in her footsteps. But when all of her money is stolen and her only friend, a street performer called Suz, betrays her, Willow is left penniless and alone. So begins a journey. Will Willow ever make it to the big top and find a place she can truly call home?
My Thoughts:
The Island was one of my favourite
books of 2016, and was the story that made me fall utterly in love
with the writing style of Olivia Levez. So it's safe to say that I
was super excited to read her second book, The Circus.
This story starts with teenager Willow
running away from home on the day of her father's wedding to a much
younger woman. We quickly learn that it's not the first time she's
fled from her old life, but this time she gets further than she's
ever done before. With only one picture of her mother, who left her
as a child, dressed as a circus performer, she decides to follow in
her mother's footsteps and join the circus. Willow makes it to
Hastings and reinvents herself as Frog, a circus performer ready to
start her new life, but things go from bad to worse for her.
What I love about Olivia's characters
is that they're always so real. There's nothing sugar-coated about
the problems that they face and the world around them. They're not
perfect, they're not always nice, but that's what makes them so
believable. Frog's flaws make for a much more interesting story, and
it made me root for her to get the things she wanted in life, even
when she didn't fully realise what that was.
Whilst trying to navigate the streets
of Hastings alone, Frog ends up becoming friends with Suz, a
homeless girl who starts to teach her how to perform fire ticks,
despite the two of them not getting off to a great start. Their
relationship was one of the most interesting aspects of this story
for me because as a reader, I never knew where I stood. I didn't know
what would become of them from one chapter to the next. Even though
they needed each other to get by, there was a tension between them
that could break at any time.
The circus that we eventually get to
see in the story was fascinating and I loved the mix of characters
who were performers. I only wish we'd had more time with them and
gotten to know more about their daily life at the circus.
One thing that really stood out to me
about this book was that as a reader, I never felt safe. Frog's life
was so uncertain from chapter to chapter that I never knew how her
day was going to end, and I appreciated that level of tension because
it made for an exciting but nerve-wracking read. The ending was
written beautifully and as with The Island, there are still things
left for the reader to wonder about. The Circus was such a thrilling
and raw read, and it's only made me even more excited for whatever
Olivia Levez works on next!
Royal Rating:
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