Wonder Show

by Hannah Barnaby

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step inside Mosco’s Traveling Wonder Show, a menagerie of human curiosities and misfits guaranteed to astound and amaze! 

But perhaps the strangest act of Mosco’s display is Portia Remini, a normal among the freaks, on the run from McGreavy’s Home for Wayward Girls, where Mister watches and waits. He said he would always find Portia, that she could never leave. Free at last, Portia begins a new life on the bally, seeking answers about her father’s disappearance. 

Will she find him before Mister finds her? It’s a story for the ages, and like everyone who enters the Wonder Show, Portia will never be the same.
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I'm not entirely sure what's drawn me to stories whose setting is a circus, wonder show, something with a big old tent and folks on the fringe. This story was exactly what I needed for the mood I was in. I loved Portia, she was such a strong character, I even liked her flaws because she really owned them. A good read, also, for anyone looking for character-driven historical fiction.

Bluffton

by Matt Phelan

Matt Phelan, graphic novelist extraordinaire, presents a rollicking tribute to vaudeville, small-town dreams, and Buster Keaton as a boy.

In the summer of 1908, in Muskegon, Michigan, a visiting troupe of vaudeville performers is about the most exciting thing since baseball. They’re summering in nearby Bluffton, so Henry has a few months to ogle the elephant and the zebra, the tightrope walkers and — lo and behold — a slapstick actor his own age named Buster Keaton. The show folk say Buster is indestructible; his father throws him around as part of the act and the audience roars, while Buster never cracks a smile. Henry longs to learn to take a fall like Buster, "the human mop," but Buster just wants to play ball with Henry and his friends. With signature nostalgia, Scott O’Dell Award–winning graphic novelist Matt Phelan visualizes a bygone era with lustrous color, dynamic lines, and flawless dramatic pacing.
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

Looking after children is really difficult, but it's books like this that make keeping a child entertained both easy and a pleasure. Especially since it is great for the reader as well. The illustrations are stunning and the story has a great combo of themes including history, friendship, childhood summer magic, the circus, and young love.

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen

Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.

By morning, he's landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he's in love.

In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensable. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all...
(retrieved from goodreads.com)

I was hesitant to read this book because of all the commotion caused by the film, but I really enjoyed it. It was extremely intense, but a fascinating and beautifully told story. It was easy to flinch, laugh, and cry along with the characters. Read it, it was a very compelling book.