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YA, Contemporary/Magical Realism, 336 pages, Red Willow Publishing
- Series: stand-alone
- Pub date: April 5th 2011
- Why I read it: Circus freaks, pretty illustrations
- Disclosure: Received a review copy from the author. Thanks!
Goodreads blurb:
Magic. Mystery. Mayhem. The MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS...The Long...
When the enigmatic Ringmaster asks 15-year-old Evanja (Evan) Leane to run away and join the circus, she says yes. Anywhere’s got to be better than foster home Number Eight. Evan learns that this ragtag circus, a haven for throwaway teens, relies on more than spectacle and illusion. This circus is built on magic. Each of the teens possesses a donvrai, a true gift, that manifests only in the presence of the Ringmaster’s mysterious Ju-Ju. Unlike many of the other teens who must wait for their donvrai to emerge, Evan’s gift surfaces on her first night: she can read horses’ minds. This would be totally awesome except she has been deathly afraid of horses since foster home Number Three. But circus is a dying art. If Evan wants to save her beloved new-found home, she must concoct a brilliant horse act that will bring in the crowds. And she’d better get over herself and get on with it fast; there’s a traitor close to the Ringmaster who will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn’t succeed.
It's been an awfully long time since I've been charmed by a book. Enthralled, sure. Disappointed, of course. And there hasn't been much in between. Sometimes it's just as lovely to read a book for fun--adventures, magic, and kissing galore--as it is to read it because you can't even imagine breathing without finishing. I doubt The Mumbo Jumbo Circus will compel many to burn the midnight oil, but it has a whole lot of heart. And sometimes, that's all a book needs.
The biggest delight, to me, was George's vivid portrayal of circus life, and its hodgepodge mythology that felt as silly--in a good way--as it did real. From the perfect, tiny, acrobatic twins who are as vicious as they are beautiful, to the mime who refuses to say a word even outside of his act, to the gypsy with a British accent, to the goth boy Evanja Leane falls for, George's characters are goofy, bouncy caricatures of themselves, and I don't even mind. It takes me back to the Big Top I loved as a kid, popcorn, cotton candy, circus peanuts, and all.
Where George stumbles is in her "typical-teen" talk. While there's nary a morality tale in sight, thank goodness, the profanity and the cutting and the trailer parks and the sex talks get to be a little much. Still, George has more of a knack for the teen voice than most, and it was never enough to take me too far out of the magic.
All in all, The Mumbo Jumbo Circus was a great, sweet read that perfectly crystallized what being a teenager means: wanting to both go back to being a kid and metamorphose into a grown-up so very badly it feels like you might be ripped in two. Anyone looking for a childhood nostalgia trip could do much worse than this. It's even illustrated, in a quirky style I didn't love but certainly liked a lot, and George's descriptions function almost as illustrations themselves. I can't wait to see what she does next, and have to hope a little bit that it will mean a return to the characters and world she handles so well here.
...and the Short:
A sweet childhood nostalgia trip with a lot of heart. Anyone for a trip to the circus?
The Final Word: Liked it.
2 comments:
Aw, this one sounds really sweet! I love the magical feeling associated with the circus. Awesome review!
I really like the cover. I might be one of the few kids that hated the circus, but reading about teenagers in the circus life sounds interesting. A part of me wonders if all the sex and cussing would have been kept in had they taken the traditional route of publishing. Sounds like a charming read. Like you, I've been extremely disappointed with the books I've read lately (well, in 2011)
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