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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
One girls search for her father while being trapped at an orphanage leads her to runaway and find the circus.
Haunting, visual, fantastical in how sideshow stories can be.
The cover of the book is so amazing and that's what pulled me in to read the story in the first place. The carnival/unique/1930s vibe coming from the story was very interesting. Portia is the main character and you really get to know her well by the end of the book. She is just a young girl trying to figure out who she is through some hard times in her life. I also enjoyed the short chapters with the majority of them having cliff hanger endings that left the reader ready to read this next chapter. I do agree with some of the other reviews that the switching between point of views was odd and distracting at times, but I felt like the author introduced so many amazing characters that never developed fully. I wish I could've gotten to know all of the characters hearts better instead of just Portia's. but in the end, it was a fun and intriguing read and I loved the authors style of writing that just left you wanting more. I hope that this book is the start to a series because I really love these characters and the setting of the novel. Portia and Gideon all the way!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this look at being an abandoned girl in the 1930s. The family that Portia found in the circus "freaks" was truly wonderful and a nice contrast to Mister at the girl's home. The perspective of the book shifted between characters and third person which added to the story.
It was a pretty good little story but I felt like everything was lacking depth. The characters at the Wonder Show were awesome but just when you thought you were going to learn a bit more about them, their time in the spotlight was gone. I didn't care for that. I wanted to know more about them. Portia was a great character but again everything around her felt rushed. The entire book felt rushed sort of like you were seeing the edges of a story and not a good fleshed-out finished story. So 2.5 out of 5 for me. It wasn't great. It wasn't bad by any means. Just a solid "meh".
In Wonder Show, Barnaby manages to weave a tale of maturation that is not focused solely on romantic relationships. In today's society, a young adult novel that doesn't focus on a love interest is a rarity. In this regard, Wonder Show is like a breath of fresh air. Also refreshing is the blunt revulsion Portia feels when she originally encounters the sideshow. Barnaby manages to present an honest depiction of encountering the unknown and slightly disturbing while still making it a realistic move to have Portia remain with the Carnival. Over all, Wonder Show was delightful. It did seem to be moving in slow circles at times, but I never had the urge to simply walk away from the novel.
I love circus books and though this was technically a freak show book...I loved it all the same. I espeically love the very short chapters from the perspective of someone who is not Portia. The more I think about it, the more I understand why this book is up for the Morris award.