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barbaraskalberg's review
3.0
3.5
Very sweet coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of WW2... The main character had polio as a baby and as a result is growing up within the confines of a wheelchair.
Very sweet coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of WW2... The main character had polio as a baby and as a result is growing up within the confines of a wheelchair.
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
I absolutely loved this historical fiction debut by Canadian Amita Parikh!
Spanning two decades, this story follows the life of Lena Papadopoulos, a young disabled girl, as she travels Europe on a Circus train with her Illusionist father Theo. Lena lost her mother shortly after her birth and contracted polio as an infant, which left her needing to use a wheelchair.
Marked as different and other from a young age Lena grows up lonely but things change when she rescues and then befriends Alexandre, a Jewish orphan boy who is trying to hide his past as antisemitism spreads across Europe in the wake of WWII. Lena's father takes Alexandre under his wing, training him as an apprentice in the circus but their idyllic life on the circus train comes to a screeching halt when Alexandre and Theo are captured by the Nazis.
One of my favorite parts of the story was learning about "Theresienstadt" - marketed to Jews as a "spa town" but in actuality was a hidden ghetto/concentration camp and it is where Alexandre and Lena's father end up spending a significant portion of the war. I always enjoy discovering new parts of WWII history I'd never heard of before.
Other parts I loved:
- the disability representation and cast of unusually talented characters
- the found family
- the epic romance between Lena and Alexandre that almost feels doomed
- the Circus train itself! I am a sucker for stories about historical circuses!
What I didn't love:
I wasn't a huge fan of how the narrative seemed to celebrate Lena 'overcoming' her disability. She finds someone offering a new Polio treatment and it felt to me like it somewhat 'miraculously' ended up working for her, allowing her to eventually walk again. There is an author's note included at the end of the book that goes into how the story isn't meant to be representative of all Polio experiences and it does do a great job discussing what life for disabled people was like at the time, including how the "Kenny treatment" as it came to be known, did indeed have a high success rate. Personally however I just would have loved to see Lena live her best life as a disabled person for the entirety of the story.
Overall I did really enjoy this book and it was great on audio narrated by Silvana Kane (a new to me narrator). Perfect for fans of The Museum of extraordinary things, The lonely hearts hotel or All the light you cannot see and definitely a book I will be recommending to everyone. Much thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my advanced review copy!
Spanning two decades, this story follows the life of Lena Papadopoulos, a young disabled girl, as she travels Europe on a Circus train with her Illusionist father Theo. Lena lost her mother shortly after her birth and contracted polio as an infant, which left her needing to use a wheelchair.
Marked as different and other from a young age Lena grows up lonely but things change when she rescues and then befriends Alexandre, a Jewish orphan boy who is trying to hide his past as antisemitism spreads across Europe in the wake of WWII. Lena's father takes Alexandre under his wing, training him as an apprentice in the circus but their idyllic life on the circus train comes to a screeching halt when Alexandre and Theo are captured by the Nazis.
One of my favorite parts of the story was learning about "Theresienstadt" - marketed to Jews as a "spa town" but in actuality was a hidden ghetto/concentration camp and it is where Alexandre and Lena's father end up spending a significant portion of the war. I always enjoy discovering new parts of WWII history I'd never heard of before.
Other parts I loved:
- the disability representation and cast of unusually talented characters
- the found family
- the epic romance between Lena and Alexandre that almost feels doomed
- the Circus train itself! I am a sucker for stories about historical circuses!
What I didn't love:
I wasn't a huge fan of how the narrative seemed to celebrate Lena 'overcoming' her disability. She finds someone offering a new Polio treatment and it felt to me like it somewhat 'miraculously' ended up working for her, allowing her to eventually walk again. There is an author's note included at the end of the book that goes into how the story isn't meant to be representative of all Polio experiences and it does do a great job discussing what life for disabled people was like at the time, including how the "Kenny treatment" as it came to be known, did indeed have a high success rate. Personally however I just would have loved to see Lena live her best life as a disabled person for the entirety of the story.
Overall I did really enjoy this book and it was great on audio narrated by Silvana Kane (a new to me narrator). Perfect for fans of The Museum of extraordinary things, The lonely hearts hotel or All the light you cannot see and definitely a book I will be recommending to everyone. Much thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my advanced review copy!
specialk3782's review
4.0
I was promised a book for lovers of The Night Circus but I don’t think that was an accurate description. Yes this is circusy but to me it had none of magic and whimsy of The Night Circus. All that being said it was a good historical fiction book and I enjoyed reading it. If you enjoy WW2 era historical fiction I would recommend it. 3.5*
zhzhang's review
4.0
I am so happy that someone has written something for the disabled. We need more focus on the minority group. The narrator of the audio book has done a phenomenal job and I feel that I can see the characters in front of my eyes.
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