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thelilbookwitch 's review for:
Circus Mirandus
by Cassie Beasley
Full review [here].
Micah Tuttle is and is not exactly like other fifth grade boys. His knack for knot tying, and his upraising by his Grandfather Ephraim have imbued Micah with a prolonged belief in magic many his age have abandoned. Unfortunately his very practical project partner Jenny Mendoza (also the smartest girl in the school), and his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis don't believe in magic. But the circus has come to town as Micah's dying grandfather calls in the miracle he saved from his own childhood, promised to him by the Lightbender. But the Lightbender doesn't seem like he's going to keep his end of the agreement, so it's up to Micah and Jenny (if he can get her on board) to convince him otherwise.
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I found Micah to be easy to like, even if I didn’t feel like I got to know him super well. The moments where I could tell Beasley was hoping for an emotional reaction on the readers part fell a little flat because what was happening Micah wasn’t carried over into how she had him react. He felt a little shallow at times.
The adults in the story seemed to be afforded similar depth.
The way Beasley splits the narrative over different generations of characters didn’t afford me much time to get to know them in the present. The plot was engaging enough, as well as the tidbits learned from the time jumps, to keep me reading. This felt like it should have been a longer book. Even the execution of the climax fell short for what I wanted.
The magic in the story gets a little explanation, and that’s fine. The element of wonder and believing in magic is shown to be more important than the “how” of it all, but I didn’t feel like I truly fell into it at all like I did with Night Circus, or like I wanted it to be real like I did with Harry Potter. (Still waiting on that Hogwarts letter…)
I would have been happy to have this book as a standalone, but Beasley is returning readers to the circus again this fall. I expect that book to be a bit better than this one, since all the characters will have been introduced and she will hopefully be able to craft a more in-depth story.
Ultimately, this is a book I would recommend for younger readers grades 4 and up, and will perhaps put it forward as a potential Battle of the Books title for next year. It covers two big topics, magic and death, without really diving too deep into either of them. Circus Mirandus is a light book, but it unfortunately lacks real emotional depth.
Micah Tuttle is and is not exactly like other fifth grade boys. His knack for knot tying, and his upraising by his Grandfather Ephraim have imbued Micah with a prolonged belief in magic many his age have abandoned. Unfortunately his very practical project partner Jenny Mendoza (also the smartest girl in the school), and his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis don't believe in magic. But the circus has come to town as Micah's dying grandfather calls in the miracle he saved from his own childhood, promised to him by the Lightbender. But the Lightbender doesn't seem like he's going to keep his end of the agreement, so it's up to Micah and Jenny (if he can get her on board) to convince him otherwise.
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I found Micah to be easy to like, even if I didn’t feel like I got to know him super well. The moments where I could tell Beasley was hoping for an emotional reaction on the readers part fell a little flat because what was happening Micah wasn’t carried over into how she had him react. He felt a little shallow at times.
The adults in the story seemed to be afforded similar depth.
The way Beasley splits the narrative over different generations of characters didn’t afford me much time to get to know them in the present. The plot was engaging enough, as well as the tidbits learned from the time jumps, to keep me reading. This felt like it should have been a longer book. Even the execution of the climax fell short for what I wanted.
The magic in the story gets a little explanation, and that’s fine. The element of wonder and believing in magic is shown to be more important than the “how” of it all, but I didn’t feel like I truly fell into it at all like I did with Night Circus, or like I wanted it to be real like I did with Harry Potter. (Still waiting on that Hogwarts letter…)
I would have been happy to have this book as a standalone, but Beasley is returning readers to the circus again this fall. I expect that book to be a bit better than this one, since all the characters will have been introduced and she will hopefully be able to craft a more in-depth story.
Ultimately, this is a book I would recommend for younger readers grades 4 and up, and will perhaps put it forward as a potential Battle of the Books title for next year. It covers two big topics, magic and death, without really diving too deep into either of them. Circus Mirandus is a light book, but it unfortunately lacks real emotional depth.