awishingrad 's review for:

The Circus of Stolen Dreams by Lorelei Savaryn
5.0

The publishers kindly shared an e-arc of The Circus of Stolen Dreams with me, and I am grateful they did. A beautiful tale of family, belonging, and one girl's unrelenting search for a missing piece of her broken heart after her younger brother Francis goes missing. It's been 3 years since Francis disappeared. Her parents, both embittered by their divorce, expect Andrea to move on, to adjust to this new broken triangle of a family. But Andrea refuses to give up, to accept this new shattered reality. Then one day while riding her bike in the woods Andrea stumbles upon a hidden circus, a place of dreams and wonders. The perfect place to escape into. But Andrea soon discovers not all dreams offer a comforting escape, nightmares aplenty await her under the big top.
This marvelous story for upper MG readers is a ride through wonder, sadness, and loss. But it's also about learning to find the wonder in that sadness and loss, to fight for those you love, and to recognize when the dreams you hold so dearly are actually holding you back. I'm looking forward to this book being out in the world, and for upper mg readers to delve in and take this exciting ride