Circus Mirandus

by Cassie Beasley

Life as we know it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows but sometimes life is as good as one can make it. This is Ephraim Tuttle’s belief in life. His father was in the middle of the war and Ephraim missed him terribly. When Ephraim was a little boy he played hooky from school more times than he could explain mostly because he didn’t want to live life while his father was off to war. One day while playing hooky at his usual hiding place- the beach. he hears pipes and drums and goes out to seek where they were coming from. When Ephraim finally arrived at the music he found a circus. Not an ordinary circus. A circus that changes Ephraim’s life forever.

Micah Tuttle is Ephraim’s grandson. His whole life Micah has been told stories of the circus that his grandfather had visited as a child. He was told about the magic, the beauty, the man who could bend light. Micah dreamed of visiting the circus just as his grandfather did, only he needed to fix his grandfather who was dying first. 

Circus Mirandus is not only a story of magic, mystery and wonders it’s a story about relationships, fulfilling dreams and understanding that not everyone can, will, or wants to understand the faith it takes to believe in miracles. 

Miracles can come when you least expect it. Answers can be found at the saddest times and imagination can soar even when you don’t want it. This is the story of Circus Mirandus.

Author Cassie Beasley creates a world that blends together the feel of the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and the movie Little Boy written by Alejandro Monteverde and Pepe Portillo. It is endearing, it is imaginative and it is also heartbreaking in an oddly not your typical cry-your-eyes-out sort of way. The characters are delivered masterfully, built to a height that as a middle-grade reader you could be friends with each person except for maybe Grand Aunt Gertrudis whom you would run away from as fast as you could. This book is full of adventure and yet brings a reality to its readers that help children deal with grief and faith. 

“It’s important, when you first see magic, to recognize it. You don’t often get a second chance.” This book shows that sometimes if your lucky and have enough faith that you might just get that second chance… A wonderful, adventure-filled book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read Circus Mirandus in lieu of my honest review.