Wonder Show [Hardcover]

Hannah Barnaby (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 20, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step inside Mosco’s Traveling Wonder Show, a menagerie of human curiosities and misfits guaranteed to astound and amaze! But perhaps the strangest act of Mosco’s display is Portia Remini, a normal among the freaks, on the run from McGreavy’s Home for Wayward Girls, where Mister watches and waits. He said he would always find Portia, that she could never leave. Free at last, Portia begins a new life on the bally, seeking answers about her father’s disappearance. Will she find him before Mister finds her? It’s a story for the ages, and like everyone who enters the Wonder Show, Portia will never be the same.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-In this tour de force set in 1939, Portia Remini, 13, burdened with guilt over the death of her friend, escapes on a stolen bicycle from the McGreavey Home for Wayward Girls to search for her father. Believing Max departed their Gypsy camp to follow the circus, she joins a carnival and finds a family of sorts in Mosco's Traveling Wonder Show. She shares a trailer with Violet, a restless teenager whose parents and brother are albinos; trains for the ballyhoo under Jackal, who lures spectators to the sideshow of "freaks"; and enjoys the protection of Gideon, a young man whose father was impoverished by the stock-market crash. On the lam from sinister "Mister," who runs McGreavey's, Portia learns the stories of some of the carnival's strange troupe, among them, eight-foot-tall Jim and Jimmy, the midget he carries on his shoulders, and Polly and Pippa, beautiful conjoined twins whose naked dance is the sideshow's "blowoff." But her search for Max is turning up empty, and when Mister's dragnet closes in, Portia decides that to find the answers she seeks she must return to the horror of The Home. Melodrama aside, this predominantly third-person narration is richly textured with psychological tension, complex characterization, a vivid setting, and a suspenseful plot. Information in context and an author's note provide insights about circus life. Dark themes, some steamy elements, and a generous dose of swearing suggest a mature audience, but one that will be spellbound by this intriguing reading experience.-Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

Nominated for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award

 

A Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2012

 

"Broken but resilient, Portia is a sympathetic heroine whose simple, unadorned need for love and acceptance will be immediately recognizable to any young reader."
—Bulletin

"This will appeal to readers looking for something a bit different than most YA fare."
—Booklist

"Through skillful description, the dreariness of the Home and the fantastical nature of the carnival world comes vividly to life."
—Horn Book

"This predominantly third-person narration is richly textured with psychological tension, complex characterization, a vivid setting, and a suspenseful plot . . . one will be spellbound by this intriguing reading experience."
—School Library Journal

* "Infused with nostalgia and affection, this celebration of the deliberately constructed self will hold readers in its spell from beginning to end."
—Kirkus, starred review

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1 edition (March 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547599803
• ISBN-13: 978-0547599809
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just For YA January 23, 2012

By Peony Blue VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Set in a time when the grand American carnival traditions were just starting to wind down, with broke audiences in the dust bowl starting to cynically question everything, _Wonder Show_ does an amazing job of questioning what "normal" actually means. Portia, the imaginative and spirited protagonist, is abandoned by every adult who would be her natural family, leaving her at a home for "wayward girls" that isn't at all what it would seem to be. Her inevitable flight into the world of Mosco's Travelling Wonder Show may just be the one kind of family she needs.

The book is completely engrossing. From the characters to the changing perspectives for each story, it's a book that keeps you on your toes, and teaches just a bit about history while you're spinning. (And I can tell you from personal experience that even the modern freakshows are fairly similar. The lingo survives, even if the days of airstream trailers and ballystages are a thing of the past.)

One caution: If you're a more conservative parent, there *is* a bit of adult themed stuff in here. Suicide, a bit of nudity. Not much more than you'd get on any given night of network television. But it bears mentioning to avoid any awkward questions. It's well-handled and very much in context; however, if you're the type who doesn't let your child see a PG-13 movie, you may want to give it a once-over first.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Magical! March 20, 2012

By Amanda Welling

Format:Hardcover

First Impressions: I'm amazed that I was so interested in reading and reviewing this book for one reason only: I hate circuses! They freak me out with all of the scary clowns and I always feel so bad for the animals. I had one crazy experience at a circus when I was little and I'll never go to another one. Ever. For some strange reason though, I really wanted to read this book. The synopsis sounded interesting, I liked another book about circuses (Water for Elephants), but I think what sealed the deal for me was the cover. I'm absolutely in love with the cover. It is so detailed and well done and it looks great on my bookshelves.

First 50 Pages: This isn't a terribly long and drawn out story and it only took me a few hours to finish reading the entire book. I adore the author's writing style. She has a very poetic and lyrical feel to her writing that few writers have. The descriptions in Wonder Show are vivid and complex, especially for a book that is geared to a younger teen. The whole time I was reading, I could picture this book being read in elementary and middle schools as part of their reading curriculum. It had that kind of feel to it, which is saying a lot. I can easily see Wonder Show becoming a classic novel for young readers. This story felt magical to me.

Characters & Plot: The setting for this story is very unusual. I'm so use to reading books that are set in modern times that I really enjoyed the Depression Era setting for Wonder Show. It really made the entire book come to life, and as I said before, the descriptions of the setting and the events were beautifully done.

The plot centers around Portia, a young girl that is full of life and imagination. She is a wonderful storyteller, a gift that she inherited from her family. Times are hard though, and most of her family leaves their home in search of work, something that is scarce. Portia's father is a great storyteller as well and he encourages her to tell her stories. Unfortunately, her father has to leave in search of work and is unable to provide for Portia, so her leaves her with her Aunt Sophia, who isn't the nicest or most patient of people. Before her father leaves, he takes her to the circus, a memory that Portia will have for a very long time.

After a few years of living with Aunt Sophia, Portia's aunts patience has finally run out. She sends Portia to the McGreavey Home for Wayward Girls, which doesn't look at all like the beautiful brochures they had looked at. It's run-down and depressing but Portia is forced to stay there. Even worse than the house itself, is the man who runs the home, who the children call Mister. He isn't a nice or motherly man to say the least, and after a while Portia decides that in order to find her father, she must run away and join the circus, which she does. She is certain that by joining the circus, her father will be able to find her again and this is a dream that she holds to throughout the story.

Portia's character is one that you can't help but love. She is highly imaginative, very stubborn, slightly wild, and is an all-around fun character. I couldn't help but feel bad for her because of everything she had to put up with at such a young age.

Final Thoughts: I don't want to give too much more of the story away. The ending of this book was very well done, but I thought it ended kind of abruptly and was packaged a little too nice and neat. I think that the ending some people will love, and others will hate. Overall, this was a fantastic story from a wonderful author who makes a really good storyteller herself.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Depression-era Tale for Middle School Readers January 25, 2012

By Kindle-aholic VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

3 stars doesn't mean I hated it. On the contrary, I liked it, I just had some bumps along the road.

I usually pick fantasy reads, but circuses are a draw for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Portia escapes from a home for wayward girls with more than a few secrets of her own. She is looking for her father, and given events in her childhood, has dreamed that he ran away to join the circus. She ends up getting a job at Mosco's Wonder Show (a circus sideshow with a strongman, albino family, bearded lady, etc.) She knows she's living on borrowed time, however, since Mister, the ominous master of the home for wayward girls always finds the ones who run away.

I liked the sideshow aspect, showing a bit of the reality of the time and of living with a physical reminder that you are different from everyone else. There are several dark moments, but you also see how people can come together, adapt, and survive. I did like Portia, although she could be difficult and a bit of a hothead. I also liked the supporting characters. He isn't seen much in the story, but Mister comes across as quite villainous, enough that the persistent fear of being sent back was very real.

I've read books where you get multiple POVs (usually 3rd following 2 or more characters, although sometimes 1st following a few characters), or even when there is a jump from 1st to 3rd and back again. Sometimes it works out really well, but most of the time, this has a jarring effect that boots me out of the story for a bit. In this book, we have multiple POVs, from the main character, Portia, to a lot of the side characters. It also switches from 1st to 3rd many times for more than one character. The multiple POVs I could handle. Since the resident employees of the sideshow tend to keep their secrets close, it is a way to get to know them. However, the 1st to 3rd jumping combined with the multiple POVs was a bit much. I could ignore it after a while, but it did interrupt the flow for me.

Also, I just didn't get enough interaction between Portia and the Wonder Show folks to justify the ending. Maybe with a few more chapters I would have felt better about it. That part just went by too fast.

Still, if you have a reader who is tired of the paranormals and romances, this might be one to check out, especially if they have an interest in circuses and the Depression.