Circus Mirandus

I remember the first time I came across the idea that you have to believe in magic for it to be real. I remember my skin tingling, and a kind of excited joy making my hair stand on end.
That’s the mood Circus Mirandus creates, although I’m no longer a child reading about magic for the first time.

Micah’s grandfather is dying, and it’s on his deathbed that Micah learns something impossible: all the stories his grandfather told him about the magical Circus Mirandus are true. Micah’s grandfather Ephraim really did go to a magical circus, and the Man Who Bends Light offered him a miracle. Ephraim saved the offer for a rainy day, and it’s on his deathbed that he knows it’s time. Time to ask the Lightbender for his miracle.

Micah is sure that the miracle will save his beloved grandfather. But his great aunt Gertrudis wants nothing to do with those nonsensical stories. So Micah must work on his own. He finds a friend in the highly rational, scientific Jenny, a most unlikely companion on a magical quest. And with their individual, unique strengths, they must make sure Ephraim gets his miracle.

The wonder and magic of Circus Mirandus took my breath away. Beauty, splendour, yearning–all these come together in the most beautiful way in a book peopled with characters like an invisible tiger, a scruffy parrot, and a 7-foot woman called Rosebud. I love how friendship carries Micah through his most difficult patch, making him realise that with just a little bit of help, he can do anything.

Circus Mirandus is a magical and whimsical story, and I look forward to reading the next book about this enchanting circus where impossible things happen!