Circus of the Unseen

Well, I am back from my holiday, and it was very enjoyable and fun. I had a great time as I do every year, and I am hungry to write some more for you guys!

I did promise a recap on Catching Fire, and I will do so. But firstly, I will be discussing a book I just finished before the points escape my mind.

Circus of the Unseen by Joanne Owen is a book about magic, mystery, history and fantasy, and finding that there's 'no place like home.' It's a story that is different from quite a lot of things I have read.

Rosie recently has an accident at her grandmother's house, who recently and tragically passed away. She wakes in a world different to any other, with people who can do the impossible, and a big circus full of the maddest things. She learns that she is equal in power to Mother Matushka, the Mother of all the beings in the 'world'.Rosie's powers, in fact, make everything go silly and out of order, and while she is struggling to find out where she belongs- in the Circus of the Unseen- or on earth, she learns that the mysterious place and two people in it are strongly linked to her grandmother and her eventful and sad past.

The development of the story in this book is weak. Would you think that if you woke up somewhere you didn't know, without contact with anyone you know, and where things are freaky and weird, that you would make a decision to stay in that place forever or return to your loved ones on earth in 195 pages? It was barely enough. How could a young girl choose that quickly, based on someone distantly related to her? I still don't understand. I feel it was a bit rushed.

Speaking of it feeling a bit rushed, the pace was a teeny weeny bit too fast for me. I like books spaced out a bit more, more feelings, emotions, words, descriptions. Not that it didn't deliver these things, because it did quite well, but it was just rushed a bit and I felt like I hadn't really- now this is going to sound weird- breathed in and inhaled the story and thought about it.

However, the plot was extremely original. I never guessed things that were going to happen, particularly in the last chapter or so of the book, Rosie's grandmother knowing about a whole different world between life and death, the setting was magical, the plot was just one of a kind. I can't say anymore without spoiling it.

The characters were great too. Every single one was different. To name a few- Scarlett had a bright personality and she always wore elegant and stylish clothes. Coco and Lola were young girls who looked like little old ladies with wrinkled skin and small, black teeth. Each character was unique in their own way, and I could picture each one perfectly in my mind,

One last thing. The cover. It is so cool, I love it. There are images on the front that you have NO IDEA what they mean until you read the book, and then it all makes COMPLETE SENSE. Take a look-

See what I mean? I love it, and that is exactly what drew me to the book.

That is just about it for this discussion. You know what? I am going to call these sorts of posts discussions. Okay. Discussions.

Zobo!