Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond | Facebook | Twitter
Publisher/Year: Skyscape | October 1, 2014
Pages: 372
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Mystery
Format: E-Book
Source: ARC via NetGalley (Thanks!)
I recieved this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. That did not sway my opinion in the least.
Summary (From Goodreads)
A ballerina, twirling on a wire high above the crowd. Horses, prancing like salsa dancers. Trapeze artists, flying like somersaulting falcons. And magic crackling through the air. Welcome to the Cirque American!
Sixteen-year-old Jules Maroni’s dream is to follow in her father’s footsteps as a high-wire walker. When her family is offered a prestigious role in the new Cirque American, it seems that Jules and the Amazing Maronis will finally get the spotlight they deserve. But the presence of the Flying Garcias may derail her plans. For decades, the two rival families have avoided each other as sworn enemies.
Jules ignores the drama and focuses on the wire, skyrocketing to fame as the girl in a red tutu who dances across the wire at death-defying heights. But when she discovers a peacock feather—an infamous object of bad luck—planted on her costume, Jules nearly loses her footing. She has no choice but to seek help from the unlikeliest of people: Remy Garcia, son of the Garcia clan matriarch and the best trapeze artist in the Cirque.
As more mysterious talismans believed to possess unlucky magic appear, Jules and Remy unite to find the culprit. And if they don’t figure out what’s going on soon, Jules may be the first Maroni to do the unthinkable: fall.
Shannan’s Summary
Jules does Ballet on a wire. She comes from a history of circus people: Her mom trains horses as does her cousin sam, her Nan was a flyer and now tells fortunes in their small traveling act, and her dad is the wire walker that taught Jules. Jules, however, isn’t happy with just being in the circus, she wants her family to get the recognition they deserve. And so she comes up with a plan to convince her family to accept the offer from one of the largest traveling circuses: Cirque American. But while Jules thought her family was exaggerating the resentment other circus folk had against her family, she learned upon arrival they may have been too nice about it. Shortly after the chilly welcome they received, strange events start happening and Jules begins to wonder if the magic her Nan warned her about is more than just a story.
First Off…
As I was typing this review, I think it is crazy appropriate that the publisher for this book is skyscape. The first thing that really captured me about this book was the cover. I am so guilty of judging books by their cover, and this one definitely helped grab my eye.
Thoughts:
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this book. I’d skimmed a couple reviews and they seemed to be pretty positive. It sounded like a book that would let you choose what was real and not by the end, kind of like Pan’s Labyrinth, but you have a pretty firm line of what was going on by the time you’re done.
For the first couple chapters, I was worried this was going to be a pretty predictable Romeo and Juliet story (I mean the main characters are Juels and Remy) but it quickly becomes not at all typical and has you trying to guess all the way to the end.
As far as characters go, you have some interesting ones, because it’s a circus after all, but Bond does a good job at still making them relatable. Jules’ parents I think could have been defined a little more, but with a stand alone book and as many crucial characters as there are, I get why we don’t see more of them. Sam, her cousin, plays the older brother roll and adds some extra humor to the story. Nan, Jule’s grandma, is extra saucy and I love it. I’m pretty sure she’s the kind of grandma I would want to be. Then there is the whole cast of the Maroni’s. You definitely understand each of them by the end. And finally the eccentric millionaire turned circus owner, I mean, you’d have to be eccentric to start a circus just because you some money lying around.
Now the story had a pretty good pace, and the mystery behind all the happenings helped push me to read as quickly as possible, because I really wanted to know what was going on. The first time Jules was up on the wire, I nearly had a panic attack, actually it was almost every time she was on the wire, mostly because she doesn’t use a net in any of her acts. Then there were all the other acts and the dangers that surround them, I’ve been to the circus and I was never this on the edge of my seat as when I read this book. I was glad that the book took a turn from being all about how much I like a boy to more of Jules trying to figure out who she is a person and as a performer. And then there was the big out-of-the-blue moment that was a totally game changer for me on this book, that moment and the reactions of the characters after it helped change the story from an ok book to a good story I want to recommend.
10 Second Breakdown:
- You feel like you’re walking the wire too: I held my breath and read as quickly as I could every time Jules was on the wire, as though that would help keep her from falling or make her walk faster. And then there were all the other acts that had you on the edge of your seat too. All the action helps move the book along quickly.
- It’s a stand alone: Not that I don’t love a good series, but it’s kind of nice to know that you won’t be left with a million questions that you have to wait for years to find the answers to over two or more books.
- It’s closer to the real world than fantasy: Don’t let the magic talk fool you, this book is much more mystery than magic. It has enough that I was intrigued to find out how it weaves it’s way through, but not so much that people who like their books realistic will be rolling their eyes.
I think story wise, I would have gone paperback, but the cover is so excellent, I’m glad I got the Hardback and signed by the Author.
Bonus: Here are two songs that I thought were appropriate for this review, enjoy.