The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Reviewed by Izzy Evans



I am going to take a moment to let you really enjoy the pure awesomeness that is the title of this book and the author's name, for the first thing.


Done basking?

I loved The Night Circus. (I love a lot of books, bear with me.) I couldn't get my hands on it until last week, and it came out last year, so the waiting period may have had some play in it, but I doubt it.

The first “chapter” almost threw me off (and that was dreadful for me) because of the way it was written, butstick with it, I swear it gets better. The introduction to Celia is interesting and a little funny in a sad way.

Marco's intro is a little stranger, and it doesn't tell you his name until much later, but that can be overlooked if you're curious enough about what's going.

To me, the writing was fun. The descriptions helped me see everything in the circus in all the non-colors included in it. I also loved the characters—every one, every person who was part of the Night Circus. The fortune teller, the cat tamer, the contortionist...well, okay, I loved the twins the most. Widget and Poppet—what's not to love??

Okay, back on track, Iz.

The competition between Marco and Celia goes on interestingly, with their respective instructors doing some competing on their own. The way the contest goes is really a battle of who's more creative, I think, even though it's made to seem like they'd be competing in a ring or something. The different things they do to keep the competition going make me wish I was there to see the actual circus and experience it myself. The Cloud Maze, The Wishing Tree, the Pool of Tears, who wouldn't want to see those first hand?

Needless to say, I liked the story, I liked the beginning, the middle...but, Izzy, how did you like the end?? I nearly cried, but the ending, the real ending, surprises you, I swear. I started to guess what was going to happen, but I still didn't guess it completely right. I loved the pairing of Marco and Celia; I loved their magic.I absolutely hated the girl that he met at the beginning. I was kind of huffy, like, “Who is this floozy?” but I ended up liking her a bit anyway.

Then there's Bailey, who I like in that I think he's quirky. I didn't understand why he was part of the story until later. Mostly I thought he was a love interest for Poppet and a friend for Widget, but he actually plays a bigger part later. (I'm not telling.)

Anyway, I highly suggest that if you're looking for an interesting view on circuses, a cute love story and/or a fascinating read, pick up this book. It has a nice, deep-rooted plot that doesn't get lost because the author is focusing on the love story, it has a wide range of interesting characters,yet stays focused on the main ones anyway, and the whole thing can surprise you without riddling you with absolutely terrible suspense. Either buy it, or get it from your library (as I did), but please, for the good of all of mankind, read it. (That is a tad bit of an exaggeration.)

Genre: Fantasy, literary fiction