Circus Galacticus by, Deva Fagan

SPOILER ALERT!!


☆☆.5
Author: Deva Fagan
Publisher: Harcourt
Released: November 15, 2011
Pages: 304
Genre: YA-middle school, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Source: NetGalley


Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.


But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it.


Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel secrets of her own past--if she can survive long enough.


What a ride! The blurb above gives a great description of the plot, so I won't waste your time repeating that. It is an adventure of one young girl who doesn't want to waste her life and talents in the shadows of others. Honestly, the blurb was more exciting than the book ever got. I was sorely disappointed in every outcome.


Let's talk about Trix. Life at the boarding school stunk. She didn't fit in, the students teased her, and the staff made her life unbearable. Did she fight? Cause trouble? Stand up for herself? No. She ran away to the circus. I had hoped for some sort of exciting battle of wits between her and the headmistress at least. Later, as she takes the plunge to join the gang, one hoped that she would discover her special talent that would separate her from the rest. Nope. Nothing special, just pink hair. Of course, I loved that she found a place to belong and share her life with.


The other characters seemed intriguing at first. With the different possibilities of talents in a space circus, I thought the author would get more involved in their development. I was disappointed to find most of them flat. I did find a couple characters cute, but nothing special. The Ringmaster was just strange. It seemed like the author alluded to Trix falling for him, but then he seemed more like a mentor. When romance is even slightly hinted, as a reader, I crave to find out the end result. This seemed like a tease.


Altogether, I just wasn't thrilled with the overall book. My expectations must have been too high with all the positive hype it had been given. I hope you all found it much more pleasing!

Author Interview: Pat Schmatz

I have the honor of interviewing Pat Schmatz! She is the author of multiple Young Adult novels including BLUEFISH, Mousetraps, and Circle the Truth.

BLUEFISH will be coming out September 13th of this year and as this date draws near, I wanted to introduce you to this incredibly talented author.

1. To start, please give us a summary of Bluefish and its incredible characters.

Bluefish follows Travis Roberts as he starts eighth grade in a new school.  He lives with his grandpa, and until recently, with their dog Rosco.  He’s just been torn away from the place he’s lived his whole life – a house in the woods, with a swamp out back – and they’re now living in town.  He’s miserable and resentful, and he’s starting school, the worst place in the world with its closed-in walls and demands that he do things he cannot possibly do.

Meanwhile, Velveeta has recently lost her best friend Calvin, the elderly neighbor in the next trailer.  With him she lost the tiny hold she had on structure and direction and security.  

The first day of school, an act of kindness on Travis’s part captures Velveeta’s attention.  Her attention – no small thing – creates some new air and breathing space for Travis.  In that fresh light, he finds a small doorway through Velveeta’s crispy hard cover, and he eases it open.  Velveeta in turn knocks on Travis’s closed-up-tight shell, and so a revolving door to the world of possibilities swings into motion.

2. Illiteracy is an interesting theme to choose for a middle-school novel. What made you choose this?

I can’t say I consciously chose the theme of illiteracy, nor did I choose to make it a middle school novel.  I started off writing a picture book about a kid who loved the swamp, and that kid was Travis.  After spending some time with him, his real story began to take place not in third grade, as I originally thought, but in eighth grade.    

Both of my parents were reading teachers, and I have several friends who struggled to learn to read.  I suppose this was working beneath the surface from the start, but I didn’t set out to write a book about illiteracy.  Travis led me there.

3. Just because I love the name and the book, what made you choose the title of a Dr. Seuss book for the reading groups?

Again, I don’t recall actually choosing the title.  Travis was in the Bluefish reading group at school.  That concept, and way of thinking of himself, carried with it layers of literacy and wordplay (nobody does it better than Dr. Seuss), and grief and the fishiness of the swamp, so the book called itself that and I went along.

4. What audience (age, group, etc.) did you intend on writing this for and why?

I don’t consciously write for an audience.  I tell the story I need to tell myself.  I needed a story about a swamp and scarves, about kindness and connection, and a dog, and about the riches that come through the written word, and how that print on the page can drastically alter our understanding and experience.  To write a book for my own pleasure and have it connect with an audience – well, that’s a thrill I can barely comprehend, much less express.

5. Will there be other Travis and Velveeta adventures in the future? Possibly.  I wrote one entire draft of Bluefish in Velveeta’s voice, and I have a sense of what’s coming for her after eighth grade.  I’d like to take that journey with her, and I hope to after I finish the book I’m working on now.

6. Do you recall the first book you read?

I don’t remember learning to read, or the first book I read.  I only remember clinging to them like life preservers.  When I was six, or maybe seven, I’d been reading under the covers late at night with a flashlight.  My parents took every book out of my room for a week.  Worst punishment EVER.

7. What was your favorite book growing up and what is your favorite book now?

I had several favorites in early childhood, and Jim Kjelgaard was my favorite author until I stumbled on The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  That locked in at the top of the list, and has been my favorite ever since.  I love many books, but no other has reached into my heart and soul in the same way.

8. Outside of writing, how do you spend your time?

I work at my day job.  I read a lot.  I spend time outdoors – walking, cross-country skiing, swimming.  I love to travel and do so whenever I can.  

9. What is number one on your bucket list?

I don’t have a bucket list.  I try to stay open to possibility and if I see a good idea, I jump on it.  I’ve already has the good fortune to do most of the things I felt I must do, and anything else that rolls my way is bonus.

10. Any final thoughts to share with your readers?

Bluefish is about the power of kindness and the power of story.  I didn’t know that when I started – it’s what the book has taught me in the process.  When kindness and story intersect and weave together, I believe they can change a person’s world.  That person’s world changes another world.  And so it goes.

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz

☆☆☆☆.5
Author: Pat Schmatz
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 240
Genre: YA, realistic fiction
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 0763653349

Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he's missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there's just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa; a new school and the dreaded routine of passing when he's called on to read out loud. But that's before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn't take "pass" for an answer-a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it's before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own.


One fish. Two fish. Red fish. Blue fish. As a teacher, I find that a cute and witty name for groups in a classroom. Just like any other creative name to keep track of the groups. But never would I have thought of using them as names for kids in certain reading levels. That is just too easy of a way to segregate students and it's down right harsh.

I can see how Travis links his deficiency to the name of a title of a Dr. Seuss favorite. That label has stayed with him throughout his school hopping no matter what the name of the group is. You see, Travis can't read. It is demeaning to a child and is in no way encouraging to them. I love that Schmatz defines this, but shows how one student was able to slowly overcome. To describe such a teacher as McQueen who defies the odds and uses literature to fight past demons is amazing. As you read, you see the walls in Travis' life begin to break down as he learns to trust a teacher and fellow classmates for the first time in years. He learns to channel his anger and forgive others. There are so many lessons to be learned in this novel and all were tied perfectly to the character and finished with such grace.

I found the novel easy to follow with such descriptive words that you truly felt like you were walking with Travis in his life. The is a switch in point of view between Travis and Velveeta during each chapter. At first, I found it confusing, but once I realized what the author was doing, I found it inspiring. When reading Travis' side, it was done in third person p.o.v. so the reader could sense his emotions, but not grasp fully. It was more the point of witnessing his change. We learned about Velveeta by seeing a close side of her reading into her journal entries of the day. Her summary of events, her confusions, and her struggles.

My final review: a great story for middle school and wonderful for group reading in the classroom.