Format: ebook
Published: August 4th, 2020
Age: Middle Grade – Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I really liked this. There’s an eerie element to the novel threaded in by the use of shadows and the threats hanging over our cast, and it’s just the right level for older Middle Grade and younger Young Adult readers to enjoy. I wouldn’t quite call it gothic like some of the marketing, but ‘gothic-lite’ might work. Either way, it’s an enjoyable read.
Twelve-year-old Louisa has a secret; she can float, just like her father, who was swept away on a gust of wind, leaving her behind with her mother. When her mother dies, her heart eaten by love bugs, Louisa sets off to find her father, and comes across the Carnival Beneath the Stars, where she meets others with abilities just as magical as her own. Not all is well at the carnival though, with shadows reaching out and affecting performers, a darkness invading the sanctuary. With the help of her new friends, Louisa sets out to find out what, exactly, is happening, and hopefully stop it before it’s too late.
The opening is excellent, and I think the creepiest part of the book, as Louisa sits with her mother, listening to the love bugs eat her. The love bugs are a recurring theme throughout, and personally I thought they were a lovely metaphor for grief. They enter through cracks in someone’s heart, and to avoid the same fate as her mother, Louisa tries to keep herself a little closed off.
The pacing did slow down when she got to the carnival, and I found these chapters to be a bit repetitive as she makes her way through it and sees the acts or, at least, their advertising signs. There was, however, a nice sense of magic from the start, with moon rides and boats pulled by butterflies. Louisa soon meets others her age who become her fast friends, and once she meets them the pace picks up again.
That was my only real gripe with the book. It’s a fun plot, as one of Louisa’s new friends is the most likely suspect for the other performers losing their abilities, with her own talent of weaving shadows. Throughout, too, the mystery of Louisa’s father and the question of whether or not she’ll find him hangs over the characters. Like many similar books, older readers are likely to connect the dots for the different ‘mysteries’ earlier, but I think younger readers will either be pleasantly surprised, or thrilled with themselves for working it all out.
Kassner has done really well with the tension, too, keeping it high throughout without it feeling tedious, and conveying Louisa’s complicated feelings as she tries to work out if she should leave and continue her search for her father, or remain in the place that could become her new home.
I really enjoyed reading this, and there’s elements here that all ages will enjoy, but as mentioned above, it’s going to be particularly good for older MG and younger YA readers.
Reading Challenge
2025 SFF Title Challenge
Prompt: forest
Progress: 7/16
Unwrapping Words 