Pantomime (Pantomime #1)

Pantomime by Laura Lam is her first book featuring Micah Grey.

Iphigenia Laurus, who goes by Gene, is the daughter of a noble family. She is expected to do all of the things a proper young woman does and stop doing boyish things with her brother, Cyril. But Gene is not like the other girls of her social class with their fancy balls and dresses. While Gene has been raised as a girl she was born with both female and male parts.

Gene has been to many doctors over the years, but there is little known about the condition. After her last doctor, she has had enough. She runs away, uses a different name and changes her gender. He is now Micah Grey. And always a good climber, he talks his way into the circus to be trained as a trapeze artist. But still, no one knows his secret.

Lam has written a wonder fantasy novel with a great character who is caught between what society says and what is reality. Readers will devour the story and rush to find the second book, Shadowplay.

Lam, Laura. (2013). Pantomime. New York: Strange Chemistry.

The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a wonderful, magical book and has joined the ranks of my favorite books.

Le Cirque des Reves arrives without warning. One morning when you awake it may be in a field of the edge of town. It posts no flyers or advertisement of any kind; it simply appears and draws a crowd.

All within the circus is black or white (or a shade of grey) but lack of color only adds to the magical feel. There are tents that will delight all of your senses, from the maze of clouds to the garden of ice. There are performers who will astound you, from the beautiful illusionist to the tattooed contortionist.

The circus is a stage - not just a stage for the performers - but at its heart it is a contest between two people who were placed there to compete within some vague rules with no clear idea of how to win. But the contest is not adversarial. Each side creates pieces that delight and amaze not only the patrons of the circus, but each other as well.

Morgenstern has created beautiful characters that readers will love, a unique and magical setting that will delight all who visit, and an overall novel that is to be treasured. Buy a copy and start reading it today. Allow yourself to be amazed by this book that I am sure will soon be considered a classic of modern literature.

Morgenstern, Erin. (2011). The Night Circus. New York: Doubleday.