The American Library Association’s Rainbow Book List, their annual highest recommendations for LGBTQ+ books for young people, was announced this week, and The Circus Rose is one of their top ten titles for teen readers! I am thrilled, and it’s amazing to be in company with books like Cemetery Boys and Elatsoe and You Should See Me in a Crown.
The Circus Rose was also one of Kirkus Reviews’ best books of 2020, and it received a wonderful starred review that you can read here.
I wrote this book in the first months after I became a single parent, and it was a strange and difficult time. I was kind of sure the book that came out of it would be terrible, but I thought if it kept me and my kid fed, that was all that mattered. So it’s a little stunning that it has in many ways been my warmest-received book yet. There is a lesson there about not being too precious with my writing, about writing from vulnerability rather than caution, from recklessness rather than perfectionism, that I feel like I have to learn over and over again with every book I write. I hope I’ll remember it this time.
You can find The Circus Rose in English, Spanish, or audiobook (and fair warning, narrator Nicol Zanzarella does a devastatingly sexy voice for love interest Tam. I couldn’t handle it. You have been warned).
And a few more nice things people have said:
☆ “This creative exploration of chosen family, self-knowledge, love, and the tension between opposites is both timely and timeless. Dazzling.” – Kirkus, starred review
“A delicately lovely reimagining of the fairy tale ‘Snow White and Rose Red’….a rich range of queerness.” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A graceful exploration of the families we’re born with and the ones we make.” – Booklist
“The story tackles crucial themes—including the importance of found family and the dangers of religious fundamentalism—while navigating complex familial relationships and delivering a rich atmosphere.” – Publishers Weekly
“You will adore this standalone set at a family circus.” – Epic Reads
“Breathtakingly beautiful . . . takes on a passion that I’ve not often seen in any YA novel.” – YA Book Shelf
“An intense, compulsive and gripping read . . . . Exquisite. Highly recommended.” – The Book Doctor
“Sparkling with lush magic and worldbuilding . . . I loved this book.” – The Young Folks
“Reminiscent of thrilling, other-world scenes found in various books in the Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children series. For those who enjoyed author Betsy Cornwell’s 2015 steampunk version of Cinderella, Mechanica, those who like Steampunk or Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children, The Circus Rose is an excellent choice.” – South Sound Book Review Council
