The Night Circus By: Erin Morgernstern

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• Title: The Night Circus
• Author: Erin Morgenstern
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication Date:  September 13, 2011
• Pages: 387
• Genre: Fantasy
• Recommended Age(s): 13+
• First Read: 2016
• Source: Library 
• Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 stars

The circus arrives without fanfare, or any warning at all. Yet at night it transforms into a spectacle filled with magic and mystery for all to behold. At the center of the circus are the performers, from the contortionists to the acrobats, to the curious red-haired twins who have called the circus home all their lives. The most interesting performer of all however is an illusionist, an unassuming girl-Celia Bowen. She has been chosen to play a game fraught with magic that spans continents and decades. Her adversary? Marco, the boy she cannot help but feel complete with. When the two of them realize that their game's outcome affects everyone in the circus, they must find a way to save everyone and everything they know...or risk the unimaginable consequences.

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I went into this book completely blind after picking it up on a whim, so I didn't know what to expect. And wow. Wow. Wow. Any vague inklings I ever had about what this book was supposed to be was blown out of the water.  This book has honestly become one of my favorite books because of how the book just immersed me in the story. After I finished reading this book I had to take a few moments to compose myself because I was a roiling tub of emotions...and even a couple days later, I still can't fully process all the feelings...ugh...feelings.

Throughout the entire time I was reading this book, I felt like I was in a dream because the words danced so delicately on the page and painted pictures in my head full of magic. The writing was ethereal and the atmosphere made me feel heady with excitement and mystery and intrigue...it was seductive. I've read a lot of books in my life, but I've honestly read anything like this book because though the circus was the center point of the novel, I got to explore so much more without really trying. With such a simple plot, this book sure made me fall headlong into some very complex feelings about the characters and question some things about my own world.

I think this is one of those hidden gems that not many people would pick up originally because of the premise...a fantasy novel based in Victorian times. It's exactly up my alley, but not so much for others, so I hope that people leave any misconceptions they have about this book at the door because picking up this book was seriously one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was wrapped up in a dream the entire time I was reading this book and I didn't want it to end.