The disappearing circus by Helen Edwards & Kate Gordon

Talented Australian authors Helen Edwards and Kate Gordon have combined their incredible writing talents to share an extraordinary story about two young girls and a fantastical circus. Emme and Ivy are both weighed down by a terrible sense of loss and run away separately to escape their despair and feelings of hopelessness. Meeting quite by accident as they find themselves captured by an astonishing array of ‘actual, imagined and extinct creatures’, the two girls initially struggle to understand what has happened to them and where they actually are.

Ring mistress Seraphina harbors a heartbreaking secret and her bitterness and controlling personality leads the girls and the quirky, unique collection of creatures into the possibility of an unfortunate ending. With help from some of the partly vanishing creatures, Emme and Ivy share a complex journey to discover their chosen talents in order to save both themselves and the disappearing circus.

This story has many twists and turns within the main narrative and Emme and Ivy have alternate chapters in which to allow the reader to build an understanding of their background story. The text is rich in imagery and descriptive language with each character, real or unreal, having their own special role and story to tell.

The Disappearing Circus is an absorbing and entertaining read with friendship, belief in oneself and hope shining through.

Themes: Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Circus, Grief, Friendship, Memories, Creatures, Talents, Hope.

Kathryn Beilby