This is a middle grade book. This book is about a family with extraordinary talents and a circus. The story was so good, and I love circus setting books. I found the characters where very developed and fun. I feel I was there with the characters. Enough through this is a middle grade book I think adults would enjoyed this book as well. The narrator of this audiobook was great, and I really enjoyed listening to this book. I was kindly provided an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher (Live Oak Media) or author (Diane Zahler) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I am always curious when it comes to circus themed books. The covers are eye-catching and the blurbs are full of mystery!

When I saw this one as an audiobook on NetGalley I decided to request. It is a quick listen but it also has a lot to it.

Mattie Marvelwood and her family have always been different. They perform and even though others may be faking their skills, the Marvelwoods are the real deal! Because of this, they have a hard time trusting others. Mattie already feels like a freak and she doesn't need to add more fuel to the fire of her life.

Although Mattie is eleven, I thought she was a bit older because of the way she presented herself. Maybe that's just me since I haven't been around someone that age in a long while. Like any other kid, she wants to fit in and have a normal life. Her family's job does prevent normality. All of her concerns for who she is does make up a good part of the plot which I liked. She learns to overcome these things and realize that there is nothing wrong with being different. You can make friends being who you are.

As mentioned above, there is also talk about her family not trusting anyone due to an issue in the past with a friend. This is another topic that I liked. It takes courage to trust in someone again after getting hurt. It also shows true friendship.

The villain aspect of the book was nicely done. There is no redemption arc and we see that person for who they are. Their background does center around not fitting and correlates with Mattie in a good way. It shows that there are many paths in life and our choices can have consequences.

When it comes to the audiobook, the narrator does a good job with the accents for certain characters and it's pretty easy to distinguish between the characters. There is fun circus music at the beginning and end which is a cool touch.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought the circus theme was nicely done with good messages included in the plot.