gorgeous, passionate ya work filled with the emotion and care that only a YA book like this can pull off

Trans boy forced to go to girls catholic school by family. Magical unexplained circus makes him feel better. I wish we got more on the circus and how it works or what it’s like. Most of the pov is of Asher’s performances so we really don’t get a lot of depth into the circus itself.

Otherwise this was a deeply tragic and beautiful story. I just wanted to pick Asher up and declare him my son taking him away from all this pain constantly. You will cry.

This is an instant classic.

The descriptions in this book were amazing. It felt like I was right there in the story.

Asher is a closeted trans boy who goes to sleep every night dreaming of a circus, where he is himself for the first time. By day, he lives his worst nightmare: Catholic School. Then one night, he's transported to his fantasy world, where dreams and reality begin to blend.

I was skeptical during the prologue. I was promised a story that was similar to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but the prologue wasn't just comparable, it was downright derivative. The circus is even named, "The Midnight Circus." Which, to be fair, it probably is hard to name a circus that comes only at night...

But then the story morphs into its own.

Asher lives with his mom, a nurse who is almost never home, and cared for by his ridiculously old-fashioned and super controlling grandparents. Grandparents who drag Ash to a church designed to teach him to hate himself and pay to send him to Catholic school after an incident in which he's injured. Grandparents who, after losing their son, decided to plot out every second of their granddaughter's life, right up to her career, without ever acknowledging that she's really a he. Kasey LeBlanc presents us with a world that feels so very tense and awkward, it's amazing the kid can even remember to breathe.

The circus is a catalyst for Asher, and an addiction. It's a place he doesn't have to hide, instead he can put himself on display before an audience and not be judged. Asher becomes determined to do anything to stay. Here he begins to build his bravery, flying high above the crowd with his trapeze partner Apollo.

Apollo creates a mystery almost as big as the circus... He walks into Asher's real world classroom one day, having no memory of Asher. But Asher remembers him. And Apollo is different, having had a personality change outside the circus which leads to the question, 'what's going on here?' So you have an intriguing sublot to run alongside the mystery of the circus.

When the circus is threatened, Asher makes a series of bad choices to protect it. The thing is, we know they're bad while he's making those decisions. And the outcomes seem oddly predictable which is deeply unfortunate.

Predictability aside, this is otherwise solid writing, even if I think the plot needed a little more work. The characters are multifaceted which increases believability. This is aimed at YA which I appreciate because if literature can teach anything it might be acceptance.

Ash know he's not a girl. And the only place he can be himself is the Midnight Circus. He's more than content just experiencing everything in his dreams. But his trapeze artist partner is now the newest kid in school. Was it ever really just dreams?

In my opinion, this is 80% contemporary, and 20% fantasy. I really liked how magical it can be but it gives the feel that reality truly hits hard. This book has a lot to offer, and the story is also so good.

The flow of the story is good and the connections of the characters were precious. It's such a mix of heartbreak, discovery, and a feel of freedom.

If anything. it gave me a better understanding of not just LGBTQ+ people but also the struggles of just being human. You just can't help but root for all the characters.

Overall, entertaining and thought provoking.

Reading the synopsis of this book, I was immediately drawn in, much like the allure of the Midnight Circus that’s at the center of this new YA release. A mix between The Night Circus meets the Wayward Children series, but make it queer. What could be more enchanting!

With all of this in mind, I already went in with pretty high expectations. Because as a reader, I loved The Night Circus and similar books that have this escapism, dreamlike quality, and I was ready to be swept up by the magic of it all. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t land for me. This was trying to somehow be both a YA contemporary and a fantasy, and I just didn’t think that the two blended well. In all honesty, I was much more invested in Asher’s day-to-day struggles of attending Catholic school as a closeted trans teen, his relationship with his grandparents, and feeling confined by their expectations vs the life he really wants to live as his authentic self. I absolutely loved these moments and I think this could’ve easily just been a contemporary novel and I wouldn’t have even missed the circus element at all…and that’s saying something, coming from, again, someone who ordinarily likes books about the circus.

For me personally, what didn’t work for me was the implementation of the Midnight Circus as a whole. For the longest time, I wasn’t even sure whether the Midnight Circus was actually real or not. And then when I realized that it was and how it was starting to seep into Archer’s real life, I hated it as a trope. It just required me to suspend…SO much disbelief, because now that it’s not just a dream and it’s something that actually exists in the real world, I have so many questions. I just think the Midnight Circus would’ve worked a lot better in this story being something that only existed in Asher’s dreams. Speaking as someone who maladaptive daydreams, this would’ve deeply resonated with me a lot more, and it actually makes more sense in regard to Asher’s story for the circus to be his own form of maladaptive daydreaming as a way to mentally escape to a place where he’s able to live his “dream life.”

It also took me a while to realize that the people in the circus are all real people in everyday life like Asher who are all fighting their own battles when they’re not at the circus. It would’ve been more effective if the author wrote to this A LOT more. We get a lot of Asher seeing the circus as his safe place where he can be accepted as his true self, but not a lot from the other people in the circus. There was such a missed opportunity to write more to the found family element that the Midnight Circus encompasses, but it seemed like it was mostly just Asher who was at the center of it. I would’ve loved more scenes where the characters could all open up and talk about their home lives, where they could be more fleshed out as characters and all have their own rich backstories—where we get to know them more deeply beyond who they are when they’re in the circus.

<b>Final thoughts: </b> This was overall…okay. Again, I absolutely loved reading about Asher’s journey of carving out a space for himself in a world that isn’t always welcoming. I just didn’t love how the Midnight Circus was implemented into the story. For me, it would’ve elevated Asher’s story so much more if it existed solely in his dreams and was used, at first as a means of escape but gradually became the driving force for him to feel brave enough to live his authentic self in his real life too and to no longer need the Midnight Circus anymore. I think that would’ve been a lot more impactful and worked better for this kind of story.

Ash is a trans teen who is not out yet except to their best friend. In a world where they don’t feel they will accepted they escape into their dreams through a night circus that allows them to be their true self.

Where I think this book works really well. Was ash’s journey of self discovery learning to love and accept themselves for who they are . Not living under others expectations and standards.


Possible spoiler
What didn’t work. I love the concept of the night circus, especially as a dreamworld. What part wasn’t really explained enough to me and what I found confusing was how the circus infiltrated the real world at certain points and how certain characters knew who the dream characters were in real life, but others didn’t I needed this to be a little clearer

I thought this was a good book and I think trans and queer characters being represented in young adult. Literature is incredibly important.

Asher’s struggle, magic circus world aside, mirrors that of so many young people trying to express who they truly are in a world that doesn’t always accept them. This is beautiful, lyrical novel that appeals to the escapist in my soul who has always sought out books and movies with monsters and magic to get away from people that never saw the real me and only the person they wanted me to be the person I was who failed to be that person. Asher is transgender and struggles to seek the acceptance of peers and his grandparents, which is only made worse by church and his new Catholic school which is determined to force him into a mold he doesn’t fit. At night he dreams of flying free as a talented trapeze artist in the mysterious Midnight Circus. The question of whether this is all in his head comes out when one of his fantasies/rival appears in his waking world. This brings into question the reality of the Midnight Circus , and the excitement picks up as Asher must decide how to be himself. Lots of clever metaphors, beautiful story. The cover art is just stunning and compliments the story so well. The characters are very realistic as are the struggles they face even with the fantasy elements. Just a wonderful book.

I absolutely loved this book. I love the way the characters developed and how Asher learned from his mistakes and fixed them. The way it was written was amazing and made me understand trans people more than I did. The exploration of sexuality and gender along with maintaining friendships and family was explained out super well. I loved getting to read about Asher slowly learning how to do what he enjoyed and be his authentic self without fearing what other people thought. We get to learn more about trans people in this book and what they have to go through and the fear they live with in a wonderful circus that slowly dies from a mistake Asher makes. Will Asher be able to be with the boy he loves and save the carnival that saved him? Find out in this wonderful tale!

Flyboy is a beautiful book about growing into yourself and building the courage to be who you truly are. It was also very informative about being transgender, and explores current social issues associated with being trans, especially in a school setting. The characters were extremely captivating and realistic, even if some of their development took a while. Asher annoyed me for a while because of his inability to understand others' perspectives, but once he got over that, it was fine with me. The circus is a very interesting concept, but I wish I understood how exactly it works. It is in people's dreams. but then breached the real world, and people leave for reasons, but that is not explained. Additionally, the fact Asher recognized Apollo, but Apollo could not put two and two together to realize Asher was Ash was annoying to me. Despite Asher looking the way he wants to be, he still has to look kind of similar to his real-world self, right?

Otherwise, this novel was really great representation and engaging. I couldn't put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! As a queer person who went to a very conservative Christian highschool in the south, everything that Asher went through at school and with his grandparents hit very close to home. This, combined with the Midnight Circus as a way to escape and be yourself made this and incredibly enjoyable read. All around, it is just the kind of book that we need so much more of in the world. I loved all of the characters, and though that each of their arcs was perfectly fitting.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC!

*Contains spoilers*

This debut YA novel has all the parts of a great story, including a twist at the end and a major conflict as a storyline that continues to be visited throughout the text. There is a touch of magical realism with a wonderful circus backdrop as Asher explores questions about his own reality. Most importantly, Flyboy is another example of the new wave of LGBTQIAP+ texts that normalizes queer identities, particularly trans.

Themes of bravery and courage are carried throughout the story that YA readers will celebrate. Although, there were some stretches in narrative that early novelists struggle with, including a too-easy argument with the grandparents as a resolution and the fire at the end that seemed to erupt out of nowhere. There are some underexplored plot lines such as Moira and Kaycee’s relationship, and, at times, Apollo could have been developed more deeply.

The strength of the text is the diverse cast of characters, real-life issues addressed through a vibrant backdrop, and the strength of family and friends.

Shout out to #NetGalley, #BalzerBray, and #HarperCollinsChildrensBooks for the ARC!

3 out of 5 stars

I was excited to get my hands on this book. I am all about whimsical circuses where people learn about themselves. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.

Closeted trans teenager Asher lives a life that does not reflect who he is. His highly religious grandparents have everything planned for him: he will attend a university of their choosing, follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, and become a lawyer. Asher has no choice but to follow along with this plan because of his grandparent’s financial support. When an incident at his old school causes his mother to send him to Catholic school, he feels betrayed and as if he has lost control of his life. At this low point, Asher finds himself at an unbelievable circus in his dreams. When one of the other circus performers shows up at his school, Asher knows the circus is not just a dream. But when everything spirals out of control, Asher might lose all the most important relationships in his life.

The big thing to talk about in this book is the circus. It drew me in and, sadly, is my greatest disappointment. I expected more descriptions of the circus, but Asher joins the circus as a performer and not a patron. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this. Much of the circus is present in the book, but most with most of Asher’s time dedicated to his performances, the rest of the circus is lost to the reader. Some details appear, but I do not feel the same magic from the circus as Asher. Another problem with the circus is that it is never fully explained. I still do not understand how the circus works or its creation. It does have some fun twists, but they do not make up for the many failings.

Although I found the circus disappointing, I did enjoy the writing. I was engaged the whole time and did not struggle to make my way through this book. However, nothing stood out to me. Kasey LeBlanc created interesting characters and settings that do not meet my tastes. I became irritated with Asher and his unwillingness to see that others do not see the world in the same way. I like how Asher grew through the book, and I was less annoyed with him by the end.

Overall, I would say this book is just okay. It did not blow me away, and I did not fall in love with any aspect. I wanted to love the circus, but it did not meet my expectations.

Thank you, Kasey LeBlane NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

I've never read a book quite like this. It truly was a beautiful story, and the way it's written, it's like the words are jumping off the page, tantalizing your senses. This book, though I'm not Trans I understand how the main character feels. I have a best friend whose parents don't support him and want nothing to do with him if he even mentions that he's a boy to them. It's sad that today we still deal with this issue, but this book was such a delight to read.

The characters and the descriptions in this book were a huge deal to me. It was like I was there with the main character every step of the way, and you can definitely smell the popcorn... and so much more.

This book is so much more than about a midnight circus but dealing with the fear of coming out to others and hoping for so much. All Asher wants to do is be free and fly, but he can't fully be himself because of the school he's in and the people around him. Of course, he has friends, but more is needed.

Thank you so much for bringing this book into my life.