From a New York Times best-selling author, a queer retelling of “Snow White and Rose Red” in which teenage twins battle evil religious extremists to save their loves and their circus family. YA fantasy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Mackenzi Lee, and Laini Taylor. Twins Rosie and Ivory have grown up at their ringmaster mother’s knee, and after years on the road, they’re returning to Port … on the road, they’re returning to Port End, the closest place to home they know. Yet something has changed in the bustling city: fundamentalist flyers paper the walls and preachers fill the squares, warning of shadows falling over the land. The circus prepares a triumphant homecoming show, full of lights and spectacle that could chase away even the darkest shadow. But during Rosie’s tightrope act, disaster strikes.
In this lush, sensuous novel interwoven with themes of social justice and found family, it’s up to Ivory and her magician love–with the help of a dancing bear–to track down an evil priest and save their circus family before it’s too late.
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Now, this is a novel that will not be for everyone. The Circus Rose is a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, but the approach is unique.
An Interesting Approach to Storytelling
The reason this novel may not be for everyone is that while the story splits between Ivory and Rose, the prose changes. Ivory’s perspective traditional prose juxtaposes Rose’s poetic prose.
This approach is jarring at first, taking the reader out of the story because it disrupts the fluidity of the story. By constructing the story in this way, Cornwell risks alienating some of her readers because it does create this barrier between the reader and the story.
Moreover, while Ivory’s perspective is steady, at times, Rose’s perspective seems more like nonsense than actual storytelling.
Some readers may only want the story in verse or the traditional manner but combining them in the way to separate perspectives was unprecedented.
However, it does say much about the girls and their personalities, and it also highlights Cornwell’s ability to string together verse and storytelling. While going back and forth may be initially disruptive, once the reader continues reading, it becomes natural to go back and forth because it highlights the minds of the girls. Ivory is the more logical of the sisters, working to build and construct things while Rose, the performer, has her head up in the clouds. The change in the verse does say a lot about the girls.
Even when it seems disruptive, the fluidity of each perspective is evident. The reader does get to understand who these characters are and their relationship with one another and the world.
Noteworthy Representation
Cornwell’s storytelling may be initially jarring, but what she can do with the story is incredible. It is a fantasy world with a hint of steampunk to it that gives the story a well-rounded look at the world. However, what is interesting is the LGBTQ representation.
The Fae in this novel are non-binary, which is both clever, thoughtful, and unique. Never before have Fae been given this distinction, always referred to as “he” or “she.” Here they have their distinction of Fe, Fer, Fey, and it was genuinely impressive. It was remarkable to see the LGBTQ community represented in this way.
It was a thoughtful characteristic to put into the novel.
Final Thoughts
While The Circus Rose may not be for everyone, it is one worthy of a read because of how interesting it is. Cornwell has adapted this classic fairy tale and brought it to life with many unique spins capturing essential and powerful messages.
Rosie and Ivory are twins and share a mother, but a father. They were born to the owner of Circus Rose. Ivory grows up to be a tightrope walker while Rosie prefers being behind the scenes. When the circus returns to Port End, where it all began many years, earlier, they find their hometown changed.
The author tells her story through the eyes of the two sisters each having alternate chapters. Unfortunately, she has chosen to write the Ivory chapters in free verse (essentially poetry that doesn’t rhyme), but the verse is obtuse and short. The Ivory chapters take the reader out of the story not only because of the format, but because the reader often stops to try to figure out what she’s talking about. It doesn’t take long before the reader finds herself skipping right over those chapters because it doesn’t seem like the Ivory chapters advance the story at all.
The Rosie chapters are well written and the Rosie character is better developed than the Ivory character. What we know of Ivory we learn from Rosie. And let us not forget Bear, a unique character to put it simply.
If you really, really like free verse, you will undoubtedly not be put off the book because of its use. If you like books with a little magic, some fantasy, a unique storyline, and interesting characters, then you’ll like this book.
My thanks to Clarion and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Man, this is a hard one for me. On one hand, the world-building and descriptions are 5 stars. On the other hand, the plot is thin in some places (almost forced to move the story along); What could have been interesting is glossed over and other parts tend to drag leading to a lot of lull in the story.
I put this story down several times over a two month period. I read twenty other books in-between starting and finishing this book. At the beginning of the book, you think the random background information that takes up the first 80 or so pages will help with the plot later on but really it doesn’t. A lot of it could have been left out and other parts of it fleshed out to make a better rounded plot.
I also felt like this book was confusing with two different POVs between the twins. The poetry style of Rosie kept throwing me off. I honestly thought that Ivory was saying a poem about Rosie until it finally dawned on me it was Rosie’s POV. The author also uses these weird androgynous Fey pronouns “fer” and “fe” when writing about the Faerie magician. I kept thinking there were typos or something. It was a fail. I understand that the being didn’t identify with neither male nor female and it was too informal but switching back and forth between the two forms was just confusing.
Why do most YA books feel like they have to cover EVERY demographic? It seems like lately every YA book has to have some character in the story that meets LGBT representation. In this story Ivory loves men, but once she meets the beautiful, androgynous Fey (who is “no more male than I am”) she recognizes something. It’s like it just fills in a check-box (can’t use Rosie’s sexual preference wasn’t fleshed out as much so have to tweak Ivory and make it work). It’s almost like too many ideas in a first-draft. I can hear the conversation.
“Oh I know, let’s have one sister white and one brown to cover the racial demographic. With two different fathers to get the kink factor. Wait I know, make one a lesbian and the other straight — no better yet make her bi and fall in love to androgynous hermaphroditic Fey to make the LGBT group read. Add a dancing bear ’cause, you know, it’s a circus. Hehe with a robot arm! What!?! Now, that just crazy. Okay, okay, no robot arm, but s bearded lady.”
I feel like it had some real potential, but the plot got away from the author.
** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **