Circus Mirandus

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasely is a young adult fantasy novel about a young boy named Micah Tuttle, who is struggling to come to terms with the impending death of his grandfather, Ephraim. Micah becomes enthralled by the world of Circus Mirandus, a fantastical traveling circus that Ephraim supposedly visited as a young boy, and which both Ephraim and Micah believe still exists. As Ephraim nears death, Micah and his friend Jenny are summoned to Circus Mirandus to find the Lightbender, who owes Ephraim a miracle. All the while, the pair have to grapple with an invisible tiger, many disgruntled carnival workers, and the most formidable of all characters, Micah's angry Great Aunt Gertrudis.

The story begins with Ephraim sending a letter via a talking bird with a serious attitude problem, to the Lightbender. At this point, Beasley has not revealed who or what the Lightbender is, and this mystery remains for much of the novel. It is quickly revealed, however, that Ephraim is dying, which is troubling news for Micah, who has lived with him since the sudden death of his parents. Because Ephraim is sick, Micah is forced to live with Ephraim's sister, Gertrudis, who is grouchy and mean and unwilling to believe Ephraim's stories about the fantastical world of Circus Mirandus.

Micah is struggling in school and is mocked for his ability to intuitively tie and untie complicated knots. His only friend is Jenny, an over-achieving, no-nonsense do-gooder who is only tentatively willing to listen to Micah's stories. Jenny, much like Great-Aunt Gertrudis, does not believe in Circus Mirandus, but is at least willing to listen to Micah and Grandpa Ephraim.



Grandpa Ephraim receives a letter back from the Lightbender, telling him it is too late to cash in on the miracle he has saved for the last 80 years. Unwilling to accept that his grandfather can't be saved and enraged at his Great Aunt Gertrudis for taking over his grandfather's care, Micah embarks on a mission to find Circus Mirandus and convince the Lightbender to give Grandpa Ephraim his miracle.

Circus Mirandus is a fantastical place, full of elephants that can do complicated math problems and the Great Amazonian Bird Woman, who performs incredible shows with exotic birds in the sky. The most fascinating thing about Circus Mirandus, though, is that it can only be experienced by those who believe in it – this initially causes problems for Jenny, who joins Micah on his journey but can't see the marvels because she believes so deeply in science and reason.

The novel alternates between the world of young Ephraim, experiencing Circus Mirandus for the first time, and Micah's new journey into the circus many decades later. From these competing narratives, Beasley reveals the backstories of many of the characters, particularly the Amazonian Bird Woman, whose vanity caused her great distress despite her entrancing performances. Grandpa Ephraim's narrative also tells the story of the Lightbender, a man who can create incredible illusions by bending the light around him, and who has the power to grant miracles.



As the novel continues, Micah and Jenny try to meet with the Lightbender. Along the way, the children have to wrestle with a tiger, and befriend a host of demanding and strange characters. When they finally meet the Lightbender, he shows Micah his powers of illusion, but explains that he cannot help Grandpa Ephraim with this particular miracle. The children are devastated, but thankful that they got to experience the marvelous world that Grandpa Ephraim experienced in his youth. At the end of the novel, Micah is given the reassurance that magic and marvels are real, and he is offered a community in Circus Mirandus. At the same time, though, he is forced to come to terms with his grandfather's death, and to make the most of the little remaining time they have together.

Circus Mirandus won many awards after its publication in 2015. It is a New York Times Bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, among receiving other awards and honors. It is the debut novel of Cassie Beasley. The book has been compared by critics to Harry Potter and other similarly captivating magical worlds. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, was part of Scholastics “50 Best Books for Summer,” and was a Kiki Magazine Summer Book Club Pick.