The Mumbo Jumbo Circus

by Jane George

[Angie]

I can’t visit a circus in real life–the sight of a clown brings instant tears and freaking out–so, what do us bookworms do when we can’t go somewhere? We read about it! I haven’t had the best luck with circus books, at least of the magical variety, but I did think that The Mumbo Jumbo Circus was pretty good. It’s definitely a lot different than the others I’ve read. It reminded me a bit of Harry Potter actually. Evan has been bounced from foster home to foster home, but during her stay with “Number 8″ some magic words are muttered, she’s called a freak, and someone from the Mumbo Jumbo circus comes to recruit her. Of course, Even accepts to get away from her awful foster parents, but her new life in the circus doesn’t go as smoothly as it could.

The plot is fast paced and fun. It’s nothing new, as it’s the typical teenager must save the world with powers they didn’t know they had. Except in this case, Evan is saving a magical circus that’s been down on its luck. Her special power is actually a “donvrai” or true gift, which of course goes hand in hand with her biggest fear: horses. The Ringmaster believes that Evan will have the greatest horse act that will drawn in customers and that’ll she save the circus from those who want to steal the magic. There are lots of accidents (or is it sabotage) along the way, and Evan isn’t sure if she’s cut out for circus life, let alone being its savior.

My only real problem with The Mumbo Jumbo Circus was that I couldn’t quite pinpoint an age group for it. It is categorized as Young Adult and the description says teens 14+, but a lot of the time it felt very juvenile. While I enjoyed the plot, it was very straight forward and the culprit was easy to figure out. It just felt very Middle Grade-ish most of the time. If it wasn’t for some foul language and a few rather steamy scenes between Evan and Wally, I’d swear it was for younger readers. I just prefer my books to have a bit of a mature feel. The illustrations were a nice touch though, especially the ones of the characters.

The Mumbo Jumbo Circus is a fun and pretty quick read. Something is always happening to Evan and her new circus friends. I loved all of the colors and the magical elements. We get to see a lot of the acts and the secrets behind them, which was great. The bad guys were a bit cheesy, but one was in Las Vegas, which is quite cheesy anyway! There are a few places (not magic related) where I rolled my eyes and had to suspend belief quite a bit, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.