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A review by literarylover37
The Flying Circus by Susan Crandall
3.0
I received an advanced copy of this book from Gallery Books Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for a review.
Henry Schuler, aka Henry Jefferson, runs away from his adopted parents home after something terrible happens to one of his adopted sisters. Something he may or may not have been involved with. Shortly after fleeing, he meets Charlie Gilchrist, a pilot who is badly haunted by the events of the war, and Cora Haviland, a young socialite, daredevil who yearns to break free of her mother's expectations. These three and a stray dog, dubbed Mercury, create a traveling show as they roam throughout the heartland of America performing stunts. The past is bound to catch up with all of them though and when it does, the true test of their friendship begins.
I wanted so badly to like this book more than I did. Whistling Past the Graveyard was one of my favorite books last year. Unfortunately, that book had the plucky young Starla to root for. This book had Henry. It's not that Henry was a bad character, it just was that he was so consumed with the awfulness of everything that had happened to him and the worry about the future that it was hard to enjoy what was happening in the story. Henry was a worrier for sure.
I also felt like the story dragged considerably in the middle. I couldn't see a way forward in the plot and at times I just wished Henry, Cora, and Gil would've confessed about their pasts earlier. It just seemed to bog the story down as they bounced from one random town to another before meeting up with the Flying Circus.
In general, I thought this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed the glimpse of the time period and the greater character development. I just wished it had some of the hopeful joy that her first book did.
Henry Schuler, aka Henry Jefferson, runs away from his adopted parents home after something terrible happens to one of his adopted sisters. Something he may or may not have been involved with. Shortly after fleeing, he meets Charlie Gilchrist, a pilot who is badly haunted by the events of the war, and Cora Haviland, a young socialite, daredevil who yearns to break free of her mother's expectations. These three and a stray dog, dubbed Mercury, create a traveling show as they roam throughout the heartland of America performing stunts. The past is bound to catch up with all of them though and when it does, the true test of their friendship begins.
I wanted so badly to like this book more than I did. Whistling Past the Graveyard was one of my favorite books last year. Unfortunately, that book had the plucky young Starla to root for. This book had Henry. It's not that Henry was a bad character, it just was that he was so consumed with the awfulness of everything that had happened to him and the worry about the future that it was hard to enjoy what was happening in the story. Henry was a worrier for sure.
I also felt like the story dragged considerably in the middle. I couldn't see a way forward in the plot and at times I just wished Henry, Cora, and Gil would've confessed about their pasts earlier. It just seemed to bog the story down as they bounced from one random town to another before meeting up with the Flying Circus.
In general, I thought this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed the glimpse of the time period and the greater character development. I just wished it had some of the hopeful joy that her first book did.