In Cassie Beasley's poignant debut novel, 10-year-old Micah Tuttle finds out that magic is real at the same time that his grandfather's health begins to spiral downward.
Grandpa Ephraim is the only family Micah has, since his parents died when he was very young. For years, his grandfather has told Micah stories about the magical Circus Mirandus. Now the man admits to his grandson that he's written to the Lightbender to call in the "miracle" promised to him when he was a boy. Micah needs to believe that miracles can happen; Aunt Gertrudis, Ephraim's sister, is a horrid guardian. Micah can't bear the way she bars him from his grandfather's room. He becomes determined to seek out the Lightbender himself, and enlists the help of quirky and smart classmate Jenny Mendoza. As a child, Ephraim realized, "It's important, when you first see magic, to recognize it. You don't often get a second chance." But Ephraim misunderstands magic's purpose, just as Micah misunderstands the nature of the miracle his grandfather wishes.
Beasley takes the idea of running away to the circus and explores the implications of wishing to escape one's reality. Just as a young Ephraim missed his father fighting in a faraway war, Micah wishes for his ill grandfather to be restored to health. And the Lightbender and his circus denizens wish to keep magic alive in the world. Will Micah's faith in the Lightbender's ability to grant a miracle be enough? And can one person's miracle be the same as another's? Beasley probes themes of responsibility, passion and choice in this first entry from a promising writer. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness