Aug 16, 2017
Steadfast Characters
This is our final post related to Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus, and it gives me an opportunity to discuss something I’ve always liked but struggled with. I like characters that don’t change! There I said it. In so many pieces of advice written about character development, it’s espoused that a character must undergo a significant change. Now, I guess there could be some argument over what defines “change.” Is it an overall philosophy? Is it an attitude toward another character? Is it a point of view or even a simple single trait? All qualify as changes, but I find myself rooting for those characters who aren’t bad apples and must fight like mad to keep the batch from spoiling them. SPOILER ALERT: In Circus Mirandus, Micah loves his grandfather, a gracious and good man. Ultimately, he wants his grandfather to be healed by the Lightbender, but his immediate desire is to be with his grandfather and to share the magic in his stories and experience it for himself. He detests his aunt who does not believe her brothers stories and thinks both of them are foolish (we later come to know why she feels this way), but the point is Micah is fighting a force that wants to change him and change his goals. He is steadfast when his new friend Jenny tries to convince him that magic isn’t real. He constantly wars against his great aunt and her attempts to keep Micah away from his grandfather, and he refuses to accept the fact that his wish does not come as he wanted it to. Now, I suppose one could argue that change does occur. Jenny changes. The Lightbender changes. Some of the other characters change, and even Micah accepts a different outcome than the one he longed for, but fundamentally, he as a character does not change. I feel as both a writer and reader there is a place for stories like this. Sometimes the world around us changes–sometimes in a way that is not right or good or for the better. We need to see characters that refuse to give in no matter how difficult the surrounding circumstances. I have a vast of books I love with steadfast characters but what are some of yours. Love to hear about... read more
Aug 9, 2017
Isn’t it Platonic: The best things about best friends in MG
The WWAT crew just recently finished Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley. It was whimsical and heartfelt, and we all had things we really enjoyed about it. What gave me the most warm-fuzzies was the friendship between Micah and Jenny. They were a perfect example of opposites attract. Jenny helped keep Micah grounded, while Micah helped Jenny believe…in the magic of the circus. That’s one of the things I love best about middle grade fiction. In young adult fiction, friendships can get a little lost, or even decimated. As teens, we grow up and out of old friendships as our sense sharpen to a new perspective of the world. And that’s important, I guess. But oh how I love that the friendship in a good middle grade novel can carry a series to stardom. It’s the Harry-Hermione-Ron phenomenon, where the relationship between the main characters attracts the reader beyond the intrigue of the plot and the enchantment of the world building. In a great middle grade novel, if a good friend dies in the story, a little piece of the reader dies with that character. I also love how friendship forces a main character to grow. In Rebecca Stead’s Liars and Spies and R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, friendships motivate the main character to see the world with a little broader lens. It doesn’t demand a paradigm shift, like those in YA literature, but just a slight expansion of one’s horizon. And finally, I love the way a good friend can add necessary comic relief in a dark plot. Blackthorn Key did this with Christopher and Tom. Tom was practical, yet, at the same time, his comments are what made me laugh most often. What’s your favorite “friendship” in middle grade literature? You may have several. As always, the WWAT crew would love to hear about... read more
Aug 2, 2017
The Harmony of Fantasy and Reality
In Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus, Micah searches for the Light Bender. Since Micah was little his grandfather has told him stories of this fantastic man. The Light Bender owes Micah’s grandfather a miracle. Maybe that miracle can save Micah’s dying grandfather. So, Micah searches for his magical circus; a miracle. He journeys to the Circus Mirandus with the help of a new friend. There he learns more about his grandfather, his own power, and to let go if he has to. The term fantasy is often associated with an escape. But it can also secure us in our reality. This is apparent in Circus Mirandus and stated on the inner cover of Claire Legrand’s Some Kind of Happiness: “But as the mysteries pile up, and Finley’s reality and fantasy start to collide, she realizes that if she wants to save the Everwood, she’ll first have to save herself. “ I almost put Some Kind of Happiness back on the bookshelf. That would’ve been a mistake. I wanted an adventure, something fun for vacation. It was, but it also promised to deal with depression and family problems. I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for something so heavy. But Legrand adds a light touch, even when taking the reader to the darkest part of the Everwood. Besides, I read the first line and refused to put it down. “Once there was a Great, sprawling forest called the Everwood. Magic lived there, and it lit up every tree and flower with impossible beauty. “ Those first lines are so important. And these resonated deeply with me. I’d been the girl standing beside the woods dreaming up a fantasy world. One in which I’d often drag my cousins into. I didn’t deal with the same heartbreak that Finley did in the story, but after reading it, I felt as though I could. Everwood brought Finley closer to her cousins and in turn closer to the family she just met at age 11. She made friends with outsiders and brought down barriers built high before her time. She learned the heaviness of secrets. By searching for magic, she found possibility, resilience, and learned to not keep her pain hidden. I loved this book. In Claire Legrand’s Some Kind of Happiness, Finley creates magic in a world full of secrets and heartbreak. In Circus Mirandus, Micah seeks it and it becomes his reality. In both, I found myself strengthened by story. And... read more
