Description
The high-stakes of The Hunger Games. The rich magical setting of Caraval. The ensemble cast of Six of Crows.
Power, revenge and sisterhood combine in this heart-pounding YA fantasy debut, set in a magical circus in Belle Époque Paris.
Trapeze artist Falan Sunkara is a performer in Paris's famous magical circus, le Cirque des Ombres. Le Cirque is ruled by Jean-Pierre, ringmaster and Enchanteur, one of the few magicians in the city legally allowed to use magic for entertainment. But the glamour of the circus is just another illusion. Each year, twelve members must compete in the Game of Oaths, a brutal tournament watched by the city's elite. Only one will survive.
Last year, Falan's sister was one of the unlucky eleven. This year, Falan is out for revenge.
Review
The Game of Oaths is an annual event to please Paris’s wealthy, under the cover of the famed le Cirque des Ombres. It is a game performed under Paris’s finest hotel, where teenage contestants are pitted against each other to be the last one standing. Twelve will enter, and only one will survive, and they will be bestowed with great riches.
For many years the entitled members of the elite Lilies won, but this changed last year when Lucian, a lower-class boy from the boarding-house, triumphed. Surely Jean-Pierre, the gamemaster and holder of immense magical power, will not let this happen again...
Falan, who is an acrobat at the famous circus, has been chosen for this year’s game, along with a couple of her friends. They reside in the boarding-house where they are all bound by unbreakable contracts to the evil Jean-Pierre. Her sister Lavanya, also an acrobat, was in the game last year.Falan is sure that her death was connived by Jean-Pierre, and she wants revenge...
She goes about seeking help. First, from her friend and thief Bellamy, who has gotten into real trouble stealing from the wrong person. He needs money fast, and the prize money that Falan has offered to share with him could save his life. Then there is Jules, the son of the wealthy hotel owner, with a bribe to keep secrets from his father, who he secretly despises. But will this be enough?
This is a story steeped in deception and subterfuge, never really knowing who is helping who. We instantly know who the baddies are, but who is not is a question right up until the final pages. This is a terrific story about revenge, trust, trickery and magic, that will keep readers captivated. It is best suited to readers aged 13 and up.
