Photo of the Day: July 22

Yes, I'm dating a bearded lady!! The truth is out!

50. Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant

We're halfway there!!

WARNING: The following review has spoilers for the previous novel in the series. If you care about surprise endings, don't read this post!

Book 50: Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan (A)

Evra

Yes, an amazing sequel to the first Cirque book!! More twists and turns, more great character development, and Darren, now a half-vampire and assistant to Mr. Crepsley, has joined the Cirque du Freak as a stage hand and worker. He finds a friend in Evra Von, the snake boy whose skin is tough green scales. Darren falls in love with cirque life and while he still misses his family, he's excited about making friends and being a part of something bigger than just him and Mr. Crepsley hunting people. However, Darren still refuses to drink human blood, and every day he becomes weaker and weaker. If he continues to refuse, he will soon die. Then Sam and R.V. come along, and Darren believes he's found more friends, but one is going to cause trouble that could destroy the whole cirque.
I've learned that Shan isn't good at foreshadowing. In fact, he's blatantly obvious about it. Nearly every chapter ending ends with something like this:
"When all was said and done, he was only a hairy harmless human, while those of us in the Cirque du Freak were strange, powerful beings. What could he possibly do to hurt us" (409)?
Or...
"None of us had any idea of the trouble the nice ecowarrior would soon create... or the tragedy he would unintentionally cause" (364).
Moments like these took away from the text because it was so obvious. In the first novel, there were many twists that the reader couldn't have predicted. Here, it is obvious which character is going to slip up, and simply putting the pieces together will help the reader quickly predict the end. Certainly, there are more subtle ways of foreshadowing the bloody end.
Once again, Shan uses amazing detail and description to bring these freaks alive. The story continues as a dark tale of friendship and loss. Darren makes the ultimate choice and continues exploring the Cirque in the next novel Tunnels of Blood.

Works Cited:

Shan, Darren. Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant. New York: 

Little, Brown and Company, 2009. Print.

25. Water for Elephants

Book 25: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (A)

What a beautiful, romantic story filled with vivid detail, crazy action, laughs, and a plot you fall in love with.
When Morgan and I went to see the recently released movie starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, I was in tears at the end. The movie was fantastic, and I knew I had to read the book! It wasn't an disappointment.

Jacob and Rosie

Jacob Jankowski looks back on his life as he daydreams in his nursing home to the most exciting part of his life: working for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth circus. After the unexpected death of his Polish parents, Jacob leaves Cornell on the day of his final exams and wanders down to the railroad where he hops on the train of the traveling circus. What he doesn't realize is that he joins the show during its final year, the year that made it famous for all the wrong reasons!
Jacob becomes the circus vet and bull man when Benzini Brothers pick up Rosie, the at-first-glance stupid elephant. Jacob is the key to bringing money back to the circus when he discovers that Rosie isn't stupid; she only understands Polish! Scandals arise as men continuously disappear from town to town from being "redlighted" or thrown off the train, and Jacob falls in love with the wife of a dangerous man. From town to town, the circus arrives to bring joy to families suffering from The Great Depression. But back stage, the circus is dark, scandalous, and dangerous!
What a read! Readers fall in love with Jacob, the love of his life Marlena, the performing midget with a bad attitude Walter/Kinko and his Jack Russel, and the sweetest Polish elephant in the world Rosie. It is a brilliant summer read, over 400 pages of having a day at the circus with popcorn, cotton candy, wild animals, and outrageous tricks!
If you don't want to ruin the movie for yourself, I suggest seeing the movie first then reading the book. The book's prologue practically tells the end of the story and what happens to one of the major characters. See the movie first for the surprise ending then read the story to get all the details the 2-hour movie had to leave out!