Look at those covers! Aren’t they beautiful? Which one if your favorite? Personally, I’m really feeling the sleek magical black Canadian cover, though the American version has a more fun, artsy air to it, and I love that, too! But because I couldn’t decide, I ended up buying both for my collection, because that’s how I roll (and the Hardcover American cover version is on sale for only $2.99 at the time of this posting)!
Have you read Sleight? If not, it’s time to put it in your que, because it’s a must read! Jennifer Sommersby (also known as Eliza Gordon) is one of my favorite authors, and her YA novel Sleight wrapped me up and held me tight the first time I ever read it. I’ve had the privilege of reading it multiple times over the years as Jenn tweaked it for publication; Originally self-published in 2011, Sleight was then picked up and published by Harper Collins and Sky Pony in spring of 2018, and I’m not lying when I say this book gives me all the feels; I’m so excited that its final version is now published for all to enjoy, and I’ve just finished reading it — PHENOMENAL!
Sleight is a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book for Kids & Teens (Fall 2018) and an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Honorable Mention Book for Young Adults (2019), while Jenn herself is a British Columbia Arts Council Grant Award Recipient for 2019!
From Goodreads: Delia smiles at the shadow only she sees—
Something slams into her. The lyra whirls like a half-dollar spinning on its edge.
My mother is thrown backward.
And she falls.
Growing up in the Cinzio Traveling Players Company, Genevieve Flannery is accustomed to a life most teenagers could never imagine: daily workouts of extravagant acrobatics; an extended family of clowns; wild animals for pets; and her mother, Delia, whose mind has always been tortured by visions—but whose love Geni never questions. In a world of performers who astonish and amaze on a daily basis, Delia’s ghostly hallucinations never seemed all that strange . . . until the evening Geni and her mother are performing an aerial routine they’ve done hundreds of times, and Delia falls to her death.
That night, a dark curtain in Geni’s life opens. Everything has changed.
Still reeling from the tragedy, the Cinzio Traveling Players are also adjusting to the circus’s new owner: a generous, mysterious man whose connection to the circus—Geni suspects—has a dark and dangerous history. And suddenly Geni is stumbling into a new reality of her own, her life interrupted daily by the terrors only Delia used to be able to see.
As the visions around her grow stronger, Geni isn’t sure who she can trust. Even worse, she’s starting to question whether she can trust her own mind.“
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A mastermind storyteller, Sommersby’s recently released YA debut, Sleight, does not disappoint. I was hooked from page one as the mystery, deception, tension, and comic relief unfolded, and I was amazed by how vivid and real the characters were. Through her pristine use of prose and characterization, Sommersby captures the true nature of humanity as she creates characters that come to life right off the page. It is obvious from the get go that each character in this novel is crafted with love and care, and as you read, they become extremely real. Geni’s spunk and determination, Henry’s charm and humor, and Baby’s protective fatherly nature, all help to create a tale that exudes humanity and realness, endearing them to my heart. I fell in love with them immediately, and having just finished the novel, I can say that I truly feel like I know them. All of the characters are given true attributes of human nature, even Daegen, the worst of the worst, making it hard to draw an exact line between good and evil, though it blatantly exists. I was enamored by both the characters and the writing as I read, and I adored how Sommersby uses ghostly visions of flashbacks to help Geni, Henry, and the reader begin to fill in the gaps concerning the past in order to determine the correct course of action in the present, helping Geni solve the mystery of what, exactly, she must protect.
Sommersby has a wonderful gift with words, and she does an excellent job explaining all the intricate details of circus life and magic, all while weaving a tale from which I just couldn’t look away. I gobbled up this novel in less than 24 hours, and I’m dying for more. Everything circus in this novel is beautiful, and I could literally see the big top in my minds eye, as well as the vast Elephant enclosure housing Gertrude and Houdini; I loved the relationship that Geni has with her elephants and her extended “family” of the circus, and truth be told, the synopsis for this novel just doesn’t do it justice, and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel, which comes out in April 2020 under two different titles: Scheme, which is the American title, and The Undoing, which is the Canadian title. Though it’ll be the same story, I’m feeling the cover love for the sequel, too, and I can’t wait to add them both to my collection as well.
Sommersby is an up-and-coming author to watch!! Five stars for this beautiful story!
I purchased my copy of Sleight from Amazon (US) and Chapter’s Indigo (Canada).
Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy 