Today I’m happy to be part of the tour for That Time I Joined the Circus novel by J.J. Howard. I will be reviewing the book, but first, J.J. has stopped by to tell us the top 7 things that she wants to collect.

J.J. Howard is wearing headphones right now, most likely. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, obsessed with music, movies, television, and pop culture. You can call her if you ever need to phone a friend for trivia on any of the above topics, but don’t ask about sports, because she is hopeless at those (along with math).

J.J. graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in English and Tiffin University with an MH in Humanities. She has been some of her students’ favorite English teacher for a quite a few years (she even has a mug somewhere to prove it). That Time I Joined the Circus is her first young adult novel.

Top Seven Things I Would Like to Collect

 7. Guitars

I’m a pretty bad player, and I haven’t even played in awhile. But a selection of fine instruments—say maybe a Gibson Hummingbird or a Martin Dreadnought would certainly be inspiring. Maybe I’d even learn more than fourteen chords.

6. Globes

I actually used to collect these, but I ran out of room. But I still sort of want to buy every globe I see. You only really need one. I mean, in case the internet’s down and there’s a geographic emergency. But they’re just so darn pretty.

5. Gargoyles

And I don’t mean gargoyle bookends or something. I mean actual gargoyles, made of stone, from the tops of huge historical buildings. I would definitely have to have a huge historical building of my very own to go with them. A girl can dream.

4. Victorian watch fobs

I have two so far…and window shopping on e-bay has passed many a should-be-grading-papers hour. I love jewelry and I love old things, ergo, I love old jewelry.

3. Signed first editions of classic books

Duh. :}

2. Coins

Someday I can imagine myself drinking tea—probably Earl Gray—and polishing my extensive coin collection. Did you know there was such a beast as a trine—an American coin that was worth three cents? There’s no logical reason, but I want one.

1. Tropical islands

Really, I would be willing to settle for just one of these. But, you know, having a collection could be handy and life-enriching. Maybe if the islands were in two different regions of the world. Maybe one in the Caribbean, and one somewhere in the general region of Australia. It would always be summer somewhere.

Title: That Time I Joined the Circus
Author: J.J. Howard
Publisher: April 1st 2013 by Point
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Source: Through the Looking Glass Blog Tour

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake–and facing a terrible tragedy–Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi’s mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn’t there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus’s fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi’s ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it’s Lexi’s own future that’s thrown into question.

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

On the same day that Lexi has an “incident” (we don’t find out what until later) with her best friend, her dad dies in an accident and she is left with no one. Her father’s lawyer suggests she go looking for her mother, who Lexi hasn’t seen in years. With no one left at home to help her, she ventures out to Florida, where the lawyer says her mother was last seen with a traveling circus. When she finally finds the circus, her mom isn’t with them anymore and nobody knows where she’s gone. Lexi has nowhere else to go and no money, so she stays on with the circus until she can come up with a plan.

The story was told from Lexi’s point of view and switched between the present at the circus and the past several months leading up to her father’s death. Each chapter began with a few lines from a song that captured the mood of the chapter. Lexi was a huge music fan and placed a lot of emphasis on it.

I found Lexi to be somewhat immature. She had puppy love with several guys she met and tended to make that puppy love a big deal. They were full of meaning and intensity. Her “huge mistake” was built up to be this big deal and while it wasn’t a nice thing, it certainly wasn’t the earth shattering disaster she imagined it to be.

The setting was very fun and J.J. Howard did a good job of describing the scenes, with the various animals, costumes and areas of the circus. I’ve never read a book centered around the circus before, and I found it fascinating to learn how traveling circuses work. The friends Lexi met while at the circus were much more realistic and dynamic than her crushes/romances. I liked that she found genuine friendship when she needed it most.

The plot was entertaining in and of itself, but I didn’t find a lot of the transitions to be very smooth. The flow between scenes and chapters was a little choppy. The author has a gift, no doubt, but the story could have used a touch of editing. Also, I noticed a few grammatical errors and one or two instances where some things were switched around. And her name kept switching, first it was Lexi, then Xandra, then X; and she told different people she wanted to be called by the different variations. I’m sure these things will be caught before the final printing, but they are worth noting.

Not quite as deep as it could have been, but entertaining overall.

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