Last night I was so excited to finish reading this book that I went to bed early just to read. After finishing, I must say this was an awesome story! It did have a couple sections I skimmed over because of content, but otherwise a wonderful book.
You meet Jacob, a worker for a circus, right before a disaster occurs in the menagerie. You read as animals stampede, people scatter in all directions, and a man is killed... Then you meet Jacob many, many years later. Jacob is in a nursing home when a circus sets up across the street. The residents in the home are excited with these new sights and hopes of going to see the spectacular show.
Then you're reading about young Jacob again, finishing school to become a vet when his parents are killed in a tragic accident. He learns his father's veterinary practice has gone under and he receives no money, the house is repossessed by the bank, and he is all alone with nothing. He makes the decision to get away and jumps onto a train that is passing through. It just happens to be a circus train.
The story alternates between younger Jacob and older Jacob, experiencing life in the circus and life inside the nursing home. The chapters of older Jacob in the home really opened my eyes to what some residents must be thinking. How lonely it must be, how it must feel not to be wanted by your children and to be placed under someone else's care instead.
I really love this book. I am excited to see the movie to see how it compares!
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