''Wonder Show'' is the 2012 young adult

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

of American writer Hannah Barnaby. The book was first published on 20 March 2012 in hardback and e-book formats, and was subsequently released in paperback on 8 October 2013. The work was a finalist for the 2013

William C. Morris Award The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is an annual award given to a work of young adult literature by a "first-time author writing for teens". It is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American ...

. The book is set in the late 1930s and is told from multiple points of view, but primarily follows a young teen that decides to join a circus in hopes of finding her long missing father.

Synopsis

When Portia's aunt leaves her at the McGreavey Home for Wayward Girls, thirteen-year-old Portia begins to plan her escape- despite the owner "Mister" saying that she would never be able to escape his grasp. She's desperate to know what happened to her father Max and as she believes that he left home to join the circus, Portia decides that the best way to find him is to join a carnival, Mosco's Traveling Wonder Show. Once there, Portia begins to slowly connect and form a family with the people around her even as her attempts to locate her father never seem to come to fruition. However Portia soon finds that not only is Mister keen on having her return to the home, but that the answers to her questions surrounding her father might just be at McGreavey's.

Development

Barnaby was inspired to create ''Wonder Show'' based upon her childhood experiences, as she would frequently attend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and on one occasion, was selected as a "Queen for the Day". Years later Barnaby began to research circus culture for the book while taking part in the Boston Public Library’s Children’s

Writer-in-Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

program, where she found that circus people did not freely associate with carnival people and that "They all had their own codes of conduct and it seemed like the social segregations that still exist. It was almost like cliques in school.” During this time she completed her first draft, but put the book aside for about two years due to her personal life and responsibilities as a teacher and parent. She resumed working on the novel after one of the Boston Public Library grant judges asked after the novel and Barnaby continued working on ''Wonder Show'' for an additional five years before the book was acquired.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Wonder Show'' has been primarily positive. Multiple reviewers for the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' praised the work, and one marked it as a "Favorite Book Read in 2013". The ''

Horn Book Guide ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'' and the ''

Richmond Times Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'' both gave favorable reviews for ''Wonder Show'', and the ''Richmond Times Dispatch'' praised Barnaby's writing as mesmerizing.

Awards

*''

'' (2013, finalist) *'' YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults'' (2013) *''Arkansas Teen Book Awards'' (2013/2014, won)

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.hannahbarnaby.com/ 2012 American novels American young adult novels 2012 debut novels Houghton Mifflin books