This was such a lovely story - magical, dreamlike, and spellbinding. I loved the tender relationship between Andrea and her little brother, Francis, as well as Andrea's courage to try and repair the heartache in her life. This book reminded me a little of classic stories like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland where the heroine is transported into a magical world packed with whimsy, danger, and adventure. The Circus of Stolen Dreams shows readers beauty, a glimpse of tragedy, and most of all the power of familial love. This was a sweet and touching story that will especially resonate with children dealing with some form of grief. Highly enjoyable!

Whimsical, magical and immersive. This was such a fun, dreamlike story - I adored the setting, and the compelling voice of the main character.

Is this a dream or is this reality? In this middle-grade novel, Andrea tries to find her missing brother, Francis. Andrea travels to a mysterious circus that holds good memories and nightmares. This story had a slow start, but it picked up. I liked how the characters show their love for each other and their family.

What a lovely, dreamy debut!! Heart-wrenching story but also moments of purity. The prose was gorgeous and I loved how I felt swept away.

This is an atmospheric, beautifully imagined book full of heart and emotion. I loved the concept of a circus full of children's dreams in tents that you can walk through, and these were described so evocatively and in this off-kilter, perfectly dreamlike way. The world and the characters were well developed and full of intriguing magic. And although I didn't realize this going into the book, it deals with the subject of divorce in a sensitive and nuanced way. These were the parts that I found the most heartbreaking and poignant, watching Andrea and her brother reel from their family breaking up. Their longing to go back to the way things were actually made me tear up a few times as I was reading. It's impossible to not get swept up with these sweet kids in their magical world.

When her brother Francis disappeared three years ago, Andrea’s world collapsed. Her brother is gone, her parents are divorced and the worst part is, it’s all her fault.  Caught in a cycle of sorrow, Andrea wants only to escape.  The opportunity to escape comes when Andrea happens upon the magical dream world of Reverie in the woods near her home.  In order to enter the magical world, you must give up one memory.  Andrea jumps at the chance to give up the one memory that haunts her, but getting into the dream world turns out to be easier than getting out.  As Andrea discovers dream after dream in the magical world, she soon discovers that as wonderful as many of the dreams seem, Revier is also a place of nightmares. As Andrea realizes that giving up a memory can’t solve her problem or loneliness, she will have to remember what she gave up in order to help save herself and new friends from the dream world in which they find themselves entrapped.  

VERDICT is that this is a fascinating read that I will definitely be recommending to young readers.  I think it deals expertly with tough topics like grief, hope, and trust.  Andrea is an extremely relatable character in a really difficult situation and she just wants to escape.  The world of Reverie is fascinating and wonderful (then becomes horrifying and then wonderful again).  I think this is a beautifully crafted novel by debut author Lorelei Savaryn.

This debut middle grade kind reminded me of that moment right as you realize things are too good to be true at Pinocchio's Pleasure Island. Andrea's little brother has mysteriously disappeared and her parents are divorced. Suffice it to say, she's having a rough time and wants some sort of escape. A circus that mysterious appears in the woods near her house asks if she wants to remember or forget. Such a poignant, powerful question on grief. Do you need to forget the pain or remember the good times to carry on?

The plot twists kept coming as Andrea and her new friend Penny learned more about the Sandman and the origins of the circus. Fabulous ending!

Simply stunning. Magical, lyrical, powerful, creepy. It's clever, original, beautifully written, and has depth, something often missing from dark fantast and horror book. Definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

What a whimsical, magical story! Savaryn caught my attention from the first page and kept me spellbound through the very last one. The circus was breathtaking, as was the idea of dreams and nightmares and memories as circus experiences. This book was expertly crafted, and the prose was simultaneously perfect for children as well as engaging for adults. I will definitely be recommending to all of the middle grade readers I know!

Everyone else in Andrea's life has decided three years is long enough to grieve, and even though she doesn't feel the same, it's not like she has much of a choice in the matter. She hasn't had much choice in anything since her brother Francis went missing. But when a mysterious flier advertising a "Land of Dreams" where you can forget your troubles literally smacks her in the face, she decides it's finally time to take matters into her own hands. It's only when she discovers Francis among the children in Reverie that she begins to wonder if this circus might be more nightmare than wonderland.

Much in the vein of a modern-day, eerie Peter Pan, this story will haunt your dreams in the best possible way. Share this one with children who enjoy suspenseful tales like The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street, The Night Gardener, or (more recently) Paola Santiago and the River of Tears.

I truly loved this beautifully written one-of-a-kind story. You can tell the author has poured her heart into it. The main character, Andrea, is devastated when she finds out that her little brother, Francis, has disappeared overnight. Not only are her parents newly divorced, but she essentially becomes an “only child”. This takes her to a deep and dark place, and as she walks within the forest near her home she discovers a magical place called Reverie. The trick to going into this magical world is that she must give up a memory of some sort. Well, of course, the memory is of her brother disappearing. Throughout the time Andrea is in Reverie she learns about the tents that are sprinkled throughout. In each tent holds another child’s dream/memory, or even a nightmare. The whole vibe of Reverie was kind of eerie to me from the get-go, but very enticing! I personally have had some really BIZARRE dreams that I would love for others to enjoy. Andrea soon learns that even though this place is definitely a way to escape reality and the pain of the loss of her brother, there are many twists and turns and evil lurking within the fence of Reverie.

I just loved the whole idea of a dream-filled world where you can escape and get lost within the magical and wonderful dreams of others. I think the trap of Reverie is what will pull kids so far into the book, as well as the search for Andrea’s little brother. It will be perfect for kids who love fantasy with a twist of darkness and hope. Fans of Kassner’s The Forest of Stars and Arden’s Small Spaces and Dead Voices will love Savaryn’s debut.

It’s been three years since Andrea’s parents got divorced. Three years since Andrea lost her shadow, her younger brother Francis. Three years since he disappeared in the middle of the night. Tired of people’s pity and her own guilt, Andrea goes on a bike ride one night and encounters a mysterious circus: Reverie. Children come to Reverie for two reasons: to remember or to forget. The price of a ticket is either a dream or a memory, and Andrea knew exactly which memory she wanted forgotten. Reverie welcomes her with the scent of popcorn and candy, and the promise of endless fun. There are tents everywhere, each containing different dreams...and some nightmares. The children in Reverie with their odd clothes from all different eras and purple lines under their tired eyes seem like they’re having fun, but something’s not quite right. Is Reverie really a land of dreams or is there something sinister going on? If only Andrea could remember what she had forgotten.

This was such an excellent middle-grade read. It’s a story about a child wanting an escape reminiscent of stories like Alice in Wonderland and Coraline. What particularly stood out for me about the this book is that it portrays children as living intricate lives with their own hardships and complex emotions. This book explores themes of family, grief, loss, coping, and moving on. I think that it has such a lovely message: that we are not alone in our struggles and that life is worth living fully even with its difficult parts. Reverie is supposed to be a place that offers reprieve from the struggles of daily life, and this is a book that if I read this as a child would have offered me exactly that and would have made me feel less alone. I will definitely be recommending this title to the kids in our public library.

This was pretty fast-paced although it had a bit of an old-fashioned children's lit vibe, with Alice in Wonderland atmosphere in particular. However, I found the writing a bit simplistic, even for middle grade, and the characters somewhat lacking in depth and roundedness. There was also a very heavy Message feeling to a lot of the text, as if it was more concerned with Teaching A Lesson regarding how to deal with sadness and trauma to the point where it overshadowed story.

Perhaps this is just a case of me being outside the target audience and this will appeal to young people, but I found it a fairly poorly constructed and saccharine.

The Stitchers is such a delightfully creepy middle grade book, I couldn’t put it down. Fast paced, it pulls you in from the start as the two main characters spy on their weird old neighbors. Something is very off with these elderly people, and we can’t wait to find out what it is. The tension builds as we learn more and more about them, eventually leading to the exciting climactic ending. Loved this book and can’t wait for the sequel! Highly recommended!

Things weren't that great in Andrea's household before her little brother disappeared, but after he does she'll do anything to escape the grief. When if by magic the circus Reverie shows up, Andrea trades her worst memory as the price of admission. But instead of a place of dreams, it becomes nothing but danger when she learns it's a trap.

The Circus of Stolen Dreams has an inventive plot, a catchy title, and a lovely cover. Unfortunately, it didn't draw me in the way I was hoping and I found myself easily putting it down to move on to other books. Nor did Andrea have a voice to set her apart from the current crop of exceptional middle grade fiction available. And without spoiling it, the ending was unsatisfying and something that always hits the wrong nerve for me. 

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley for providing this copy for review.

I was so hopeful for this book as it seemed like a very much needed book of a child trying to run away from loss and also the big theme of wanting to forget. 

The ending absolutely ruined the book for me. One of the things I teach my students about writing is that the "It was all a dream" trope is a completely disservice to your reader. It tricks them and is unfulfilling. I felt that same way with this one. 

Especially with children who are grieving a loss, the last thing they need to hear is "It's all a dream...some day you'll go back to normal with the person you lost". How cruel. It would be one thing if the tone was lighthearted and full of silly fantasy sequences, but this was a heavy, serious book.

A fantastical story with great themes including family, friendship, and processing grief. Kids will enjoy the slight creepiness of the mystery and the dream world of Reverie, as well as the bravery and persistence of the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of The Circus of Stolen Dreams by Lorelei Savaryn.

I primarily read fantasy and it’s sub-genres and occasionally some younger reader books too, for recommendations to my children. 

Lorelei Savaryn created a delicious combination of whimsical tale with eerie and spooky twists. I found that it was so easy to fall into her created world of Reverie. The cadence of the book was perfect with fast paced scenes that were easy to devour. I easily fell in love with her lead character Andrea and experienced her heartbreak and cheered her on as she went through various trials in her story.

I would recommend it for a middle grade reader and above. 

I look forward to read more books from this author!

I was fortunate to read an advance copy of this magical and touching sibling story. 

Andrea's brother, Francis, disappeared from their bedroom in the middle of the night. Left without answers, she watches her family fracture without him until, one night, she runs away and finds the magical Reverie - a magical circus where each tent features a dream from a child who has visited Reverie. But it's not long before she discovers that they're not all pleasant dreams. Reverie is also filled with nightmares, including a very familiar nightmare that used to terrify Francis. Convinced her brother is still in Reverie, Andrea set out to find him, but things in the circus aren't as they seem and her dream of finding her brother quickly turns into a nightmare...

This book is beautifully written and, though I had been in a reading slump when I picked it up, I gleefully gobbled it down in only a few days. While the story is a lovely escape from reality (fitting with the themes of the book!), kids will relate to the challenges of navigating a divorce and coping with a new normal. Andrea's struggle to parse what is real and what is not feels strangely prophetic in 2020. Lorelei Savaryn is a wonderful new voice in the middle grade fantasy genre and I look forward to reading her future books!

This middle grade reader reminded me of The Circus Mirandus and the adult book, The Night Circus by Morgenstern.   The premise, a girl's brother is missing and presumed dead, may be a trigger for students who have lost a sibling so teachers and librarians should be aware of this prior to recommending it to a student.  I also wonder if the sister's love and tenderness would ring true for elementary readers as a lot of siblings quarrel and fight with one another.  The sister in this book is much more motherly than most siblings I know.   While I think children have heard about circuses or seen them on TV, most children where I live have probably not ever gone to a circus.  Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus was on the decline for years and finally went out of business in 2017.  Circuses on the whole are not in fashion these days and I'm not sure children are familiar with who a ringmaster is nor the traditional red jacket and black pants referenced in the book.  This book would be good to hand to students with parents who have recently divorced.  It treats divorce in a realistic way that will ring true with students.  As a bonus, the nightmare scenes might be enjoyed by readers of the ever popular scary stories!   The current cover and title make the book look like it's intended for younger audiences than I believe are the real target audience.  I do think the publisher should have played up the scary with the cover and made it spookier or at least put the Sandman on the clock as it is described in great detail many times in the book.