In the realm of Water for Elephants, this is great historical fiction book by a new author to me! I loved the storyline and was pulled into it from the beginning. I loved reading about how the main character overcame the negativity surrounding her due to her disability. Highly recommend!

As a baby, Lena contracted polio. As a young teenager she is still reliant on the wheelchair that defined most of her early years. Lena and her father, an illusionist, live and travel with a circus. When a young Jewish teenager, Alexandre, is found unconscious, the circus adopts him and gives him a job. Predictably, Lena and Alexandre develop a close friendship, bordering on romance.

Although I enjoyed this story, the child characters did not feel like children. They acted and talked like young adults. This was a bit off putting. I thought the story itself wa s bit predictable. The book covered a long period of time, however, it was hard to sense the passage of time. I had to keep reminding myself how old the characters were, and how long the story had been developing. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

I found this to be a very good historical novel which brought me into the world of a traveling circus in Europe in the middle of WWII. At times the story bogged down with too much narrative detail but I kept on reading to see how Lena, Theo, and Alexandre made out in the end. Lovely sensory description throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love WWII books, and this one was no exception. The book was well written and very interesting. I barely put it down - I finished it in two days!

Have been unable to review due to illness. Review coming soon! This novel looks fantastic and I can't wait to read this one! It has a different setting and plot than most books I read so am very intrigued!

I’m a big fan of both The Night Circus and Water for Elephants, so I was excited to read this book. I thought it was an enjoyable WWII novel. Thanks for letting me read it!

4.5 ⭐ I loved this story so much. I devoured it in two days. There was just something that prevented me from giving it the full five stars. The name of the book is a little misleading as only the first part actually takes place on the Circus Train.
I enjoyed the POV swap between Lena and Alexandre. Seeing what was clearly the concentration camp during the war and the way that people who ran it trying to make it better than it actually was.
There was a brief few chapters that I started getting Notebook vibes that I wasn't feeling but it worked itself out. Did not really like that Harry gave up on Lena and her dreams so easily.
Overall, it was a very beautiful story about a friendship that grew through hardships and crossed over decades.

A powerful story of hope and perseverance and a young woman's journey to independence. The Circus Train takes you into the magical world of illusion with the backdrop of the atrocities of World War II. I highly recommend this debut novel by Anita Parikh. #TheCircusTrain #NetGalley

I’ve been keeping this book at a distance for a long time, I’m not sure why, but it drew me in and surprised me in the best way! A marvelous story with engaging characters, twists and turns, vivid settings, and a love story at its core. It was nothing like what I expected. It was better.

This was very good Historical fiction book Even though it was set during WWII it was your tupical no Al about holocaust even though ther was elements of that in it was not the only think It was about. It was about serial and love as well.Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest review

Starting off with a bang, The Circus Train by Amita Parikh is a fantastic read. I found myself disappearing into the book and losing all track of time . . . that speaks volumes about how extraordinary the author is especially considering this is her debut novel. The characters were well developed, with the majority of them being likable. I cared about what happened to them, even the ones that weren't so likable.

I appreciated learning a bit about the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in the Czech Republic as most of my education focused only on the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Another great learning moment was about a polio treatment that the main character received that allowed her to walk. I love learning about things through historical fiction books that I might not have known otherwise.

Five out five stars is what I gave The Circus Train. Amita Parikh is a talented storyteller, and I look forward to seeing more novels from her.

I love books with circuses, so was really looking forward to this one, and it didn’t not disappoint, despite the heartbreaking subject matter. Great book, great author, 4/5 stars!

This gave me a very real perspective of people living with polio between 1930-1950. This was a great and very interesting read.

Wow! This was a beautiful book! This is unlike any WW2 fiction that I have read in a long time. It was unexpected and kept my attention from start to finish.

I'll read anything about circuses because they are endlessly fascinating and magical. What makes this book stand out is that Parikh combines the circus with WWII historical fiction. Set on a lovely timeline this book spans decades and the characters are sensitive and memorable. You'll love being a part of their lives.

An exciting tale that shows the damage of keeping secrets--a bit of a mystery in that I guessed some of the secrets but not all--well done on that score!
Also extremely well done on the background details of the historic period and the travails of working in a circus and then living in a death camp
Best of all though were the stunningly beautiful writing about the people--so real, descriptions, dialogue,
I read it all in one sitting, could not put it down--both a positive and a negative since I was reading online which hurts my eyes,
I did not know her work before this but will be on the lookout for her future titles. She writes about magic and magicians here but she is a magician herself, bringing characters, scenes to life with the tap of her computer key, the swirl of her pen.

I greatly enjoy WWII fiction stories. This is a much lighter story that I expected given the setting; the circus seemed a bit above the war, but I did enjoy the story overall. I appreciate the opportunity to read this advanced copy..

Really loved this one- love the magic of the circus and the historical WW2 fiction. It was interesting to read about polio and the advances in therapies.

I’ve always been a fan of the historical fiction genre, particularly those set in WWII. I’ve also always loved stories set in the circus which is why I thought this book would be perfect for me.

There are a lot of things to like about this book, but in the end it really felt unfinished. And perhaps that’s due to the fact that it’s an ARC, but perhaps not. Aside from a section in the middle when Theo and Alexandre were in a concentration camp, (and honestly even then), the WWII setting felt to me like an after thought. It wasn’t very developed and it didn’t feel like it had any real stakes or urgency to it. Which is hard to do in a setting like that. I also felt that the character of Leike was both under utilized and perhaps entirely unnecessary to the overall story. Particularly her relationship with Alexandre which ended up having no real bearing on the story.
Additionally, I really hate the trope of taking a disabled character and making their entire character journey about becoming abled. Why couldn’t Lena have become happy and successful in her wheelchair? Why was the majority of her story about overcoming her difference instead of embracing it? As a disabled woman I’m sick of this in books. It’s using disabled bodies as “inspiration porn” and that is inherently ableist, even if it’s unintentional.

I did enjoy the childhood on the train, and the fact that this was an odds defying romance that spanned about twenty years, but overall I feel like this story could have benefitted from one more edit.

This is a lighter WWII historical fiction book. There wasn't a lot of tension due to the war; the circus seemed a bit above it all. That isn't to say this isn't an enjoyable book. If you are looking for a book about family secrets and family drama that is not directly connected to the war then this is definitely up your alley.

Amita Parikh paints a lush world of the circus that hides the secrets of some of its biggest stars. One young lady, who is often over looked due to her disability, aims to uncover those secrets and make a name for herself outside the magical world she was raised in.