For some odd reason, I thought that this was going to be a magical story kinda like The Night Circus but maybe with some paranormal element. So this book wasn't what I expected at all. Lexi joins an actual normal circus (as normal as a circus can be anyhow). There are elephants, trapeze artists and fire-eaters. I loved the characters. They were all so unique and full of life. I loved watching Lexi turn the oddball charcters in the circus into her family and, in all honesty, hoped she would stay with the circus forever. I also enjoyed the role that music played in the novel. I wonder if there's a playlist that I can look up/download and listen to. ( )

Lexi considers herself a New Yorker to the core. She’s a music fan and loves spending time with her best (and only) friends Eli and Bailey; that is, until her best friends started dating each other and she realizes that she wants to be the one dating Eli. To complicate matters, Lexi’s dad dies in an accident, leaving all of his money to Lexi’s missing mother whose last location was Europa Circus. Lexi is left to fend for herself and heads off in search of her mother - and unintentionally ends up joining the circus.

For me, Lexi has two big strikes against her. First, she is the kind of heroine that believes she’s invisible and doesn’t realize the affect she has on people. The type who isolates herself from the general population at school because she thinks they wouldn’t accept her—in other words, she's a bit of a snob who thinks that everyone else is a snob because she doesn’t want to take the time to know them.

The next was that, as soon as she’s removed from her New York City prep school and placed into Europa, two of the hottest guys suddenly fall for her, and now she doesn’t know what to do with the sudden attention. There was a bit of a love quadrangle which was both extremely puzzling and resolved itself a little too quickly and cleanly.

Generally I’m not a fan of characters like this, but Lexi has a way of making you chuckle, so I was able to look past these flaw and enjoy her narrative.

The story wraps up neatly - too neatly really - and was pretty predictable. There might have been room for deep relational connections and soul searching, but the plot stayed fully on the light side. However, it was refreshing that, even though it was light, Lexi grew as a person. That Time I Joined the Circus is a really light read, I’d recommend it for a quick beach read or a road-trip read.
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After her father is killed in an accident, Lexi finds out that not only is she broke and homeless, but she can’t continue her last year of high school without a guardian. Lexi hasn’t seen her mother since she ran out on her at the age of eight. Almost a decade later, she still hates the woman who left her, but without any other options, Lexi sets out to find her. Her mother is supposed to be somewhere in Florida traveling with a circus. Unfortunately, she hasn’t worked there for over six months and nobody knows where she’s run off to this time. With no where else to go and with no money for food, Lexi joins Circus Europa.

The circus actually fascinates me for some reason. I haven’t been to one in YEARS which is why I love reading books that revolve around them. And there aren’t that many which makes them extra special. That Time I Joined the Circus is adorable. This is a cute, entertaining read, but it also has depth. It has love and self-discovery, but it also deals with some heavier topics like death, loss, and betrayal.

Lexi is a lot like I was during my senior year. She is kind of in a slump and spends all her time at home listening to music or reading. She only has two close friends who are dating which makes it that much harder to make plans since she is the constant third wheel. As horrible as the situation is, I feel like it was the best thing that could have happened to her. Being evicted and penniless forces her to go out and do something. Those four months she spends at the circus completely change her and she comes out so much stronger and confident because of them.

The story is not completely chronological, it bounces around quite a bit from the present to the past and then back. But it wasn’t at all confusing because the date is clearly printed at the beginning of each chapter. I did have a problem with this constant jumping back and forth thing though. I felt like the relationship development lacked a little because of the constant shift. One moment the ring leaders daughter, Lina, is giving Lexi the evil-eye, then we get a ‘flashback’ of Lexi’s life in NY, and then we’re back at the circus and all of a sudden Lexi & Lina are going shopping together and becoming roommates. We never get to see this shift in their friendship, it just kind of happens. This constant back and forth also made the romances in the book problematic for me. I never connected with any of the guys because we never really get to fully know them. First she’s making out with Jamie, then she’s falling in love with Nick, and then Eli pops up and she likes him again. It was just kind of all over the place. I would have liked to see more of Nick because I felt he was the most interesting and the one she truly cared about. I never got the feeling that she actually had any romantic feelings for Eli, it just felt like she went back to him because...well, why not?

Other than the last paragraph, this is a really great debut and I can’t wait to see what else J. J. Howard has in store for us! ( )

This is one those kind of books that just grab your attention. It has a fabulous cover and the premise is something I think sounded like a fun read. A snarky, young girl looking for her mother and ending up part of a circus. Yes, please!

Lexi has made some mistakes, and suffered a terrible tragedy as well. She sets off to find her mother, who apparently is traveling with a circus. Not knowing what to expect when gets there, she was definitely in for a surprise. I mean, how can you not like the circus. All the different games booths, the animals and the acts. The one things missing is her mother, she’s not there and no one really seems to know where she is. Lexi is great. She has a funny personality, and she spunky but has a sweet side to her. All in all, I really liked her and wanted to root for her.

The plot follows Lexi on her journey to find her mother, but not only that, it follows her learning to forgive herself, and growing up and learning what is really important. The chapters go back and forth between the present and past events that lead up to where she is now. Lexi’s growth was enjoyable to watch. Those around her help to see her place, and what she really wants, like Nick, Lina and Liska, all who have grown up being part of the circus. Not wanting to give away to much, but the ending was a little predictable but didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this at all.

There were quotes from songs that the beginning of each chapter that were fantastic. That Time I Joined the Circus is about love, family, relationships, and friendships and definitely entertaining. This is Howard’s debut book, and I will be looking for more work from her for sure. Pick this one up. It’s a fun and refreshing read. ( )

Highly Recommended

The reader is introduced to Lexi and her life as a student in an elite New York City prep school. Lexi’s dad unexpectedly dies and leaves her with nothing. She is evicted and has no choice but to try and find her mom, who joined Circus Europa. Lexi spends the last of her money, drops out of school and gets on a bus to find her mom. She has lost the support of her two best friends and her school did not offer her any support. Fortunately, Lexi is smart, well read and loves music. She is able to use that to her advantage to earn some money at the circus to support herself. While at the circus, she meets people that become like family to her. By the end of the story, many of the mistakes have been resolved to a certain extent.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the way the music was woven into the chapters. I love that Lexi was a book-smart and street-smart girl. She was thrown into a terrible situation and made the best of it. It was not easy, but I was glad to see her persevere. I love how the author alternated chapters by past and present. One chapter takes place in the circus and one takes place in NYC before the death of Gavin, Lexi’s father. There was romance in both places and it was fun to see how it played out in the end. I’m not going to say it’s realistic that someone can just go out and join the circus. But this story made it seem like it could be a possibility. Definitely a unique read. I read it from start to finish in two days.

I don’t think there are really any curriculum connections in this book, besides just reading. A teacher could use it in a literature or creative writing classroom to illustrate how to alternate chapters. It would be a great choice for a high school book club. It does contain some mature content in terms of sex (nothing explicit). But the language and lack of binge drinking/drugs make it a perfectly good choice for a high school library. The writing is well done, the story moves along and there is just enough suspense until the very last page. It has great cover art and I like the big top stripes at the beginning of each chapter. I also like the lyrics that are applied to the beginning of each chapter. It makes for a great playlist to listen too while reading this book. I think most high school students, both boys and girls, would enjoy this book. ( )