Blog Tour: The Bootlace Magician (Circus Mirandus Book 2) by Cassie Beasley

As we learned in the first book, once you have visited Circus Mirandus, you usually can't return. That's the rule. Mostly. But some lucky people do get to return, and for us, the lucky ones, the cost of the ticket is reading the book...oh, yes, and believing in magic.

Micah Tuttle, 11, returned and has been traveling with the Circus Mirandus for several months now, and living with his guardian, the Lightbender. Basically happy, living a peaceful life with the circus, Micah is still painfully missing his deceased grandpa Ephraim, and his best friend Jenny Mendoza back in Peal, and hoping to discover just what magic his knots can do. Luckily, Jenny is coming to visit Circus Mirandus for a day, armed with a chart to help Micah figure that out.

Micah has also been spending a lot of time in the menagerie tent, visiting Fish in his aquarium and feeding him knots full of memories. Ephraim Tuttle had used Fish so long ago to enter Circus Mirandus. Mr. Head, the circus manager, has also decided that Micah is just the person to care for an abandoned baby Unicorn named Terpsichore. But Micah knows that Unicorns didn't abandon their babies, no matter what and he is puzzled by what could have happened to Terp and his mother.

But even after Micah figures out what may have happened to Terp, it's treated like a long shot. Yet, when a sudden severe storm hits during Jenny's visit and lightning strikes the menagerie tent, it begins to look like someone is trying to hurt or destroy Circus Mirandus. And after finding some notebooks that his grandmother, Victoria Starling, had borrowed before she was banished from the circus, Micah has a pretty good idea what is happening, but why? Victoria had been called the Bird Woman, flying with a flock of birds that she controlled with a wordless song - until one night she destroyed the birds during a show, angry that the Lightbender would not let her achieve what she so desperately craved.

But when Victoria Starling attacks the circus again, it looks as though it's days are numbered, and now she wants to get Micah to help her get what she has always craved so badly - fame and glory. But how does Fish figure into her grand scheme?

I loved reading Circus Mirandus and was so happy to learn there would be a sequel. And it is every bit a good as the first book.  Cassie Beasley has once again created a magical world that just felt so familiar and welcoming. I sat and read until I was finished and then went through the book again, not wanting to once again say goodbye to these favorite characters, especially Micah.

Beasley really knows how to flesh out her characters, and even though they felt complete in the first book, they turn out to be even more complex here. Even Micah, just 11, has a true understanding and appreciation for the world he now lives in, but without a desire to abandon the world that Jenny lives in. And Jenny, the rational girl who needed to be convinced that magic existed, has become one of Micah's greatest champions and a great Circus Mirandus enthusiast. It was wonderful watching her excitement during her visit.

The Bootlace Magician does stand on its own, enough background information is provided, but why do that when you can have the joy of reading Circus Mirandus followed by this novel. And like that first novel, this is an extraordinary coming of age story about courage, faith, and the people who become our family, and a story that is not to be missed.

May the Circus Mirandus continue "to fight to keep enchantment alive" in the world for children. And remember, when you hear the drums and pipes, the circus has come to town and you know what to do.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was a ARC received from Friya at Penguin Random House