Review: That Time I Joined The Circus by J.J. Howard

That Time I Joined The Circus

by J.J. Howard

4/1/13

Point

Format: ARC

Source: pub

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

That cover! That beautiful circus-y cover! Y'all, I wanted to love this book for the awesome cover alone...but, I didn't. The prettiful cover couldn't distract or shield me from the disappointing story inside *strokes cover with sad face*

That Time I Joined The Circus follows music obsessed, NYC born and bred Lexi has she travels from her beloved city to Florida. After a tragedy and huge mistake on Lexi's part, she is forced to leave NYC in search of her long absent mom. Lexi is told her mom has joined a circus in Florida, but when Lexi arrives all she finds is the circus. Broke and with nowhere to go, Lexi stays, working several circus jobs, finally landing the part as a fortune teller. Lexi soon finds herself a part of a whole new family and entangled in several romantic relationships. But when a few faces from Lexi's past show up, she has to decide what she wants and where her future will take her.

Aside from the lovely cover, this book has a pretty cool title, right? I mean, who hasn't wanted to run away and join the circus? Unfortunately, little else about this book captured or excited me. What could have been a quirky, thoughtful contemporary, turned out to be a mess of a story with trite romantic aspects and an annoying main character. On page five the word “retarded” is used, not as a way to show how ugly that word is, but as a humorous insult on the MC's part, and I just knew that this was a sign of what was to come...

This is a quick read, that can easily be read in one sitting, but I found my attention wavering because of the overall predictability of the story. From Lexi's huge mistake, to the friendships and relationships she develops in the circus, to the faces that show back up again, to where Lexi ends up in the end, everything is easy to see coming. There's only one real surprise in the book and it ended up angering me. When I say the story is messy, I don't mean it's hard to follow, I just mean it isn't put together well enough or tight enough. One of my biggest issues with That Time I Joined The Circus is the fact that there's such a big and important emotional arc being built after Lexi loses her dad, and then all that emotional building is pretty much torn down with the big surprise revelation Lexi learns toward the end of the book. I felt like this revelation was put in merely for shock value and not as a genuinely thoughtful way to grow Lexi's character. And the impact this revelation has on Lexi is not explored in a full way.

All the romantic elements (and there's A LOT) simply left me exhausted! They're not really the swoon-worthy kind of romantic elements, nor are they particularly well-developed. And I really hate who Lexi actually ended up with in the end, even if I saw it coming from the beginning.

Now, let's talk about our main character Lexi *sigh*...honestly, I just didn't like her much at all. She has a very hipster-ish, so above it all, snarky for the sake of snarky vibe that just annoyed the heck out of me. She constantly points out how different she is from her rich, stuck up private school peers and even looks down on her BFF Bailey, even though Bailey didn't come across as mean or stuck up. Lexi makes excuses for her “huge mistake” and makes it seem like Bailey almost deserved Lexi's betrayal. There's no real character growth when it comes to Lexi and I don't think she really learned anything at all by the end of the book. Also, I can't stand music snobs and Lexi is a huge (self-proclaimed) music snob *snore*

I do wish the actual circus setting was explored and utilized more. I mean, it's the friggin circus! You can't get a cooler setting that could be used in SO many ways (but it isn't).

There ARE a few things I did like about this book (and why it gets two cupcakes and not one)...Lexi may be a music snob, but the lyrics added at the beginning of each chapter were cool and the chapter titles themselves were funny. And I didn't dislike all the characters. The people Lexi meets at the circus, and who become her new family, are interesting and likable enough.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I didn't hate That Time I Joined The Circus, but I have no real love (or even a strong likening) for it. The predictable plot, annoying main character, exhausting romantic elements, and lackluster world-building just disappointed me...but that cover is still gorgeous!

MY RATING

J.J. Howard

Site / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

J.J. Howard is wearing headphones right now, most likely. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, obsessed with music, movies, television, and pop culture. You can call her if you ever need to phone a friend for trivia on any of the above topics, but don’t ask about sports, because she is hopeless at those (along with math). 
J.J. graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in English and Tiffin University with an MH in Humanities. She has been some of her students’ favorite English teacher for a quite a few years (she even has a mug somewhere to prove it). THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS is her first young adult novel. 
J.J. would love to hear from her readers and is always ready to trade playlists. Visit at jjhowardbooks.com.

That Time I Joined The Circus Blog Tour: Interview and Swag Giveaway

I'm happy to have the That Time I Joined The Circus Blog Tour stopping by today with my interview with J.J. Howard! You can also win a swag pack from me below! Be sure to check out the full tour schedule.

by J.J. Howard

4/1/13

Point

add on goodreads

Purchase: Amazon / B&N 

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.
When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.
But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.
With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

What three words best describe THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS?

I’m sticking with circus, journey, and snark. But I’d really like to add “with a really great soundtrack” to that list.

Give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers (especially reluctant readers) to give THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS a try?

Imagine that in one day your entire life fell apart. And then less than three days later you found yourself a thousand miles away from home, cleaning up after an elephant. That’s what happens to Lexi—and her life just keeps on getting interesting even after the elephant!

Grab a copy of THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS and answer the following:

Favorite chapter? 

Chapter 22: “Happy Freaking Holidays”

Favorite page? 

97  in the ARC...I love the (super long) chapter title, love the song epigraph, and I love Nick, who shows up on page 97 ;)

Favorite character? 

This is so hard! I’ll go with Jamie, because he just sort of showed up and became this really funny character who even I didn’t expect.

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser:

There are a lot of reasons why everyone in the known universe has a boyfriend except for me. I can list the top five on command, just in case anyone’s ever interested...

On your blog you created a playlist for THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS with some really awesome songs...was music a huge influence when writing this book? Is there one song in particular that would be the book's theme song?

I absolutely cannot write without music. I make a playlist for every project, and I add to it as I keep writing.
The book’s theme song: awesome question! I make movie trailers in my head all the time—so of course I’ve made one for CIRCUS. The song came out after I was finished writing, but I think “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers would be perfect.

Your character Lexi runs away to the circus (and who hasn't wanted to do that?!)...if you joined the circus, what job would you want? What's your favorite circus act?

I am a person of limited abilities. I can write, correct your grammar, cook, and do arts and crafts. I think that list would make me either the person who designs the posters and publicity and stuff, or the cook.  

Lexi works as a fortune teller in the circus...let's say you seek Lexi for fortune telling advice: what do you ask her?

Will CIRCUS be an awesome movie someday? Although actually I can see it as a TV show. What could be better than a circus setting every week? You would never run out of stories.

I'm a huge T.V. Junkie so I gotta ask: what are some of your fave shows? Do you belong to any tv fandoms?

Follow me on Tumblr and you’ll see I have been known to fangirl! My all-time favorites are Buffy, Firefly, Roswell, and Veronica Mars. My current favorites are Doctor Who and The Vampire Diaries.

Fill in the blanks:

I'm really awesome at 

grammar

I'm really embarrassed to admit 

I like grammar.

My first literary crush (author or character) was:

a tie between Mr. Rochester and Heathcliff.

The last great book I read was:

 I just re-read Wide Sargasso Sea with my AP Lit class. If, like me, you love Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, probably don’t read it. But it’s a brilliant book.

The most played song on my iPOD is 

my current favorite song is “Headlights” by Morning Parade. But all-time most played would be a tie between my two favorites: “Hay Fever” by the Trashcan Sinatras and “True Faith” by New Order. Like Lexi, I like music a lot of people have never heard of ;)

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

I like vanilla more than chocolate—so it’s a yellow cupcake with confetti inside (festive for circus!). And then it’s got a buttercream frosting with a stripe of salted caramel (because Lexi is mostly sweet with a little sarcasm thrown in). I’ll call it the Circus Surprise.Now I sort of want a cupcake.

J.J. Howard
Site / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook
J.J. Howard is wearing headphones right now, most likely. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, obsessed with music, movies, television, and pop culture. You can call her if you ever need to phone a friend for trivia on any of the above topics, but don’t ask about sports, because she is hopeless at those (along with math). 
J.J. graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in English and Tiffin University with an MH in Humanities. She has been some of her students’ favorite English teacher for a quite a few years (she even has a mug somewhere to prove it). THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS is her first young adult novel. 

Win a That Time I Joined The Circus

swag pack!!!

YOU GET:

-Signed bookplate

-Signed bookmark

-Sticker

To enter simply leave a comment on this post answering the following:

IF YOU WERE TO JOIN THE CIRCUS WHAT JOB WOULD YOU WANT??

Also leave an email address I can contact you at.

OPEN INT

Ends 4/14 at 3pm EST

Winner will be chosen at random

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Teaser Tuesdays (61): That Time I Joined the Circus

Teaser Tuesdays...is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

***********************************************************************

MY TEASER

So here I am saying good-bye to my neighborhood, alone, with no plan beyond the bus station and a really crummy song about love stuck in my head. And of course my stupid mother to go and find. What kind of father sends all his money to his crazy ex-wife and leaves his daughter completely broke? And what kind of mother runs away and joins the circus? (ARC, page 2)

That Time I Joined The Circus

by J.J. Howard

4/1/13

add on goodreads

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

"Waiting On" Wednesday (39): That Time I Joined The Circus

"Waiting On" Wednesday...is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm excitedly waiting on....

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake—and facing a terrible tragedy— Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi’s mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.
When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn’t there…but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus’s fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.
But then Lexi’s ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it’s Lexi’s own future that’s thrown into question… 
With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, last heartaches, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

That Time I Joined The Circus

J.J. Howard

2013

Scholastic

Like many children, I often declared that I was gonna join the circus when I was a kid...honestly, even as an adult there are times when life just becomes Too Much and I want to scream " Screw it! I'm running away to the circus!". So, when I saw the synopsis of this book I just knew I had to read it. I cannot wait to join Lexi on her journey!

Plus, I'm in love with that gorgeous cover!!! I just want to reach through my computer screen and pet it ;-)

What are you waiting on this week?!