The Night Circus Book Review

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Spoiler Free: The Night Circus fits into both the YA and Adult fiction categories. The reason being the protagonists are in their late teens on paper, but decades pass throughout the story. I’ll leave you to figure that out.

The circus arrives at night with no announcement. And this isn’t just any circus, this is a circus of dreams. There’s magic disguised as illusion, acrobats, and exhibitions that boggle the mind. The novel follows Celia and Marco. Celia is taught in the newer magic—performing and disguising as illusion like the great masters we are familiar with—and Marco practices an older magic. The theory behind the book is that we all had access to this magic, but lost it over time. As young children, Marco and Celia are bound into a competition of magic. The rules are unclear, but according to the back copy (see no spoilers) it can only end in death. When Marco and Celia fall in love, everyone they care about, including each other is put at risk. Marco and Celia are the magicians and the circus is the venue, but they soon realize the circus takes on a life of its own.

The novel is written in third person and jumps around in time and narration. There’s a third player here, Bailey. At first you may be unsure as to why there are increasing chapters from his perspective, but I will say he is integral to the story. This book is about love and magic. It isn’t violent or explicitly sexy, but it is something to be savored as the characters and world-building are examples of excellent story-telling. 5/5 stars