Eager, Lindsay. Family Fortuna, The. Candlewick, 03/2023. 389pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-7636-9235-3. GRADES 10 – 12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
With vivid and sensual description, Eager introduces the reader to the fabulous and insular world of the Family Fortuna circus in the late 1800s, a show that includes three siblings with wildly different and strange abilities. While chapters are narrated by different characters, the main perspective of the story is that of Avita Fortuna, whose beaked and feathered face delight her ringmaster father Arturo with its power to fascinate and horrify audiences, but who is trying to define herself outside the lurid posters her father loves. Avita’s sister, brother, and mother are all similarly trying to set themselves against Arturo’s restrictive plans for their lives. Eager is remarkably open in the depiction of adolescent sexuality, and images of seduction and desire add an element of depth to an interesting yet inconsistent story.
Lesley Mandros Bell — Unaffiliated