My Never Ending List

The book cover never did anything for me nor did the title. The cover looked extreme and weak with a young teen gazing at the smoky nightlife of the luminous circus in the background- it just seems too childish for what seemed to be awaiting inside this book.  The title seemed too drawn out to me- it was almost a whole sentence long.  It was just the synopsis and the reviews that pulled inside the pages and had me absorbed into the life of Lexi, Xandra or X to see why someone would want to live this   I have never had any desire to join a circus, heck sometimes I thought my life was a circus so why anyone would want to quit their normal life to join the circus had me intrigued, especially someone like Lexi.  Lexi lived with her dad, was in high school, had a great life and had a couple great friends.  One day, that all changed.  (Life does that if you’re not careful.)  Lexi blames herself partly for what happens that day but the phone message she receives changes her life forever.  Her father is dead and Lexi’s life is flipped over. Her mission now is to find her mother whom she has not seen in years.  The trail leads her to the circus, yes folks her mother works for the circus.  What she does there Lexi does not know but when Lexi arrives at the big top Lexi realizes that there is another world beyond what goes on before the audience.   Lexi thought that her friends that she left behind were her past but she realizes that her past became a part of her that came with her and these people will continue to be a part of her.  As she stays to make some money, she learns more about what the definition of home and family are as she tries to find out more about who she really is. That not all she finds though, she’s also finds some romance, friendship, betrayal, and kinship along the way too.

Once I got past the cover, I felt better about the book.  Geared more towards middle school teens this book is about helping Lexi put the pieces of her fallen life back in place with the section of her father missing.  As she tries to find her mother, she discovers things about herself that show her weaknesses and her strengths. Just when she thinks she is able to move ahead, she must confront some issues that are painful but must be resolved for her to fully heal.  Her talent at the circus is superb and I have always wanted to do this- perhaps reading this is the nudge I needed to look into this.  As far as her relationship with Eli went, it’s comfortable for the two of them but I think she deserves more.