The Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Cornwell, Betsy The Circus Rose. Clarion, 2020 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781328639509 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780358164432 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 The Circus Rose has been home to different-fathered twins Ivory and Rosie all their lives: their mother is the bearded lady/ringmistress, and the other acts, including their beloved Bear, are their family. When a disgruntled order of religious extremists threatens their way of life and a terrible accident nearly claims Rosie’s life, the sisters must fight to save their livelihood and their mobile, motley, beautiful home. Told in chapters that alternate between stagehand Ivory’s thoughtful prose and acrobat Rosie’s free verse, this is a delicately lovely reimagining of the fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red.” The space of the circus houses a rich range of queerness: Rosie’s love for Bear (a princess trapped in a male bear’s shape) and Ivory’s for the faery magician Tam (whose people don’t subscribe to a human gender binary) are accepted and honored, while the love triangle of Mama and the girls’ fathers resolves into a polyamorous trio. Sadly, though, the plot is slight and the world building consistently underdeveloped, leaving the reader wishing for more narrative substance to support the circus dazzle. Readers looking for queer fairy-tale [End Page 426] reworkings will therefore fare better with McLemore’s Blanca & Roja (BCCB 10/18), but the cleverness here may nonetheless interest fairy tale aficionados and audiences interested in queer themes. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois