Book Review: Ally Nutall’s “Spider Circus”
Reviewed by Sarah Melton
Spider Circus is a fast-paced YA fantasy/adventure novel, with more twists and turns than a Gordian knot. The main protagonist, Lizzie McCoy, is a headstrong and emotional teenage girl with yet-to-be-discovered talents. The first three chapters show a girl in the kind of turmoil that many teenagers can relate to – her parents have just recently divorced, and her relationship with both parents and her younger siblings are strained, at their best. Part of her seems to long for simpler times, when her parents were together, her emotions more in control, and the pressure to fit in less intense than it has been for her lately. And then there are those uncontrollable “dark clouds” of her temper, and that feeling of being trapped…that is, until a stranger hands Lizzie the flyer to a very special performance of the Spider Circus.
Before long, Lizzie is deep into the world of the Spider Circus – travelling not just far from her home, but from her world as well. She learns of a group of people called “Dimensionals”, who can travel from one dimensional plane to the next, world after world, and with it comes a truly infinite possibility for continuing adventures. This is the point where, at some points, the story seems to get almost too rushed – their encounters hitting quickly as they discover everything from selkies to scientists, dragons to hot air balloons, all while Lizzie learns the ins and outs of her new “wiredancer” job with the world-hopping circus, and even more daunting, honing her abilities as not just a dimensional traveler, but a “Spider” – one whose abilities are even stronger and more complex. Although perhaps it’s a fitting pace the story sets, as it puts the reader in the same overwhelmed and fascinated mind of the protagonist herself – no longer feeling the crush of being trapped, she is met with the almost more frightening reality of more space than she could ever hope to explore in her lifetime.
The real story in the novel, though, is within the circus folk themselves. The compelling dialogue is one of the strongest points of the story, as Lizzie learns some of the darker stories and secrets of her travelling companions, and deals with a relentless bully that seems (at first) to dislike her for no other reason than the color of her skin (for unlike a great deal of fantasy novels, this one features a heroine of color, dark-skinned, dreadlocked and all.) There is treachery, revenge, kindness, understanding, and towards the end, forgiveness and resolution for many of the characters involved. There also seems to be a bit of romance on the horizon for Lizzie, but nothing too steamy for the younger readers to be reading. Then of course, there is the “Big Bad” of the story, the sinister and shape-changing Shadows, who are hoping to use Lizzie, her talents, and her friends for a much darker purpose.
Spider Circus is the first of a four-part series, published via Smashwords, and this first installment was a great start to a very intriguing story. You can learn more about Alice Nuttall and her stories at: http://alicenuttallbooks.wordpress.com/. She is also the co-creator (with artist Emily Brady) of the fantasy web comic “Footloose” at www.footloosecomic.com. Spider Circus can be purchased (Kindle version) on Amazon, here: http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Circus-Shadows-Alice-Nuttall-ebook/dp/B00G6D5UG4