A Sea of Ink

5 stars. Yet... I am currently in the process of re-reading, and the same thing is bothering me as was the first time. I love everything about the book--it feels like it was literally written for me--but there is one thing I can't get past: I have trouble believing that Jo can actually be that naive. She is an unusually worldly girl for her time; the author stresses how extraordinarily un-ignorant, how aware, she is. She keeps muckraker journalists' books under her bed, sneaks out of school to interview mill workers, but still has no idea about the gritty parts of her city (even though her far more proper friends know everything about it), and she is so quick to trust. I don't understand how fanciful, imaginative Jo can be so unknowing, especially about the journalistic process. She's obviously done deep research. However, I forgive it. Still 5 stars, although Jo's dubious naivety is the only thing holding this novel back from being completely believable, mel...

First of all: you just should. Don't even think twice about it. Just start reading. The Night Circus is basically my favorite contemporary novel of all time. Which is saying a lot, considering my favorite book list is 72 items long.  Reasons why you should pick it up: It is a standalone, no series commitment required. It's got magic. It's got both a boy main character and a girl main character, and they share the limelight pretty equally. The prose is, like, F. Scott Fitzgerald-level gorgeous. My writing style is the descriptive kind, and so is Erin Morgenstern's. It's about the circus of your wildest dreams. It is a fantastic, beautiful, provocative circus. Literally the circus of dreams. Nothing is explained in simple terms. There is a level of analysis required if you want to understand how the pieces of the story fit. Every time I read it, I realize something new. It is profound. There are moments of witty banter, moments of tragedy, and moments of...