I'm sorry to say that this is probably the mostly deeply unpleasant book I've read in a while. Halfway through the book and the only things that really happen are that the main character and her brother are bullied RELENTLESSLY and lose their parents to a curse. The book tries to ease the blow of all of this through uplifting talks of magic, but really you can't really come back from a scene where the main character gets her hair cut by a bully, steals his scissors and then proceeds to cut the rest of her hair off and throw it at him, fueled by trauma and sadness. I was initially drawn in by the gorgeous cover and promise of a magic circus, but unfortunately the story falls incredibly flat and there's absolute nothing that makes me want to continue.