Rose and Pierrot, born in difficult circumstances to young single mothers in 1914, are left as babies at the spartan Catholic orphanage on the outskirts of Montreal. Kindred spirits unbroken by the nuns' cruel and abusive treatment, they are imaginative children and natural-born performers drawn to each other from an early age. O'Neill's (Lullabies for Little Criminals) prose is gorgeous and understated, with arresting imagery, thankfully lacking any over-the-top lyricism or excessively heavy-handed magical realism. This simultaneously heartbreaking and life-affirming novel depicts the range of the human experience through the eyes of its almost preternaturally charismatic hero and heroine, who journey from the margins to high society, from the orphanage to the criminal underworld in Montreal and New York City. It could even do its part to rehabilitate the current reputation of clowns in our society, depicted here as philosophers and wise men, expressing the beauty and sadness of the human condition. VERDICT The star-crossed love affair of the poor orphans who team up to create an enchanting circus might sound like a book that has already been written once or twice, but don't be fooled. This is an original and unforgettable novel. [See Prepub Alert, 8/8/16.]-Lauren Gilbert, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

*Starred Review* Abandoned as infants to the nuns in a Montreal orphanage in 1914, Rose and Pierrot pass dreary years of hunger and abuse until their stage talent pushes them into entertaining wealthy orphanage patrons (making money for the sisters). Later, a rich man is enchanted by Pierrot's piano performance and brings him home as a companion, while Rose is eventually engaged as a (very bad) governess. Apart they flounder, sinking into impoverishment and depravity, but finally they reconnect and renew their dream of staging a show they call Snowflake Icicle Extravaganza. Suddenly the story plunges into a whirlwind of dazzling imagery, as visual and outré as Moulin Rouge. O'Neill is a mistress of metaphor and imagery (her sobs were flung on the deck). This is brilliant tragicomedy, filled with story, setting shifts, shady characters, and nearly too many clever similes (horses hooves sounded like a room full of children with hiccups), all moiling around in a melancholy love story that brings to life the bygone days of theatrical revues. It's a little weird and a lot of fun, evoking a sad smile, like Margaret Drabble's melancholy but witty The Sea Lady (2007) and Juliette Fay's The Tumbling Turner Sisters (2016), which offers a lighter look at vaudeville-era showmanship and its personalities.--Baker, Jen Copyright 2016 Booklist

In a love story of epic proportions, O'Neill's (Daydreams of Angels) excellent historical novel plumbs the depths of happiness and despair for two orphans determined not to let the world get them down. Stepping into the minds of children, circus performers, prostitutes, gangsters, and into the dismal days of the Great Depression, the world on these pages is unforgettable and larger than the moon. Pierrot and Rose are abandoned to an orphanage in 1914 Montreal, where they grow up together and discover their talent for absurdist, Vaudevillian-style performances in front of the other orphan children, then later in front of rich patrons in the city. Pierrot, with his mesmerizing piano, and Rose, with her invisible dancing bear, make lavish plans for their artistic career, fall in love with each other, and are inseparable-until they are forced apart as teens. Through the ensuing years, each holds on to their dreams of extravagant circus shows and of finding each other again, while entering a dark world of drugs, sex, starvation, and survival. At the very end of the tunnel are floodlights to the stage, sad clowns, gigantic moon props, chorus girls, and the one thing that time and distance cannot diminish-true love grander than any circus act. This novel will cast a spell on readers from page one. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.