Blood Circus, Camila Victoire
Blood Circus, Camila Victoire
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Blood Circus

Author: Camila Victoire

Series: Blood Circus Series #1

Narrator: Kyla Garcia

Unabridged: 13 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/31/2023


Synopsis

In this lush and terrifying debut—perfect for readers of The Hunger Games and Children of Blood and Bone—Camila Victoire creates a future where cruelty and spectacle hold the keys to subjugating humans on a ravaged earth.At the end of the twenty-first century, climate change and famine almost ended humanity—until the discovery of the Klujns, a barbaric, humanoid species with strangely colored eyes and even stranger abilities. Their crystal claws and bones fertilize barren soil, and their tender meat is a super-protein. Klujns are both humans’ saviors and natural-born enemies, meant to be hunted and used.When sixteen-year-old Ava finds herself on the wrong side of a military fence erected to protect the North American Territory, she’s captured by Klujns and made to participate in the Blood Race, a macabre tradition where young human hostages compete to the death for Klujn amusement. At first, she is terrified, but as Ava observes Klujn behavior that contradicts what she’s learned, she begins to wonder: Are Klujns as different as she was led to believe? And, as she fights for her life, does it matter?Inspired by four years on the road with a traveling circus, where the word itself embodies an entire culture built on dark spectacle, Camila Victoire delivers a twisted coming-of-age tale that combines elements of fantasy, magical realism, and suspense. Blood Circus will capture fans of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. Its masterful worldbuilding, plot twists, and boundary-pushing Blood Race are wholly immersive—and compel readers to call their own long-held assumptions, values, and belief systems into question.

About Camila Victoire

Camila Victoire is a French Canadian / Australian novelist, screenwriter, and producer currently based in Montreal. The author of Blood Circus, she was hired to write two standalone episodes for the FX/Hulu Anthology series American Horror Stories and developed her novella Pandora as part of the Fellowship for Amy Aniobi’s SuperSpecial. The daughter of two performing artists, she toured for four years with a circus before going to study Writing for Film and TV at the Vancouver Film School. Her stories are nourished by her travels, from exploring the haunted forests of Transylvania to venturing deep into the jungles of Peru. For more on Cami’s adventures (including but not limited to dogs, flowers, witchcraft, wanderings, and more), visit her at Instagram.com/CamiVictoire.

About Kyla Garcia

Kyla Garcia is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. Born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, she discovered acting at the age of eight when she played Lady Macbeth in a children’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She made her off-Broadway debut at fifteen when she played Dorothy in Oz: A Twisted Musical. Eleven years after she discovered her passion for acting, she would go on to play Lady Macbeth once again in London at the Globe Theatre, where she studied Shakespeare during her third year at Mason Gross School of the Arts. She received her BFA in acting from Rutgers University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by jessica on September 14, 2022

dont let the title or whimsical cover fool you like it did me. im disappointed this has nothing to do with an actual circus… im also let down by the uninspired nature of it all. this story just feels so recycled to me. for a debut novel, i want to see something new and original and fresh. i dont want......more

Goodreads review by Jena on January 19, 2023

Hearing the premise of Blood Circus, a barbaric “Hunger Games” reminiscent fight to the death in a circus setting, I thought I would love this book. However, the writing style and character writing never allowed me to fully immerse myself in the story. I found Blood Circus to feel quite generic, and......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on January 04, 2023

An enormous thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and of course, Camile Victoire for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own. First of all, if you’re looking for a beautiful tale of wistful circus performances, this isn’t the book f......more

Goodreads review by Marcella on September 01, 2022

Okay, first, this is not a circus book like Night Circus or Caraval with all the glitz and performance and delights. If you are looking for those, this is not your book. BUT, if you are looking for brutal, gory, competition like Hunger Games, then yes I will recommend this one. I have those expectati......more

Goodreads review by Fanna on February 09, 2023

Reading this was like walking on a path you know leads where, and despite the predictability, the nostalgia of certain themes like competition and wolves in this futuristic fantasy keeps you going. Sadly, the details were unclear and a lot of the plot was unravelling without establishing enough inte......more


Quotes

“Destined to be a classic…I’ve never read a book that so vividly captures the insatiable human appetite for subjugation and spectacle. But the dire dystopian warning of Blood Circus also finds spiritual hope and strength in its protagonist, Ava—an unforgettable character at the center of an unforgettable story.” Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die

“I could not stop reading Blood Circus from the moment I started. The world is fascinating, and the story is brilliantly told. Love, love, love.” Storm Reid, actress, winner of the Teen Choice Award and NAACP Image Award

“Debut author Victoire tackles themes of environmentalism and prejudice via a bone-chilling plot in this dystopian fantasy…Vividly wrought imagery, steady pacing, edge-of-the-seat action, and a gutsy cast accompany a harrowing, Hunger Games–level atmosphere, making for a thrilling adventure.” Publishers Weekly

“This socially progressive dystopian adventure with strong worldbuilding and suspenseful plotting will appeal to fans of the Hunger Games…Pointedly questioning what it is to be human, this absorbing debut expresses profound longing for the disappearing wild.” Kirkus Reviews

“Original, unique, and full of interesting characters…I couldn’t put it down and I want to know what Ava will do next and what the future looks like for humans and Klujns. You will fall in love with this twisted circus.” San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)

“Readers who enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing, The Hunger Games, and strong female protagonists in Alison Goodman’s Eon and Eona, will love this novel of hardship, mystery, gore, and growth. A first choice for high school libraries.” School Library Journal

“You’ll finish this one buzzy with adrenaline and quietly unsettled, thinking about which parts of ourselves we’d fight to keep—and which we might lose.” BiblioLifestyle


Awards

  • An Indie Next Kids' List Great Read
  • Horror Spotlight Pick
  • Novel Suspects
  • Shelf Awareness Pick