Shelf Discovery: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Shelf Discovery is a feature in which I highlight one book that I have found while prowling the shelves of the independent bookstore I work at it. These books aren't necessarily YA books; they're books that have discovered and find interesting or unique. I hope you do too.

I have seen snatches of this one all over the internet ever since I went to BEA in May, and a couple of weeks ago, we finally got The Night Circus in at the bookstore!

I read the first two chapters and was hooked instantly.

Here is a description:

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart."

If that summary made you shiver in anticipation, know that the actual novel is ten times better and so, so engrossing. We have it on display front in center, and I keep stealing moments to read a few more pages. I can't wait to begin reading in earnest!

Plus, that cover is petty awesome, you have to admit!

What do you think?