Blood Circus

Books | Young Adult Fiction / Dystopian

3.9

Camila Victoire

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.

Fantasy

Dark Fantasy

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More Details:

Author

Camila Victoire

Pages

406

Publisher

Blackstone Publishing

Published Date

2023-01-31

ISBN

9798200816101

Community ReviewsSee all

"Ultimately combines fantasy, magical realism, and suspense into one book. This book combines the ideas behind The Hunger Games and Children of Blood and Bone. At the beginning of this book I was questioning where the excitement was, it took a while to build the base. Once the world was explained and opened up, the world and story really came to life. Ultimately in this world they have exhausted their resources. Most animals are extinct, the food is grown and produced in a way that isn’t sustainable, and the military rules it all. This book makes you take into account how as people, especially in America, we use resources because we think they can easily be replaced. We mistreat our world because we think it will always recover. This book shows the sad truth if we carry on. The people hold on to unjust fears because they don’t know any better or because ignorance is better than the truth. This book also reminds me of the movie “The Giver,” every part of their lives are constructed to “keep them safe” or is it? This book teaches us to question the “norms” and what is right. This book was a very good read and kept me entranced throughout to see what happened. The book pits teenagers and friends against each other so in that way it’s like Hunger Games, only the strongest make it out. They do fight, there is gory scenes that made me cringe a bit. There is a lot of ignorance in this book that made me think about how a lot of citizens think in the world we live in today which is crazy. This can easily be one of the best books I’ve read this year. The ending left me a bit hanging for more but the storyline, the message, the characters, all worth reading. I would advise that if you like magic, books with a message, creatures, and children fighting and killing one another, then this book would be a really good choice for you! "

Leeann Smith

"Reminded me of the Alien franchise quite a bit. Definitely needs a trigger warning for self harm but has a neat story with plenty of plot twists. "

Courtney Campbell

"*TW: This book contains gore and some cannibalism!* I was initially hooked, but was disappointed in the plot after reading roughly 20-ish chapters, expecting something a bit more thrilling. This book, like many have pointed out, does take some elements of The Hunger Games, and poses some good messages regarding the importance of environmental conservation. The plot wasn't really about a circus, moreso it was about the protagonist Ava trying to uncover the truth behind her past and her memories and how it relates to The Blood Race. It reminded me of a reality show, like Total Drama Island."

Sniper 🖤

"I think comparing this book to the Hinger Games does it a disservice. Yes there is a trial of sorts but it’s nothing like those of the Hunger Games or why it’s done. I enjoyed the story line. A little slow to the start, gruesome in its theory and nauseating once it becomes clear how grim and grotesque society has become. When we are faced with the worst possible moments in our lives does it make us better people or worse.Look at Covid. It did bring out the good in some but people seem more angry and bat shut crazy. And a sense of entitlement that is being tolerated."