Carnival Magic: Touch The sky

Eager readers!!!!

We are back for another review and author interview.

 Here is the official plot summary of Carnival Magic by Amy Ephron, from the publisher, Penguin Random House: 

This companion to The Castle In the Mist features a mysterious carnival, an ominous psychic, and a wind that whisks Tess and Max away from their vacation in South Devon, England. Which fantastical world will they find this time?

Tess and Max are back in England for another summer with their Aunt Evie--this time by the seashore in South Devon. And they're incredibly excited about the traveling carnival that's come to town. There are rides, games, acrobats, The House of Mirrors--and even a psychic, with a beautiful wagon all her own.

In a visit to the psychic's wagon, while Tess is being hypnotized, the wagon seems to move. Before Tess can shake herself out of the hypnosis, before Max can do anything, they seem to be traveling--along with the rest of the carnival--too quickly for the two of them to jump out. But where are they going and what awaits them? Will they be caught in a world different from their own? And do the Baranova twins, acrobats who miss their sister almost as much as Tess and Max miss their family, hold the keys to the mystery?

Internationally bestselling author Amy Ephron returns with a companion novel to The Castle in the Mist and creates a magical tale filled with adventure, mystery, fantasy, family, and fun.

 

Drew's review:

Carnival Magic develops the magic following where Castle in the Mist left off and builds the characters with a magically more fulfilling and mysterious plot. Tess and Max are more vivid and clearly more developed then in the first book and the plot feels more real because of mystery of the marvelous traveling circus and finding family. The carnival's deeper magical realism connects to readers memories of circus and carnivals past. The imagery and sensational words combine in a balanced and surprise filled story that is sure to have readers of all ages believing in the power of human imagination, especially the magic of family. But don't take my word for it, read the Carnival Magic yourself!



 

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 I was honored to interview the author for Carnival Magic, Amy Ephron recently about her new book and the magic around her stories. The fully interview is below. Amy's answers are in dark green.

 Interview with Drew Durham and Amy Ephron for “Carnival Magic” & “The Castle in the Mist”  BooksInc.   

1.    Magical realism is even more carefully and majestically crafted in Carnival Magic. what did you learn about magic from writing The Castle in the Mist?

    

The best magic is sometimes foreshadowed but also unexpected. In the same way that Tess does, I had to open myself up to the possibilities of imagination. Let the book and the magic go where it wanted to…  I honestly didn’t know in “The Castle in the Mist” what the first “wish” was going to bring about until they hit the turnstile to the ride on the carousel and the merry-go-round began to spin and then….(if I say anymore it’s a spoiler alert.)  I had to open myself up to the possibilities of magic occurring when you least expect it.

  “The Castle in the Mist,” is, in a way, a teaser, as I push the envelope even more in “Carnival Magic” into the possibility of one (or maybe more) alternate universes.  Where does the carnival move to?  They’re definitely not in Devon any more, at least it doesn’t seem they are. 

   

 Tess and Max are a year younger in The Castle in the Mist, so, they also brought their own lessons a year later to Carnival Magic.  And they definitely learned some things about magic the first time, too.

2.    What does The House of Mirrors symbolize to you?  How does this ‘house’ add to the magic?

Both books play with barriers.  The invisible wall in “The Castle in the Mist” and Wiliam’s warning, “Beware of the hawthorn trees.”  And in “Carnival Magic,”  The House of Mirrors might be a barrier (or a portal) too. 

                

 Sometimes people see something they can’t quite explain in The House of Mirrors, almost as if it’s an image of a ghost carnival on the other side of a panes of glass.  Is it a portal of some kind?  And if you were to go through it…..would you be able to get   back again…?

3.    Touch the sky! reaching toward imagination that  just out of our scientific observations seems to be a theme of the book. Please Explain the phrase touch the sky and what it means to you and your characters.

   Touch the sky is really about pushing yourself almost beyond your own limits, believing in yourself, achieving.  Having the confidence not to be afraid. Tess sometimes has this in spades the willingness to ‘go for it.’  Especially if ultimately helps someone else, even though it gets you in a bit of trouble to start. Touch the sky.  That amazing feeling that you’re flying effortlessly even though the task you’re performing might seem almost daunting to someone else.  This can be something as simple as speaking before a crowd, writing a story or having an amazing run on the basketball court. 

     4. There is plenty of magic in the magic of the carnival. what inspired the magical carnival? Why did you choose aerial acrobatics as a focal point to unleashing magical performance?  

 I always joke that I don’t always find my stories – sometimes my stories find me. In “The Castle in the Mist” Tess does a dance in the sky, or thinks she does… The real sky,  The Pleiaides. 

  

 In “Carnival Magic” the aerial ballet twins and Tess possibly doing a dance with them…wasn’t really thought out as much as it “just” happened.  But I loved the idea, the initial idea of the carnival running away with you (a sort of inverse of running away with the carnival.)

4.    Talk about the importance of the background setting of England and Wales?

      

I always wanted to take two American kids out of their own environment, and put them in an unfamiliar world that might also be a portal to somewhere…or lead to a pathway (as happens in both books,) to a magical real fantasy world, or more than one!  
 

    Since the books go in and out of time and sometimes even a time  space  continuum, the UK seems an easy place to go back from, a magical place.  There is also so much faded elegance, earlier times still heralded, history observed, royalty, and let’s not forget high tea, or Stonehenge, or the fact that almost every hotel in London of a certain age is definitely haunted!  (Stay tuned, please.  shh.  Yes, I’m hinting about Book 3.)  

Magical Illustration in Carnival Magic

5.    Fast, graceful and swimming horses play an important role in the book, what was your inspiration for the horses?

    

 Tess loves horses. And I also loved the gender playing with Tess imagining herself to be a knight (rather than a lady) and the horse is her steed.  She’s very forward thinking that way.  

 There’s also true, palpable affection both ways between a horse and it’s owner and (or designated rider for a time), loyalty, and a necessary mutual care taking which is in line with the subset of ethics in the books, in Tess and Max’s sibling relationship, in the relationships the form with William in the first book and aerial ballet twins and their sister in “Carnival Magic.”    

  

   There are a lot of amazing horses in England, some of them wild, if you drive down from North Devon, you often see wild horses running by the road, hearkening back to an earlier time. 

     The horses in both books, “Midnight” and “Coco” sometimes also go back and forth in time and “place,” too, as if the horses themselves are magic…

Yours Drewly with Amy Ephron when Castle in the Mist was new

6.    “Sometimes the best way of making sure you might see someone again is by not saying goodbye.” Please explain this quote in the context of the book and departures from the book.

    

 For me, this is a throwback, a wish if you will, to “The Castle in the Mist” and something Tess especially will hold on to.  It also suggests that maybe (just maybe) she and Max might see their friend William, the boy who lived in the Castle next door, again.  Some day.  Maybe…  Or might see someone from “Carnival Magic” again later in what might be another magical adventure.   There’s an inherent sadness when you make a friend in another place then where you live or move away, and sometimes if you don’t say goodbye, it might be (at least that’s the implication) that you might see each other again!

7.    Sound, noise, voice, music and song are important to the soundtrack of this book. Describe what sound and especially voices and the violin add to the Carnival Magic story?

     

 Senses converge, sometimes.  Sight, smell, touch, even sound -- an occasional hint of music almost as an underpinning to the tone of the action.  It’s part of what makes up the real world and in this case the fantasy world, that all of the senses converge at times, or time slows down, expands, and a real or imagined orchestral soundtrack can be heard.  Is there an audience or is she just imagining it?  Is the sky paler, is everything fading, do the voices seem softer, is everything almost in black and white….

     There’s a word for this.  It’s called synesthesia when senses overlap and sometimes that happens in these books. 

     And now I have to ask you a question?  Have you ever time travelled? 

8.    There are several sections on the magic of stories, especially the part about the mastery of leaving out parts of telling a story artfully while leaving out many secrets without audience suspicion. Because of its brevity I think Carnival magic hides teachable mysteries and resounding truths on its pages and things are hidden in what is not directly on its pages.

       

Thank you!  That’s very nice of you to say.  Back stories are hinted at.  Guardians are not immediately obvious but they’re there.  That’s also along with the same theme of, in their own odd way, the kids taking care of each other.  Pushing the limit to reach the sky.  And both books are, in a way, about reconciliation and healing love.  At least I think they are.  On the other hand maybe it’s just “Carnival Magic.”   

Another illustration from Carnival Magic

     9. Does the careful brevity show and withhold secrets for the readers you would like to share here on this blog? What would Tess share today? What would Max share that is not in the book?

               Well, actually, it just happened.  (shh…)  Tess and Max are going back to Switzerland to boarding school.  It’s Christmas break  and they’re going to meet Aunt Evie at a boutique hotel, once a private home.  

 

          Their mom and dad are going to join them except their plane is delayed due to weather. And, in the tea room, Tess sees a little boy, not that little, probably eleven, having tea alone.  Except nobody but her can see him…. 

                

   If I tell you any more, it probably will be a spoiler alert.   “The Other Side of the Wall” will be published by Philomel Books/PenguinKids inthe fall of 2019!  

                Tess and Max are very excited that there’s going to be a third one!!  (So am I!)

         #believeinmagic #touchthesky

                And truly thank you to you and BooksInc. for being so kind to me and to “The Castle in the Mist” and “Carnival Magic.”   #IndiesRock   And the best books are places to get lost in. 

    

Limitless thanks to the magical Amy Laura Ephron and to Lindsay Boggs and Jill Santopolo at Philomel/Penguin who allowed me to promote the book and its marvelous illustrations. Thanks also to master artist Vartan Ter-Avanesyan for adding to the magic of this book with purely stellar visuals.

Social media acknowledgments, Shout outs to:

 @philomelbooks and @penguinkids, and @penguinclass

 @amyephron who you can find on twitter and Instagram.  

and of course @booksinc.kids, @BooksincCentral, and @BooksincBurligname

My tribute to Tales of Alcatraz and Book Scavenger series

Eager readers,



 Please check out our dual author event Next Sunday July 8th at 4 pm!

Please check out my last blog posts including a dual interview!

For today, the 84th anniversary of the opening of Alcatraz Island, I am writing a blog post about the impact Book Scavenger series and the Al Capone middle grade series have had on me professionally.

 

I could go on and on about how the two series have had on me personally, suffice it to say my curiosity and imagination about our beloved Alcatraz National Park and San Francisco local history have both grown exponentially, and the books revived my passion for bookselling with each new book in their respective series! Both series are currently being taught across the country!

These two series have proven to me once again that voices who are new to you need and deserve to be read with new eyes. I also learned that we all need to read outside our comfort zones because you never know what you could be missing, especially when the story is freshly written or even if the series and author are new to you, but not to anyone else.


For me professionally, I’ll start with Gennifer Choldenko’s Al Capone series and her book series impact on me. First off it taught me many lessons on Alcatraz history and reminded me of how diverse the genre of own voice historical fiction in middle grade books can be. You never know how rich and engrossing historical tales can be, especially for local families. Choldenko’s series also reminds me of the importance of  research in writing and reading even for middle grade fiction books is critical to fully integrating and fully experiencing any historical fiction.

Next critically, in the Al Capone series, our main protagonist, Moose Flanagan, and his stories are full of family fun, familial love and sibling care, planned tomfoolery, spontaneous actions and personal responsibilities. The books in the series are full of childlike wonder and relatable daily life well researched historical accuracy of life on “rock”. There are so many levels of learning and a diversity of types of personal growth of all the characters in Choldenko’s series that is quite unique to see in all the member of the Flanagan's family especially the main characters Natalie and Moose.

Gennifer Choldenko and yours Drewly at an event earlier this year 

A few month ago I got the honor to sell books at a Gennifer Choldenko event and her sparking enthusiasm and her sense of making history more and more fun, is impressive. I thank her for bringing the Flanagan’s and the whole Al Capone series Alcatraz family, to explain the San Francisco world of the 1930’s and for opening hearts and minds of thousands of kids.

My professional history with  Jennifer Bertman’s Book Scavenger series is different and longer. I will do my best to abbreviate how her series has changed me professionally.


My personal understanding of codes, ciphers, and my love of scavenger hunts has rekindled a new childlike love of tactile puzzles and youthful games.

Being able to be on the 2015 Middle grade and young adult American Booksellers association Indies Introduce new voices panel was a huge honor for me and of the nearly fifty books we read for that book award panel, only one stood out to me. Book Scavenger. Ever since I read book one for the first time it’s been a inspiration for me to keep being a Children’s  specialist, so I can keep promoting books like the Book Scavenger series!

Now for my review of the series of the Book Scavenger series. Bertman makes an unforgettable quirky, witty, action-packed, multilayered mystery adventure series based on multiple layers of San Francisco’s history. Our protagonists are a young girl named Emily and her friend Max. They comes across a fantastic, thrilling game made by Garrison Griswold, the Willy Wonka of the publishing industry. But villains attack Griswold and turn childish fun into a game for their growth, their identities and at times even their lives.

I was blessed to have Jennifer Bertman come to our store last summer to promote book two in the series, a books she wrote my name in the acknowledgements.

In closing please come to our July 8th event with both authors sharing their newest books in their thrilling and unparalleled local series.

Don't miss the dynamic duo author event.

Now for my gratitude with links.  Thanks to Jennifer Bertman, Book Scavenger, Macmillan Children's Publishing, Gennifer Choldenko, Wendy Lamb Books, Books Inc Burlingame, Books Inc Kids, and all the Worthy Readers out there.  Be sure to check out Facebook pages and other social media of all the links.