In 1926, twelve-year-old Jane has always known the traveling circus as home—a world where performers from every background live, work, and dream together. Among them, she finds an unexpected mentor in Rose, a gifted French trapeze artist whose kindness and courage open Jane’s eyes to a life far beyond the big top.
But as the circus travels deeper into the Jim Crow South, the fragile sanctuary they’ve built begins to crack. In Grange, Georgia, prejudice and violence shatter Jane’s innocence, forcing her to confront the harsh realities of a world that refuses to accept the family she has found.
When a long-hidden family secret comes to light, Jane must make peace with the past while holding fast to the love that has shaped her. With only Rose’s address in Marseilles and the strength she discovered beneath the circus tent, Jane steps into an uncertain future forever changed.
A poignant coming-of-age novel about friendship, loss, courage, and the families we choose, set against the dazzling backdrop of a 1920s traveling circus.
Gertrud Strada 