Pantomime is a story about identity, belonging, and found family. It’s about finding people who see us for who we are and allow us to take up space. I enjoyed this captivating fantastical story. Keep reading this book review of Pantomime for my full thoughts.
Summary
In a land of lost wonders, the past is stirring once more . . .
Micah runs away from a debutante’s life at home and joins the circus, harboring two
secrets–one: he was born between male and female, and two: he may have powers last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. Micah discovers the joy of flight as an aerialist, courting his trapeze partner, Aenea, and confiding in the mysterious white clown, Drystan. He finally feels free. But the circus has a dark side, and Micah’s past isn’t done with him.
Meanwhile, the strange ‘ghost’ of a woman with damselfly wings whispers to Micah that only he can help magic return to the realm, and he fears she may be right…Micah has much to learn, and he must do it quickly—before his past and future collide, with catastrophic consequences.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Pantomime is about gender conformity, about being seen as a problem to fix, and the importance of living who we are. Even if it means we lose people we love. Pantomime combines a hard won found family with family which doesn’t protect us. So often our family can do what they think is best for us, without asking us or caring about our protests, when in reality they’re creating scars. For Micah all he can do is scrape by to run away to the circus on the run and knowing full well that if people discovered his intersex identity they might view him as part of the ‘freak show’.
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For Micah he’s searching for a place where he would fit in. He’s looking for a chosen family while balancing the lies we has to tell to survive. Pantomime is tender. It’s about the words of being ‘unworthy’ and ‘unloveable’ and the ways they permeate into our being. In many ways, Pantomime is a journey to self-acceptance. The world really opens up towards the end of the book and if you’re here for circuses and magic, buckle up! Find Pantomime on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, & Blackwells.