If you enjoy middle-grade stories filled with magic, friendship, and history—like The Marvels by Brian Selznick and The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani—you’ll love this Dust Bowl–era adventure blending heart, hope, and enchantment.

Sometimes, only magic can light the way through hard times.

In the heart of the Great Depression, the Spenwaller Traveling Circus brings wonder to the struggling town of Drycrop. George the Great Cain, once a university chemist, now dazzles crowds with his magic—but after years on the road, he longs for something more than fleeting applause and long, exhausting days.

Orphaned Ernest Wade finds family under the circus tent, but the weight of hardship and uncertainty shadows his spirit. Meanwhile, young Sophie Mae Bastrop faces a world growing hotter and drier by the day, her familiar life slipping away like sand through her fingers.

When the circus arrives, Sophie’s world shifts in unexpected ways, filled with enchantment, hope, and the promise that magic might just be the key to saving her—and her town.

Set against the Dust Bowl and the hardships of the 1930s, this middle-grade historical fantasy blends magic, friendship, and resilience into a captivating story perfect for fans of heartfelt adventure and imaginative worlds.