A middle-grade novel for fans of boarding school stories -- with a
dash of The Mysterious Benedict Society and a splash of Circus
Mirandus!
Sebastian Konstantinov has grown up in a travelling circus, surrounded
by talented performers. Seb, however, has no circus skills at all. He
can't even turn a somersault. But he does know this: the old-fashioned
circus his father founded is out of date and running low on money. If
someone doesn't figure out how to save it, the Konstantinovs will be in
real trouble. Seb thinks he may have the answer, and it involves
attending the highly selective Bonaventure Circus School in Montreal,
Canada. Seb secretly writes to the school's Directrice (conveniently
leaving out the part about his lack of circus skills), and to his
surprise, he gets accepted right away. Now all he has to do is keep his
lack of talent a secret. But it turns out that Seb is not the only one
with secrets. The school is literally crumbling beneath the students'
feet, and the Directrice is counting on Seb's talent to save it.