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The circus is in Harley Milano’s blood. Her parents run a famous circus in Las Vegas, and she spends almost every night in the big top watching their lead aerialist take to the sky. She’s dreamed of being a trapeze artist for as long as she can remember. One day, she will be up there performing too.
However, Harley’s parents are adamant she attend college in the fall instead of diving into training as an aerialist. If she wants the opportunity to follow her dream, Harley knows she’ll have do something drastic. She leaves home one night without a word, betrays her family, and joins the rival traveling circus Maison du Mystère.
Maison du Mystère is a world both brutal and beautiful. Harley knows she’ll have to carve her own success through hard work and passion. But she struggles to come to terms with the truth of her family and her past and to reckon with the sacrifices she made and the people she hurt to follow her dreams.
Harley in the Sky is a heartfelt young adult book tackling deep issues about ambition and how far a person will go to achieve their goals.
Perhaps it was her ambitious nature, but I found it hard to like Harley at first. She comes across as whiny and selfish, but while Harley does some horrible things to the people she loves, the story later addresses the positive and negative aspects of ambition and the consequences of ruthless behavior. What makes Harley hard to like also makes her relatable. She acts irrational at times and is flawed — battling between the lows of depression and the highs that drive her — so perhaps some readers will see themselves in her, with both her passions and her struggles.
Overall, Harley in the Sky is an emotional, character-driven young adult book. At its heart, it’s about family and the complicated mess that can sometimes ensue among people who love each other and mean well. It’s about overcoming disagreements and hurt and learning to forgive. And it’s about reaching for your dreams while also knowing you can always come home.
Rated: Moderate, for one use of strong language, 12 uses of moderate language, a few uses of mild language and 4 uses of the name of Deity. Sexual content includes a few crude jokes. Characters make out several times, with one scene leading to a discussion about consent (though nothing more happens).
