Roll up, roll up! Read this book and join Louie, its heroine, on a tightrope of tension as she travels from ticket seller to the girl who walked on air.

Emma Carrroll introduces us to the heroine of her story like this: When she was a baby Louie's mother "left her at the circus in the way most people would forget an umbrella". At the start of the story Louie is a ticket seller at a small, travelling circus but she dreams of performing as a "showstopper".

Act one of the book tells the story of Louie's realisation that her dreams may come true. Then, in Act Two the pace seems to speed up as Louie has to find a different sort of courage in addition to the one needed to step onto a tightrope. So much happened in this section of the book that I had to read it one sitting as I was so caught up in the story.

This book is different to others that I have read recently and I couldn't put it down because it was told in the present tense as if the heroine didn't know what was going to happen to her. It is told in the first person by Louie and her voice is so well written that it feels like she is talking to you rather than you are reading pages in a book!

The author paints a very clear picture of all the characters and weaves a very complex story with lots of twists. She uses dialogue brilliantly to bring her characters to life and give you insight into their personalities.

I realised at the end of the story that tightrope walking symbolises the true meaning of the story which is about being brave and trusting someone.

This is my new favourite book and I would recommend that you rush out and buy it before the summer holidays end so that you have time to lose yourself in this brilliant story and feel that you can walk on air!

• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop

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