Not to be missed."--Library Journal (starred)"Smith's cinematic storytelling carries great warmth and energy, with an enduring optimism in the possibilities of reinvention that is as American as the sunny Southwest itself."--The Dallas Morning News"High-flying entertainment in a down-to-earth tale."--Lone Star Literary Life"A squadron of great characters."--Publishers Weekly"Girl Flees Circus is a vacation to a place in the past you'll remember for years to come."--Sharon Oard Warner, author of Writing the Novella "I absolutely loved it. The writing is stellar. The characters stay with you, and the story line is fresh, the dialogue wonderful. I laughed in many places but also felt each character's regrets and sadness. Brilliant!"--Ann Weisgarber, author of The Glovemaker: A Novel "This is a hell of a read. Girl Flees Circus is the closest you'll come to reinventing your life from an armchair: all new people, fresh observations, wit, and achingly beautiful language."--Lisa Schamess, author of Borrowed Light"This little settlement so far from our urban worlds wouldn't strike us as a place we'd want to live, but it comes vividly alive with Katie's arrival. The inhabitants are ordinary people in an ordinary place that Smith has made seem magical."--Jim Sanderson, author of El Camino del Rio