First published 2020
Lucy has stopped speaking. She once talked and sang freely, but now silence shields her from a world that has already taken too much. When she and three other children flee the Home for Friendless Children, they discover refuge with a traveling circus. Lucy finds purpose caring for the elephants, but the massive animals need more than gentle hands. They need commands, warnings, and communication that only her voice can provide. The circus moves constantly, and Lucy faces an impossible choice. She must break her protective silence to speak to the elephants and alert others to danger, or risk being abandoned when the troupe boards the next train. Her past refuses to stay buried, though. Someone is looking for Lucy, and the secrets she carries threaten to surface. The circus offers her a new family and a chance to belong, but only if she can overcome the fear that stole her words.
Genres: animals, adventure, adoption
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-trauma
Setting: Home for Friendless Children
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Wendy Lamb Books
Content warnings: child-abuse, emotional-abuse