My Best Friend and Other Illusions

Written by Suri Rosen

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4682-1

240 pp.

Ages 9-12

February 2020

When life becomes difficult, returning to the positive memories of childhood can soothe, invigorate and even stamp out worries. For young children, an imaginary friend can be part of that repertoire of comfort. It allows them to be imaginative, learn how to interact with others, allay fears and explore. But what happens when your imaginary friend reappears in physical form for all can see when you're a young teen?

Thirteen-year-old Charlie Green has a dream and a goal: she wants to attend a gymnastics camp with Coach Mikhailov in Montreal so that she might ultimately join his travelling circus, Circo Circo. But her efforts to raise the money needed have become more difficult. She had been partnering with best friend Holly to perform at parties, doing acrobatics, juggling and walking on stilts but, with Holly's move to Chicago, Charlie is on her own and making a mess of things. Her mother works tirelessly as a music teacher but just doesn't have the extra money for the camp. Her younger brother, Miles, is willing to help through his online poker, but it may get him put in foster care. 

Then Miles discovers someone advertising as Cirkus Celebrations and gets in touch, hoping to find a new partner for Charlie. A boy, who introduces himself as Rudy Jellen, attends a party and works so well shadowing her that it's as if he were a clone of Charlie herself. When it becomes evident that Rudy is homeless and knows everything about her dolls and what she liked to eat when she was little and stories she was told, Charlie realizes Rudy is her imaginary friend from ten years earlier.

Rudy was an archive of joy. (pg. 144)

But as Charlie continues to try to find a way to earn the money she needs, she must also look after Rudy and keep her mother from freaking out, while putting together the pieces of her life that she had forgotten. With Rudy, all things become possible.

Though My Best Friend and Other Illusions is solidly a middle-grade novel in terms of characters, plot and vocabulary, Suri Rosen has extended the story into a more mature one in which children have real worries with money, family, grief, social nastiness and self-confidence. As funny as the premise is with an imaginary friend coming to life, Charlie and Miles' story is a tough one as they attempt to reconcile what their lives are and what could have been.

Everything was so shattered. We'd all lost what we'd wanted and were also so lost ourselves that we couldn't find a way to each other. There ought to be a playbook about the right way to love people. Because sometimes hurting and helping them were all tangled up together. (pg. 136)

Suri Rosen may tie up her story well but it's not the obvious happy ending. Life just isn't like that. Even with an imaginary friend that comes to life, My Best Friend and Other Illusions is definitely real.  And reality sometimes falls short of the illusion of what could be. 

The Bonaventure Adventures blog tour: Q & A with author Rachelle Delaney:

Written by Rachelle Delaney

Puffin Canada

978-0-14319-850-5

288 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2017

Yesterday, middle grade youngCanLit writer Rachelle Delaney witnessed the somersaulting launch of her newest book, The Bonaventure Adventures.  Today, as part of Penguin Random House Canada's blog tour for The Bonaventure Adventures, I am pleased to present my interview with author Rachelle Delaney.

Author Rachelle Delaney

(Photo from author's website 

at http://rachelledelaney.com)

HK:  Having read your earlier middle-grade novel The Circus Dogs of Prague and knowing that the Bonaventure is a circus school, I’m struck by your ongoing interest in circuses.  How did this interest arise? And did you ever dream of being a circus performer yourself?

RD:  I’ve definitely been a bit obsessed with the circus for several years now. It began back in 2010, when I was teaching creative writing to some kids enrolled in circus classes. This struck me as such an interesting way to gain an appreciation for arts and sports and performing, all at once. So I started researching it as a potential setting for a novel, and I quickly learned about the National Circus School in Montreal, where young performers from around the world go to study the modern circus. I spent some time in Montreal, doing a bit of research and taking in contemporary circus shows, which were so incredibly different from the traditional shows I grew up with. And I fell in love with the modern circus scene, and with Montreal too (it’s pretty hard not to love Montreal). I’ve been back many times in the past five years; at one point I even had an Access Copyright Foundation grant to do circus research there. Tough job, I know. ☺


HK:  Your research into circus schools and circus performers must have been extensive as your writing demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of  the full array of circus skills.  How did you conduct your research? And did you conduct any personal research at a circus school in Montreal or here in Ontario?

RD:  Well, I’m glad it seems like my knowledge is extensive, because I still feel like there’s so much more to know about the circus world! Fortunately, the Bonaventure Circus School is a pretty quirky place—it’s nothing like the professional schools I learned about through my research. So that setting gave me some freedom to be creative.

I went about my research in three ways: reading everything I could, talking to any circus pros who would answer my questions, and—this is where it got scary—taking some circus arts classes myself. Now, I’m awfully uncoordinated and not at all acrobatic, but my teachers were patient. Natalie Parkinson of Toronto’s Hercinia Arts Collective was particularly great—she answered all my ridiculous questions while attempting to teach me acrobatics and aerials. I have no more skills than my main character Sebastian, but it was such a fun experience.

HK:  A theme of The Bonaventure Adventures is the duality of persons, sometimes to deceive but more often just to show different faces in different circumstances and with different people.  Audrey Pott, the clown teacher, suggests that “When you get to know your inner clown, you get to know the person you really are deep inside, not just the person you might sometimes pretend to be.  It can be soul-expanding.” (pg. 92) Do you think it’s a good idea to have two (or more) different personas to show the world or is it better to show all aspects of your personality to everyone?

RD:  Good question. I don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to have two or more personas to show the world, but I think a lot of people—adults especially—do exactly that. I suppose it’s a social survival strategy, and not a terrible one. But it takes courage to show up as your whole self. I know I’m still working on it.


HK:  I know that The Bonaventure Adventures is aptly tagged as “Harry Potter meets Cirque du Soleil” because three young people come together to navigate life in a circus school.  As with Harry Potter, do you foresee or have already planned sequels to The Bonaventure Adventures that would have Seb, Frankie and Banjo having more adventures at the school and in Montreal? If so, please let us know what and when we might expect them.

RD:  I’m one hundred and fifty percent open to writing a sequel or three about Seb, Frankie, and Banjo’s adventures in Montreal (and beyond). But as of right now, there are only plans for the one book.


HK:  Angélique Saint-Germain insists that the students “pursue perfection, practice at every opportunity” (pg. 78).  One student, Camille, even considers giving up sleep to practise.  Do you believe the adage that practice always makes perfect? (I think Seb might not agree with that completely although his somersaults did become passable.)

RD:  I do believe that practice is essential, and that if something (whether it’s writing or juggling swords) is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly for a long time. But I don’t think that practice necessarily leads to perfection, or that perfection is even the point. Striving for perfection, in my experience, can really suck the joy out of life. Also, practice without sleep is just an all-around bad idea, especially when acrobatics are involved.


HK:  We know that it’s important for young readers to see themselves in a book’s characters and I think all readers could see themselves in Seb or Frankie or Banjo.  Did you write them as a reflection of Harry, Hermione and Ron respectively (going back to the Harry Potter reference) or just young people who reveal multiple characteristics in temperament, strengths and weaknesses? 

RD:  You know, I didn’t even notice the Harry Potter parallel until someone else pointed it out recently! I can sort of see similarities between Seb and Harry, in that they’re both intelligent and introspective. But Frankie is this mysterious, hot-headed parkour expert, and Banjo is a timid slack-liner from a backwoods logging town, so I don’t see Ron and Hermione in them. But it’s not a bad comparison—I’m certainly not complaining.

What appeals to me about Seb, Frankie, and Banjo connects back to your question about hidden personas. Each one harbours secrets and aspects of themselves they feel like they can’t or shouldn’t show. And they help each other find a sense of belonging; when they’re together, they feel more whole.

HK:  If there is one theme or message that you would like middle-grade readers to take from The Bonaventure Adventures, what would it be and why?

RD:  I’ve been playing around with the theme of authenticity for a few years now, although I didn’t realize it until a writer friend recently pointed out that it’s a recurring theme in my writing. I’d love middle-grade readers to know that sometimes the things you’re passionate about can seem strange or even pointless to others. But those interests are not only valid but so very important, because they make you who you are.

Also, if I can add one more: fire-breathing should never be attempted on an empty stomach. I didn’t actually try this myself and I DEFINITELY don’t recommend anyone try it ever, but it was one of my favourite facts from my research. Apparently the pros recommend a bread and milk appetizer before breathing flames. Who knew!

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Many thanks to Rachelle Delaney for answering my questions about The Bonaventure Adventures as well as to Vikki VanSickle, her publicist at Penguin Random House Canada (and an author in her own right) for arranging this blog tour stop.

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Other Rachelle Delaney books

I encourage young readers to read The Bonaventure Adventures and, while crossing fingers for a possible book two, check out Rachelle Delaney's earlier middle grade books.  They are all bon adventures!

The Lost Souls series:

The Ship of Lost Souls (2009)

The Lost Souls of Island X (2010) (in US The Guardians of Island X)

The Hunt for the Panther (2013)

The Metro Dogs of Moscow (2013)

The Circus Dogs of Prague (2014)

The Bonaventure Adventures

Written by Rachelle Delaney

Puffin Canada

978-0-14319-850-5

288 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2017

I’m hoping The Bonaventure Adventures is just the first of many bon adventures that Sebastian Konstantinov and cohorts Frankie de Luca and Banjo Brady will have at the Bonaventure Circus School.  This tale has memorable characters, both young persons and adults, a distinctive setting in a rundown monastery turned school in Montreal, and enough humour and circus action to keep readers enthralled.  And I haven’t even mentioned the plot!  It’s a three-ring circus of deception, impressions, and creativity, and you’ll definitely want to stay for an encore.

Twelve-year-old Sebastian a.k.a. Seb travels with his father Dragan Konstantinov and rest of the troupe of the Konstantinov Family Circus across eastern Europe.  The circus is a traditional one with a ringmaster, animals, a sword swallower, lion tamer, aerialist, clown and contortionist but it is failing.  When his dad sells the animals to the Bucharest Zoo, devastating Seb, the boy goes behind his dad’s back and enquires about attending Madame Angélique Saint-Germain’s circus school in Montreal.  Since he has absolutely no circus skills of his own–and he’s tried everything without any success–Seb is hopeful that he might learn how to turn things around for the family circus by developing it into a modern one based on storytelling.  But how does he arrange to stay at the circus school without any skills?

The truth will only get you in trouble.  They say it sets you free, but they are lying. (pg. 114)

Unlike the other students, Seb is accepted without an audition as Angélique believes Seb is a charismatic superstar, the highly-skilled son of the wealthy circus impresario Dragan Konstantinov.  But Seb’s deception, trying to pass himself off as a circus scholar, is not the only one at play at the Bonaventure Circus School as he soon learns from his observations of everyone, especially Angélique whom we learn has a hidden agenda based on false information about the Konstantinov Family Circus.

While he becomes friends with his candy-obsessed juggler roommate Sylvain, Seb becomes allies with Frankie, a traceur i.e. she does parkour or freerunning, and Banjo, a skilled slackliner/highliner/trickliner, and the three become known as bêtes noires. In addition to this unfortunate moniker, because they are forever being called to Angélique’s office, the trio are the only ones who remain at the school for weekends and holidays.  This distinction provides them with opportunities to help each other work on their weaknesses, share their strengths and even help save the school in an impressive showing of skill and creativity.

The Bonaventure Adventures is a boisterous read of action and intrigue, a story of children of extraordinary talents–not all circus acts–who come together in a new act of friendship to save themselves and their new home away from home.  It is aptly tagged as “Harry Potter meets Cirque du Soleil”  with the three friends of varying abilities strengthening their performance to high-flying proportions. Rachelle Delaney whose earlier books include The Ship of Lost Souls and The Circus Dogs of Prague is a pro at writing middle grade novels.  Here she consistently gets the voices right–a mix of innocence and bravado– for her characters and healthy doses of friendship, action and new learning experiences–who knew there was so much about circuses to learn?–to make The Bonaventure Adventures a novel that kids will appreciate for its liveliness of action and characters and adults will commend for its wholesome storytelling.  That's a trick in itself.

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Check back tomorrow for my interview with author Rachelle Delaney who dishes about her time in circus school and the research she undertook to ensure The Bonaventure Adventures is a story immersed in an authentic circus experience.