A multigenerational story about two teenagers: Victoria, who joins the circus in 1965, and her granddaughter, Callie, who leaves the circus fifty years later.
In 1965 seventeen-year-old Victoria, having just escaped an unstable home, flees to the ultimate place for dreamers and runaways--the circus. Specifically, the VanDrexel Family Circus where, among the lion tamers, roustabouts, and trapeze artists, Victoria hopes to start a better life.
Fifty years later, Victoria's sixteen-year-old granddaughter Callie is thriving. A gifted and focused tightrope walker with dreams of being a VanDrexel high wire legend just like her grandmother, Callie can't imagine herself anywhere but the circus. But when Callie's mother accepts her dream job at an animal sanctuary in Florida just months after Victoria's death, Callie is forced to leave her lifelong home behind.
Feeling unmoored and out of her element, Callie pores over memorabilia from her family's days on the road, including a box that belonged to Victoria when she was Callie's age. In the box, Callie finds notes that Victoria wrote to herself with tips and tricks for navigating her new world. Inspired by this piece of her grandmother's life, Callie decides to use Victoria's circus prowess to navigate the uncharted waters of public high school.
Across generations, Victoria and Callie embrace the challenges of starting over, letting go, and finding new families in unexpected places.
Mouseheart (Mouseheart, #1)
Lisa Fiedler
The Warriors series meets Redwall in this first book in an epic animal adventure series set in the subway tunnels of Brooklyn.Hopper is just an ordinary pet shop mouse before he escapes. Soon he finds himself below the bustling streets of Brooklyn, deep within the untamed tangles of transit tunnels, and in Atlantia, a glorious utopian rat civilization.But all is not what it seems. Though Hopper is treated as a royal guest, he misses his siblings that he lost in the escape attempt. That, and Atlantia is constantly threatened by the rebels who wish to bring the city to its knees. And there are cats everywhere in Atlantia, cats that leave the citizens unharmed and no one can seem to answer why.Soon, Hopper is caught in the crosshairs of a colossal battle, one that crosses generations and species. As the clashes rage, Hopper learns terrible, extraordinary secrets: Deadly secrets about Atlantia. Painful secrets about his friends.And one powerful secret about his destiny.
Return of the Forgotten (3) (Mouseheart)
Lisa Fiedler
Loyalties are tested and secrets are revealed in this third book of the epic animal adventure series set in the subway tunnels of Brooklyn, ideal for “fans of Erin Hunter, Brian Jaques, and Kathryn Lasky” (School Library Journal).Felina the cat queen may be gone, but the subway tunnels of Atlantia are still dangerous to all rodents who dwell within the twists and turns. Pup and his spider companion Hacklemesh are lurking in the shadows... Hopper is determined to reach out to his brother-gone-bad, to see if he can talk some sense into the young rodent. But then Hope, the youngest of Zucker and Firren’s new litter, goes missing, and all signs point to Pup as culprit. Meanwhile, Firren is rattled not only by the disappearance of her daughter, but a shameful secret from her past that she’s kept hidden for years. A secret that may hold damaging consequences for not only Firren, but all of Atlantia. How can Pup betray his brother like this? What exactly is Firren hiding? And will the tunnels ever be the same again?
Hopper's Destiny (Mouseheart, #2)
Lisa Fiedler
Hopper now knows that he is definitely not an ordinary pet shop mouse. With the underground rat civilization of Atlantia all but destroyed and Titus dethroned, Hopper, Zucker, Firren, and a spattering of Rangers are now working to rebuild. But it's difficult. REALLY difficult. Queen Felina, the evil feral royal, has begun amassing a new band of street cats. And without the sinister 'peace accord' in place, it is open season on the rodents.
Meanwhile, Hopper's siblings are on quests of their own: Pinkie has led a coup and is ruling the Mus with an iron paw, and Pup is no longer the sweet, innocent brother Hopper once knew.
With the support of some new upland allies, including a funky cat named Ace, can Hopper make the tunnels safe again and fulfill a destiny he never imagined?