** spoiler alert ** 
 All right, I can admit it. I am one of those people that read the book because the movie was coming out. 
 Were my expectations high? Meh. I'd say they were fair, but I didn't expect to love the book. 
 End result? 
 I adored it. 
 Truly. 
 Sara Gruen created a world so authentic that I felt like I was in the circus. From the jargon to the acts to the animals to the overall sense of brute hostility and desperation that made up the years following the Depression. Gruen made no bones about it, nor did she soften the blow to make it easier for the readers to take in - the Depression was an ugly era and she put it down on paper. 
 Jacob's character was easily likable from the start. Jacob was lost and in dire need of a life away from the only one he knew that you can't help feel for him. Then, as he grows throughout the book, the audience grows with him. I fell in love with Marlena, just as he did. I fell in love with Rosie, just as he did. I wanted August to pay for his crimes, just as he did. 
 Oh, August. An utterly abominable character. I don't think anyone with a heart can stand the thought of cruelty towards animals, but this was beyond the norm. Reading about all the terrible things he did to Rosie, to the other animals, made me cringe. He didn't have superpowers or fangs - yet he was more of a monster than the average villain. He preyed on the weak and took advantage of the desolate. 
 I think Rosie's ultimate act of killing August was fitting. Jacob and Marlena would have been the easy choices to end his life, but Rosie? Brings about the idea that we don't give animals enough credit for their capabilities. August abused her, and Rosie was smart enough to know it. 
 As the story progressed, I grew to love even more characters: Walter, Camel, Grady, Bobo, Rosemary, Charlie. I particularly loved old Jacob. I wanted to hug him and take him to the circus myself! I think that's why I liked Rosemary and Charlie so much - I was touched when they offered him some solace from the lonesome life he led without Marlena. 
 I could not put this book down. An absolutely fantastic read.