Captured by the Klujns, a barbaric, humanoid species with strange abilities, 16-year-old Ava is forced to participate in the Blood Race, a macabre tradition where young human hostages compete to the death for Klujn amusement, until she makes a startling discovery. - (Baker & Taylor)

In this lush and terrifying debut—perfect for readers of The Hunger Games and Children of Blood and Bone—Camila Victoire draws upon her own experience in a traveling circus to create a future where cruelty and spectacle hold the keys to subjugating humans on a ravaged earth.

At the end of the twenty-first century, climate change and famine almost ended humanity—until the discovery of the Klujns, a barbaric, humanoid species with strangely colored eyes and even stranger abilities. Their crystal claws and bones fertilize barren soil, and their tender meat is a super-protein. Klujns are both humans’ saviors and natural-born enemies, meant to be hunted and used.

When sixteen-year-old Ava finds herself on the wrong side of a military fence erected to protect the North American Territory, she’s captured by Klujns and made to participate in the Blood Race, a macabre tradition where young human hostages compete to the death for Klujn amusement. At first, she is terrified, but as Ava observes Klujn behavior that contradicts what she’s learned, she begins to wonder: Are Klujns as different as she was led to believe? And, as she fights for her life, does it matter?

Inspired by the dark, bohemian influence of the circus she traveled with for four years, Camila Victoire delivers a twisted coming-of-age tale that combines elements of fantasy, magical realism, and suspense. Blood Circus will capture fans of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. Its masterful worldbuilding, plot twists, and boundary-pushing Blood Race are wholly immersive—and compel readers to call their own long-held assumptions, values, and belief systems into question.

Booklist Reviews

Ava, 16 and curious, finds herself in a world of trouble when she decides to escape a fence protecting North America's territory from the Klujns, a group of evil spirits. The species, meant to be the downfall of humanity, controls their currently hostile environment (and the people who inhabit it). Ava's escape is short-lived; the Klujns immediately catch her and decide she will participate in a Blood Race, where teens battle to death to appease and entertain the Klujns. While the book follows the Games with an intensity that will keep readers invested, it's Ava who carries the story, as readers will find themselves trying to understand her feelings about her situation, the reality of the Klujns control, and her battles with her inner demons. Readers missing The Hunger Games and Divergent series will be satisfied by this magnetic dystopia that's packed with dramatic storytelling and apocalyptic elements. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.