Cirque Du Freak

Why do so many kids love scary books? This is beyond my comprehension. Let's just set aside rationale and accept that this is true.

Cirque du Freak (at least book one) is a book that will (1) meet the need for a scary book and (2) not horrify grownups who worry about children reading things that cause permanent damage.

Got that? On the Scare-o-meter, Cirque falls into Scary but not quite Horrifying.