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Show Stopper
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
10 posts | 6 read | 2 reading | 25 to read
Set in a near-future England where the poorest people in the land must watch their children be taken by a travelling circus - to perform at the mercy of hungry lions, sabotaged high wires and a demonic ringmaster. The ruling class visit the circus as an escape from their structured, high-achieving lives - pure entertainment with a bloodthirsty edge. Ben, the teenage son of a draconian government minister, visits the circus for the first time and falls instantly in love with Hoshiko, a young performer. They come from harshly different worlds - but must join together to escape the circus and put an end to its brutal sport.
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review
readingjedi
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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Mehso-so

Aims for a Hunger Games vibe, thematically & stylistically, but misses. The premise is intriguing no doubt but this is noticeably YA - my much repeated mantra is 'the best YA transcends the genre', i.e. you can't tell it's YA (Mr Pullman's oeuvre being a prime example.) I found this, as an adult, childish at times. The non-stop action makes it a fairly compelling read but I remained unconvinced. Continued in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

readingjedi The dystopian world seems too simplistic, too black and white, the villain too cartoonish with no nuance and little depth. Did not buy the Insta-love of the 2 MCs either. 4y
readingjedi It's interesting to compare the 'evil' mother in this novel to Mrs Coulter from Pullman's His Dark Materials. 4y
69 likes2 comments
blurb
readingjedi
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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Up next ... Show Stopper! What an utterly gorgeous cover! I have this on Kindle & it's at times like these I can see the downside of e-books. That said, experience has taught me that the more attractive the cover, the less likely the contents are to enthrall me. Time will tell with this one....

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick They had me at circus. 4y
64 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Crash
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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I've been AWOL but I'm back. Enjoying a perfect day by sitting at the beach, an empty one, reading and enjoying the view.

imabusybee Welcome back 6y
17 likes1 comment
review
LittleRedReadingHood
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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Pickpick

By far one of the most amazing, heart-wrenching books I have read for a long time. I finished it within two days, it was that good. I wouldn't definitely read this one over and over again!

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LittleRedReadingHood
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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"Sabotaged high wires, ravenous lions, a demonic ringmaster. A circus without a safety net."

Just starting this book as I am obsessed with everything circus related. I feel like this book might touch on the dark sides of being in the circus, but I willing to give it a try. What are you all reading right now? #reader #read #books #books #bookworm #lazyday #reading

2 likes1 stack add
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
Mehso-so

Great cover, but the book itself was only so-so. I‘m not a fan of insta-love and the ending was a bit weak compared to the rest of the book. Disappointing. Rating: 3/5.

review
IReadThereforeIBlog
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
Panpan

Hayley Barker's debut YA dystopian novel is a blunt polemic with an unconvincing vision of the future (where the technology is not much more developed than our own) and which suffers from two-dimensional lead characters whose inevitable romance is not earned while the plot hits every dystopia cliché.

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ScorpioBookDreams
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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#bookmail part 2

TrishB Like the look (and sound) of that! 7y
Reviewsbylola Beautiful cover! 7y
Kalalalatja That cover 😍 7y
princess_dennie_pants Gorgeous cover 7y
charissharpe What an awesome cover design 😍 7y
73 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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5Keels5
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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New book day yay!!! Had a voucher and decided on this, kinda like the cover as well #newbook #shinybook #bookvoucher #birthdaypresent #bookcollector #newreads #bibliophile #booknerd #litstagram #bookmarktoo

review
pardonmywritings
Show Stopper | Hayley Barker
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Pickpick

The deadliest circus in the world. And I don't say that lightly. Show Stopper is a world that imagines the extreme reality of racism and class wars. And all in a Young Adult book! Ben, the son of a powerful government minister is enthralled by a Dreg tightrope walker Hoshiko's performance but when tensions rise between both classes, they must decide what matters most.

I loved Hoshiko's stern character and Ben's disenchantment from all the lies.

sarahlostbutfound I really want to read this now! 7y
pardonmywritings @sarahlostbutfound yay I hope you do! (edited) 7y
pardonmywritings @Madamereadsalot I hope you enjoy it 7y
See All 16 Comments
shelovestoread That cover is so pretttt 7y
sarahlostbutfound @pardonmywritings just ordered the book 7y
pardonmywritings @shelovestoread it's one of my faves 7y
bycjfairhart This cover is magnificent 😍 I've wishlisted this, weeee ! 7y
kingdomofbookss Gosh the cover💞 7y
hadiareadsalot Omg. It sounds amazing! 😍 7y
hadiareadsalot And I think it might be the book in a July book box I'm subscribed to. Yaay 7y
pardonmywritings Aww that would be epic @hadiareadsalot 7y
LauraShelby Omg I need this book it looks amazing😊 did you enjoy it? 7y
55 likes10 stack adds16 comments