This is the first book by Sara Gruen I had the pleasure to read. I have to commend her on a very telling piece. Plus I like the circus. Who doesn't like the circus? Okay, you may say something about animal cruelty, but if anyone allows themselves to forget about it and just watch the illusion of any circus, most humans would find it amazing right?

Anyway, I'm going off topic. The book, the book. Yes, Water for Elephants. It was a good book in my opinion. Sara Gruen does a good job vacillating between the present and past. The love story is beautiful and the genuine love Jacob has for Marlena is unrefuted. The setting of a Depression era America is so beautifully described I could feel the desperation of the times with each flip of the page.

I just didn't like the ending. Who would believe a random circus guy would take in a handicapped senior citizen? I thought my book had missing pages at the end.

Otherwise, I recommend this book. Now I have to read her other books. And I have to check out the movie. I am such a consumer...