The Bonaventure Adventures

A middle-grade novel for fans of boarding school stories--with a dash of The Mysterious Benedict Society and a splash of Circus Mirandus!

Sebastian Konstantinov comes from a long line of talented circus performers. Somehow, however, he has not inherited any of their acrobatic skill: he has no balance, he's afraid of heights, he can't even turn a somersault. But there's one thing he does know: his father's circus, which travels through Eastern Europe, is out of date and is fast running out of money.

Seb has a solution, though: if he can somehow get into the Bonaventure Circus School in Montreal, Canada, he might be able to learn something valuable to help his father. Seb secretly writes to the Directrice (an old friend of his father's) and is accepted into the school. All he has to do is convince his father to send him away -- oh, and keep his lack of talent a secret from all his teachers and classmates. Fortunately for him, he befriends two other students, who also don't seem to quite fit in.

Seb is not the only one with secrets, it turns out. The school is literally crumbling beneath the feet of its students, and the directrice may be counting on Seb's "talent" to save the day. Can he and his new friends figure out what's really going on in the school that bills itself as the World's Best Circus School?
© Claudette Carracedo
RACHELLE DELANEY is the author of several middle-grade novels, including The Metro Dogs of Moscow, which was a CLA Book of the Year Honor Book, as well as a finalist for the Silver Birch Award and the Red Cedar Award, among others. Its sequel, The Circus Dogs of Prague, was shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award. The Bonaventure Adventures won BC's Chocolate Lily Award in 2019, and Clara Voyant was a Chocolate Lily Award nominee. Her most recent book The Big Sting was shortlisted for the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Book Award. Visit her at www.rachelledelaney.com. View titles by Rachelle Delaney
  • WINNER | 2019
    Chocolate Lily Award
  • NOMINEE | 2018
    Diamond Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2018
    Chocolate Lily Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2018
    Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
One of CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2017)


PRAISE FOR The Bonaventure Adventures:


"The Bonaventure Adventures is likely to be the most fun readers will have in 2017." --CM Magazine

"Heartwarming and hilarious. . . . With vibrant circus imagery and a story that is sure to capture the imagination of readers, The Bonaventure Adventures would make an excellent choice for a classroom read-aloud." --Canadian Children’s Book News

About

A middle-grade novel for fans of boarding school stories--with a dash of The Mysterious Benedict Society and a splash of Circus Mirandus!

Sebastian Konstantinov comes from a long line of talented circus performers. Somehow, however, he has not inherited any of their acrobatic skill: he has no balance, he's afraid of heights, he can't even turn a somersault. But there's one thing he does know: his father's circus, which travels through Eastern Europe, is out of date and is fast running out of money.

Seb has a solution, though: if he can somehow get into the Bonaventure Circus School in Montreal, Canada, he might be able to learn something valuable to help his father. Seb secretly writes to the Directrice (an old friend of his father's) and is accepted into the school. All he has to do is convince his father to send him away -- oh, and keep his lack of talent a secret from all his teachers and classmates. Fortunately for him, he befriends two other students, who also don't seem to quite fit in.

Seb is not the only one with secrets, it turns out. The school is literally crumbling beneath the feet of its students, and the directrice may be counting on Seb's "talent" to save the day. Can he and his new friends figure out what's really going on in the school that bills itself as the World's Best Circus School?

Author

© Claudette Carracedo
RACHELLE DELANEY is the author of several middle-grade novels, including The Metro Dogs of Moscow, which was a CLA Book of the Year Honor Book, as well as a finalist for the Silver Birch Award and the Red Cedar Award, among others. Its sequel, The Circus Dogs of Prague, was shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award. The Bonaventure Adventures won BC's Chocolate Lily Award in 2019, and Clara Voyant was a Chocolate Lily Award nominee. Her most recent book The Big Sting was shortlisted for the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Book Award. Visit her at www.rachelledelaney.com. View titles by Rachelle Delaney

Awards

  • WINNER | 2019
    Chocolate Lily Award
  • NOMINEE | 2018
    Diamond Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2018
    Chocolate Lily Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2018
    Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award

Praise

One of CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2017)


PRAISE FOR The Bonaventure Adventures:


"The Bonaventure Adventures is likely to be the most fun readers will have in 2017." --CM Magazine

"Heartwarming and hilarious. . . . With vibrant circus imagery and a story that is sure to capture the imagination of readers, The Bonaventure Adventures would make an excellent choice for a classroom read-aloud." --Canadian Children’s Book News

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