FAMILY FORTUNA

Lindsay Eagar is the highly acclaimed author of the middle-grade novels Hour of the Bees, Race to the Bottom of the Sea, The Bigfoot Files, and The Patron Thief of Bread. The Family Fortuna is her debut novel for young adults. She lives in the mountains of Utah with her husband and their two daughters.

A richly compelling story about sympathetic, queer, and remarkable carny folks that consistently delivers earnest and heartfelt camp. Eager’s punchy, funny prose never falters, and Avita’s relatable development–sexual and otherwise–alongside her siblings’ pursuit of some semblance of independence from the large, looming figure of their father cleverly reshapes concepts of beauty, seduction, and coming-of-age. Readers will want to grab tickets to this thoughtful, provocative read.
–The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Eagar (The Patron Thief of Bread) presents a resplendent family saga set against the backdrop of a traveling circus. . . . By combining a beguiling premise with sinister ambiance, complex characterizations, and arresting, literary-leaning language, Eagar presents an absorbing read that examines the effect of familial pressures and conflict on one’s mental health and self-perception.
–Publishers Weekly

In her YA debut, Eagar (The Patron Thief of Bread, 2022) conjures up a fantastical historical novel featuring the Family Fortuna traveling circus, famed “from Texas to Tacoma. . . . Rich language envelops the reader in layers of sensory detail. At times nearly poetic, it can also be crass, anachronistic, and even funny.
–Booklist

1. Describe the Family Fortuna circus, including its appearance and different acts. Where do they perform, and how do they travel? Who comes to see them? Why is the circus called the Family Fortuna? Why is that also the book’s title? Discuss Avita’s description of the circus members as “trafficking in dreams” (page 90) and Arturo’s insistence that the performers be mirrors. How important is the circus as a setting to the novel?
2. Early in the story, Avita loves performing. She calls showtime “the best time” (page 9). On the way to Peculiar, she reviews “the catalog of screams” she’s heard and remembers “the anticipation of thrilling a crowd” (page 132). Why does she enjoy performing? Why does she look forward to the audience being afraid of her?
3. Why does Avita crave her father’s approval? In what ways are she and her father similar? In what ways are they different? How does her attitude toward and feelings about her father change in the course of the story?
4. What is Luna’s role in the circus? Describe when she started performing and why her father was so pleased about it. Why is Luna happy about being pregnant? Discuss the scene where Arturo says, “You’re a whore,” and Luna thinks, “He has turned me into this thing that he now finds reason to despise” (page 305). What do you think about the way he has treated her?
5. Discuss different aspects of the book’s narrative, including the use of long flashbacks in chapters labeled “A History.” Why do you think the author uses first-person voices? Why is Avita’s the main voice? Who else narrates chapters, and what does having different narrators add? Why do you think the book closes with Arturo speaking?
6. The novel uses figurative language, some of which might be termed colorful or coarse, such as “red as a clown’s pubic hair” (page 78) and “silent as the moment right before a good piss” (page 76). Find some striking examples of figurative language and analyze what they add to the narrative, the sense of character and setting, and the overall feel of the story.