Learning the Ropes

By Monique Polak

Mandy dreams of a career in the circus, working as an aerialist who specializes in rope climbing. When she is accepted into the prestigious Montreal Circus College summer program, she feels that she is finally on her way to fulfilling her dreams. At circus camp she is befriended—and challenged—by young circus performers from around the world. Circus camp turns out to be a magical combination of work and play, but when a veteran aerialist is killed in a fall, Mandy must confront the reality of circus life

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: May 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781459804531

Monique Polak

Monique Polak is the author of more than thirty books for young people. She is the three-time winner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and YA Literature for her novels Hate Mail, What World is Left and Room for One More. In addition to teaching at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Maclean's Magazine, the Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers. She is also a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada's Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! In 2016, Monique was the CBC/Quebec Writers' Federation inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique lives in Montreal.

Reviews for Learning the Ropes

[enamoredsoul_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Learning the Ropes is an interesting read, however, for me it failed to really spark my interest. Despite the author doing a good job describing the circus, and the challenges being in the circus can bring - which includes some unhealthy competition, the book mostly fell flat for me. I think this book would be much more appreciated by a youngster, in middle school, perhaps fascinated by aerialists, or the circus. For me, it did not have enough substance, but was an enjoyable enough read.

[sdmtngirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Working in a library I am always asked for suggestions of a good tale to be told. Learning the Ropes has its issues but provides a young adult a good glimpse of the challenges of circus performing. The character development could use some work, the dialogue could be punched up a bit but overall it was a quick read and enjoyable.

[smits_52 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As an older person, I am not sure I am the best to review a book meant for young people . However, I still can recognize a good read when I read it. I think this book has all the elements of a good story. It is well written and interesting. I enjoyed so much learning a bit about circus acts especially aerial / rope. I have seen a few Cirque shows and they are totally amazing to watch. I am sure scores of young people would enjoy this inside track into what it is like to learn to be in the circus.

[rjlouise · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was a nice, quick read. It's written in first person present, which is not my favorite style of writing, so that's part of why I only gave it three stars. Also, it feels like the main character concentrates on differences more than on people and that makes it really hard to sympathize with her. She's so busy pushing people into boxes, you almost long for a different perspective. The circus aspects are not well explained for the lay-person, either. However, the book contains a lot of good lessons about generosity and kindness and hurt in a fairly short period of time. It's good, but it doesn't quite make it to great.B- (good lessons, quick read; unsatisfying character interactions, poorly explained terminology)

[janarose1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mandy had dreamed of becoming a circus aerialist and specializing in rope climbing. She is accepted in the Montreal Circus College summer program, where she is thrown in with other circus hopefuls. This was a short and quick book. It will be very appealing to teenagers and pre-teens. Overall, an easy read.

[deathsmistress · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good, short read. I finished it in a couple hours and enjoyed it. I kind of wanted more, and wanted to hear more about the girls' friendship. Fun if you like Cirques or like learning about how the performers do their acts.

[gengenbookblog · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I got Learning The Ropes through LibraryThing and I have to admit, I was engrossed by the cover but not so much the synopsis. Everyone knows that if I am going to read a book, it better have a romance and this book doesn't have romance so I thought "I might not enjoy this." Well, let me tell you that I was completely wrong! I really enjoyed reading this story so much. It is very short and light and definitely taught me a few things that I will not be trying or I will end up in a wheelchair for life.The story starts with Mandy, a rope climber, at an airport about to leave for Montreal Circus College's Summer Circus Camp. Each year, only twenty-five teenagers from around the world are accepted into this prestigious program. Mandy needs to stand out in order to get into MCC because only the best go to the summer camp.Of course, in camps like this one, there will be rivals and in this case, Genevieve, an aerialist, is against Mandy. Why? Because only one of them will get into Montreal Circus College.What I really, really liked about this story was the way it was written and how direct Monique was. I loved that I could see everything in my mind so vividly and I felt as if I was a part of the story. You see, normally when there's a book that involves ballet or these difficult techniques, it is very hard for someone to picture them unless the reader has participated in doing some of the techniques. I have only been in gymnastics and that was a long time ago (when I had MySpace...loooong time ago, I tell you) so I don't really remember much.Monique described everything on point and everything was so understandable. I felt like I was watching everything from the stands, as if I was really in the public watching everything unfold. Now that, has never happened to me before, to the point where I could understand and imagine it.This book is for ages 11-14 but I honestly think everyone can read it and enjoy it :)

[squeex_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

YA fiction can be for anyone. Even though the main characters are young, the premise of the story and what the characters go through can grip the reader no matter the age. That's this book to a T. Mandy is teen and has dreamed of being a performer in the circus pretty much her whole life. She gets her chance to go to Circus Camp at the prestigious Montreal Circus College for two weeks one summer. It's a chance to shine and perhaps get selected to actually attend Circus college one day.The book is what it's like to be a teen. There is competition, self-doubt, friendship, jealousy, back-biting, how to work hard, when to listen...it's all here. In a circus atmosphere. The book moves quickly in all that it takes place in a two week timeframe. I enjoyed it and I know many other readers will too. I look forward to finding more books by the author (this # 17 she's written).Definite recommend.

[cottongirl7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Learning the Ropes was a very easy read. However, that isn't always a good thing. I felt like this book was just missing on every level for me. The characters were shallow and underdeveloped, the story line seemed to have little arc and I just didn't get a feeling of liking or even disliking the characters. At only a 158 pages I suppose you have to stay on the surface of the story, but I felt like this was a book that had so many possibilities that were never explored. When you think of the circus, you think excitement, hard work, bright lights and amazing people. This book left me feeling underwhelmed and a bit bored. I think there is a story to be written in this book, but it needed a bit more flushing out.

[anyanwubutler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mandy flies from Vancouver to Montreal to attend a two-week circus camp at the Montreal Circus College. Mandy is an aerialist. She climbs rope. “There will probably only be a spot at the Montreal Circus College for one aerialist. And it had better be me.” (6) This is the only YA book I’ve read about a teen wanting to be in a modern circus, but it's not an entirely entrancing novel. Received from publisher Orca Book & Library Thing in return for a review 1/15/15, finished 1/21/15.