The Circus of Stolen Dreams by Lorelei Savaryn (review)

Three years ago, Andrea's little brother disappeared. Now Andrea stumbles upon Reverie, a circus in the forest for kids in difficult situations, and she surrenders the memory of the night her brother disappeared as her entrance fee to gorge on endless treats and enter tents with interactive dreams where she can fly, sail on a pirate ship, or feel the haunted-house rush of surviving a nightmare. The longer Andrea stays, however, the more suspicious she is of the kids in old-fashioned clothing and the intentions of the Sandman, the ringleader, who hides the fact that Andrea's brother has been in Reverie for the last three years—but there's no easy way to escape, even if Andrea can convince the other kids they've been trapped for centuries. Unfortunately, this novel is bogged down by logical inconsistencies: in forgetting the night of Francis' disappearance, for instance, Andrea forgets entirely that he hasn't been there the last three years with only a throwaway comment as explanation, and at the end all the kids are returned to their own times at their current ages, but twelve-year-old Andrea regresses to being nine. Still, kids who have experienced a deep loss at a young age may empathize with Andrea and wish for a positive outlet of their own.