What kobo.com says:
Orphaned and penniless at the height of the Depression, Jacob Jankowski escapes everything he knows by jumping on a passing train — and inadvertently runs away with the circus. So begins Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen’ s darkly beautiful tale about the characters who inhabit the less-than-greatest show on earth.
Jacob finds a place tending the circus animals, including a seemingly untrainable elephant named Rosie. He also comes to know Marlena, the star of the equestrian act — and wife of August, a charismatic but cruel animal trainer. Caught between his love for Marlena and his need to belong in the crazy family of travelling performers, Jacob is freed only by a murderous secret that will bring the big top down.
Water for Elephants is an enchanting page-turner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. A national bestseller in Canada and a New York Times bestseller in the United States, this is a book destined to become a beloved fiction classic.
What I say: I loved this book. I haven’t seen the movie so I was able to lose myself in the book. I read it on my new kobo Aura which I just love. The story wraps you up in the imagery of being in the circus and what it must’ve been like not only to live a vagabond life but also back in the era of the Depression. The love story is caring and romantic and the bond the characters share with the animals is wonderful. I definitely recommend this one!