Cirque Du Freak

1. Cirque Du Freak Author: Darren Shan Date published: 2003 Type of book: Fiction Report by Johnell Nemons II October 31, 2011 Ms. Brown Per 4

2. The Setting Cirque Du Freak is a series of books. This is the first book of twelve. The author takes us back to the year of 1995. The author keeps the setting mysterious. What we do know is the story takes place in one of the four islands in Japan. Most of the story takes place in the main character’s house. The two-story midnight blue house has two doors, five windows and is in the suburbs.

3. Characters • Darren is the main character of the book. His hair brown-black is combed down over his forehead and stops right his eyes. The novel does not tell how tall, but the pictures in the book shows he is average height and Darren is a fifth grader who is loves spiders. • Steve is the main character’s best friend. His hair is blonde all around his really isn't blonde it is natural brown. Steve is in the fifth grade also and knows a lot about vampires. • Annie is Darren’s younger sister. Her hair is always in pig tails and is blonde. Also she is in love with playing with her big brother. • Mr. Cresply is a vampire, but only Steve knows this information because he saw his face in the comic book he read. His hair is a little orange with brown in it. Later on in the novel, Darren will become Mr. Cresply’s slave. Mr. Cresply is always wearing a red captain's suit for his performance in the circus.

4. The Plot – The Problem The plot tells us of Darren and Steve going to the circus to see the show. Steve discovers Mr. Crespsly in the circus and he realizes he is the same Mr. Vur Horston in the comic book he reads. Because Steve loves vampires, he wants Mr. Crespsly to bite him and become a vampire. When the vampire bites Steve, he says that he is evil and decides not to suck his blood. Darren is Steve’s best friend and wants his friend to be happy and decides to steal Mr. Crespsly’ spider. This is revenge on Mr. Crespsly.

5. The Plot – The Resolution Darren enjoyed having Mr. Crepsly's spider. He even taught it tricks and how to dance when he played his flute. After having the spider for two weeks, he builds confidence to invite Steve over to tell him about the spider. Mr. Crepsley finds Darren’s home to get his spider back and now he wants revenge on Darren. When the spider bites Steve, Mr. Crepsley agrees to save Steve’s life, but Darren must now become a vampire’s assistant. After a few hours, Darren finally agrees to become an assistant to save his best friend Steve.

6. My Opinion Wow! What a great book! It was fascinating, adventurous, and mysterious. I thought the book was filled with love, friendship and compassion.

7. About Darren Shan • Born July 2, 1972 and raised in London, England. • He attended college in New York. • He has written a serious of Cirque Du Freaks novels. • He is a real life arachnid. • His real name is Darren O’Shaughnessy.

8. Test Time • 1. How does Darren take Mr. Crepsley spider? • 2. What do you call people who have a love for spiders? • 3. What is the setting of the story? • 4. What are the ages of the main characters? • 5. When were freak shows banned.

9. Summary Cirque Du Freak is a great story between two boys who are best friends. They both have different things they enjoy and one of them is the circus. The story tells us of their adventure to the circus and what they discover while they are there. One friend tries to save the other’s life and during this his life is changed forever.