Pantomime, Laura Lam’s debut novel, was a Cybil finalist in the YA speculative fiction category this year. Despite the fact that it features a circus rather prominently (which I tend to avoid), I really enjoyed it. It felt fresh and starred a protagonist with a standout voice.

In order to discuss the book in any meaningful way, I do need to share something about it that some may consider a spoiler. You’ve been warned.

Micah is an intersex teen who was once called Gene (short for Iphigenia, a girl’s name). This information is not given in the official blurb, which paints Micah and Gene as two separate people. This is quite possibly the most deliberately misleading jacket copy I’ve ever read in my entire reading life. It’s not quite a spoiler, though, since this is revealed fairly early on in the story, and the basic point of the story is Micah coming to terms with his body and learning how he self-identifies. (There’s magic, too, which makes it a lot more fun.)

The book flips back and forth between the present day, when Micah is a member of R.H. Ragona’s traveling circus, and the past, when Micah still went by Gene. We learn what prompted Gene to run away to the circus and become Micah – and in so doing, we learn a lot about this place called Ellada, where magic resides in ancient artifacts of monsters long gone. While the immediate story focuses on Micah settling into circus life and learning who he wants to be, the larger mythology involves these artifacts and Micah’s special ability with them. This mythology isn’t overwhelming; it’s more of a tease, really, and there’s a promise of more in-depth examination of it in the sequel.

The circus functions well as a home for outcasts, though Micah still passes himself off as a cisgender boy and fears the other performers discovering his secret. (I’m using male pronouns for Micah as that’s how he describes himself for most of the book.) He must navigate some initial hazing, then the politics of the circus once he’s allowed to become a semi-permanent member. He also has to avoid being found by those looking for him, since his family is rather well-known with quite a bit of money. And there’s some romance, a bit of a love triangle, which is resolved in a surprising way.

What keeps the story moving is the skillful interweaving of Micah’s life at the circus (which has its own conflicts) with his slow realization that the artifacts react to him in a special way – particularly the strange Penglass, a remnant of some ancient civilization. There are multiple conflicts, which keeps interest from lagging, despite some pacing issues: there’s an actual pantomime near the end that is described in excruciating, unnecessary detail.

I wish I could have learned more about the artifacts and the Penglass and the lost civilizations and what they have to do with Micah before the (cliffhanger) ending. Many readers have praised the book’s world-building, but I found the world outside of the circus to be a bit lacking. The circus is delightfully strange and peopled with many shades-of-gray characters; the outside world is sketchier. I’m not quite sure what exactly the artifacts are, in particular the Penglass. And while I know they have something to do with Micah, I really don’t know what. Perhaps we’re meant to be left in the dark, but I found it frustrating.

This is to my knowledge the only traditionally-published YA book featuring an intersex protagonist. (If you know of others, please let me know; I couldn’t find any in a search.) It’s notable for that, but it’s also notable because it’s just a good story. Laura Lam expounded a bit on Micah and her inspiration for the character and his story at this post at Gay YA.