Books With a Ferris Wheel on the Cover

I start noticing a pattern. I start saving the covers. I research a little. Bingo! Enough of a pattern for a post! Dead Ferris wheels with creepy atmosphere are popular for dystopian book covers right now! There is something for everyone here–dystopian, steampunk, romance, mystery, nonfiction–even two children’s books! Note: I’ve only read one of these–my review is linked.

Thanks to blogger Lydia Schoch for this one! Click the link to read her review.

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. My review is here.

Now doesn’t he look fun?

“Aimee Anderson is ten when the traveling carnival first comes to her nice little town. She doesn’t expect her world to change so completely. But meeting Kestrel Donohue puts her life on a different path.

Even though she only sees him for the two weeks of the year when he passes through her home town, his friendship is the most important of her life. As a child’s friendship grows to adult love, the choices become harder, and both Kes and Aimee realize that two weeks a year will never be enough…”

The Traveling Man by Jane Harvey-Berrick

“Gr 4–6—Quirky Star Mackie, who lives in a trailer park and has blue hair, desperately wants to make some friends in her new town. She decides that starting a poetry club is the perfect vehicle. Unfortunately, there aren’t many other 10-year-olds as enamored with Emily Dickinson as she is. The only other kids who will join her club are a couple of boys in detention and a brother/sister team. Star has many dreams—she longs to meet her father, hopes her beloved big sister, who is coping with an unexpected pregnancy, will be happy again and wishes most of all for a true friend.” (School Library Journal via Amazon).

Hope is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera

“The Gillespie County Fair, the oldest fair in Texas, looms insistently over the shoulder of Marc Hess’s new novel. As rampant land development and tourist money begin to transform the old German farming community of Fredericksburg, two intermarried pioneer families lock in a life-and-death struggle over the sale of their homestead. Their vicious feud—in an otherwise harmonious and bucolic community—leads to the demise of two pioneer families and culminates in the triumph of one hard-headed, young girl.” (Amazon).

The Gillespie County Fair: A Novel by Marc Hess

Finally, the story of America’s regional theme parks. Everybody knows pretty much everything about Disneyland—how it got started, how the Imagineers do their thing, and so on. But nobody ever talks about the parks that most of us across the country enjoy far more often. Regional theme parks, different from amusement parks, owe their existence to the magical land Walt built in Anaheim…..Imagineering an American Dreamscape tells the story of the regionals and the strong-willed individuals behind them—where they came from, how they got started, and how they’ve changed over the decades.

Imagineering an American Dreamscape by Barry R. Hill

“THE GIRL ON THE MIDWAY STAGE is unforgettable historical fiction steeped in authentic Victorian detail and an exotic love story that will sweep you up in Dora’s struggle to adapt to her changing world and forge her unique happily-ever-after….This is the debut novel from DeAnna Cameron and is a richly imagined, romantic historical novel that was formerly published as THE BELLY DANCER by Berkley/Penguin.” (Amazon).

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A less racy entry also set at the Chicago World’s Fair–yes, there IS a Ferris Wheel! Look Closely! I’m only including this one due to the coincidence of two very different books at the same Fair.

“Gambling everything—including the family farm—Cullen McNamara travels to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with his most recent invention. But the noise in the fair’s Machinery Hall makes it impossible to communicate with potential buyers. In an act of desperation, he hires Della Wentworth, a teacher of the deaf, to tutor him in the art of lip-reading. The young teacher is reluctant to participate, and Cullen has trouble keeping his mind on his lessons while intently watching her lips. Like the newly invented Ferris wheel, he is caught in a whirl between his girl back home, his dreams as an inventor, and his unexpected attraction to his new tutor. Can he keep his feet on the ground, or will he be carried away?”

It Happened At the Fair by Deeanne Gist

“Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where “Fun is Guaranteed!” But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares. How could a group of survivors, mostly teenagers, commit such terrible acts?” (Amazon).

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

“In the first book of Michael Buckley’s Undertow trilogy, the Alpha arrived and the world was never the same. At the start of the second book, most of south Brooklyn is in ruins from a massive tidal wave, and the nation is terrified. Nearly everyone that Lyric Walker loves is either missing or presumed dead, including the mesmerizing prince Fathom. It’s up to Lyric to unite the Alpha before the second wave of a cataclysmic invasion wipes out mankind for good. And a new nightmare is approaching…” (Amazon)

Raging Sea by Michael Buckly

Steampunk does interest me–maybe this will be my year to read it? This is an anthology so maybe I could try it as some of my short story reading, if it isn’t too weirdly dystopian or too fantastical. Hmmmmm.

Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . . (Amazon)

CarniePunk by multiple authors

How about a children’s mystery series with a Ferris Wheel cover?

The Boxcar Children: The Amusement Park Mystery

Need more?

 Click and read Kristen’s Cover Characteristics: Book Covers Featuring Ferris Wheels with even more covers!