Member Reviews

I had so much fun with this book. It’s told with such earnestness and humanity while occasionally descending into outright farce — it can go from the characters’ exploring what it means to retain their sense of self and purpose after death while losing their connection to their bodies and still-living loved ones, to a diversionary rendition of Modern Major General or kisses bestowed to the mangled neck stump of a lovely but decapitated ghost.

I finished it over a week ago and I’m still thinking about it. It was just so, I don’t know, lovely. The friendship between the main characters. The balance of macabre and silly, heartwarming and sad. The casual but thoughtful inclusion of queerness and sign language use. If I had it in physical form I would have clutched it to my chest on multiple occations.

The narrator was C. S. E. Cooney who did an absolutely fantastic job as usual.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Atthis Arts for the advance listeners' copy.

Both morbid and touching road trip story, where a ghost enlists the help of her ghost mentor and the one human who can see her, all to make it to her brother's wedding that was delayed thanks to her death. It manages to stay lighthearted while addressing heavy topics like grief, family conflicts, racism, and how society treats the homeless population. The ending was good, but I had hopes for something else to happen. Regardless, I had a good time with this one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6619488538

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Check out this review of The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus on Fable. https://fable.co/review/060c42d9-cdb1-4915-a5a1-a900bce63015/share

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Comedic horror is a hard thing to do, and McFall does her best. Creating an entertaining tale, but the juxtaposition of social commentary and horror doesn't quite work, it just feels a little forced. Entertaining, but a little over the top.

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The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus by Alanna McFall is a strange and entertaining journey. It's thoughtful and absurd though it also touches on some very dark topics. Thank you to NetGalley for the an audio arc.

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I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book. While reading, I could not remember the name and kept trying to get others to read “The Ghost Road Trip Book”. It is as intriguing as it sounds. Three women going on a cross country trip, entirely on foot. But the interesting part of their stories is who these women are. There is the main character (Chelsea), who is two years dead and trying to discover what to do when she cannot connect to or influence her loved ones. The second traveler (Carmen) is a much more experienced ghost with a sharp wit, fierce drive to protect those she loves, and a secret. Our third traveler (Cendrika [sp?]) was probably my favorite. A BIPOC, nonspeaking woman who is experiencing houselessness. She slows the pace down because unlike her friends, she needs to eat, sleep, and avoid severe weather. But her mime performances and ability to connect with ghosts along the way really bring the story to life (pun intended).

The tryptic works so well, and I appreciated the grudging start. What speaks to me about this book, and puts it into the ‘read again’ category for me is how well the author encapsulated being homeless. At least in my experience as a white young person. I know for Black homeless individuals the prejudice and pressure to move on is much, much worse. Combine that with a disability and our poor Cendrika is on a struggle bus, but faces it admirably.

I loved the representation in this book! Many of the characters come from cultural backgrounds, and Carmen’s learning of many languages is put to good use. The characters are brilliant, and there are many LGBT+ characters to keep the audience feeling seen. The biggest triggers and themes in this book are loss, grief, isolation, giving into anger, racism, and anti-homeless sentiment. There are depictions of physical violence, references to violent crimes (resulting in death). An animal is injured and the follow out is dealt with extensively.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun read that touches on deeper social issues. If you like to read books for the characters, this is the one for you. If you like the concept of ghosts just hanging out and being ghosts, this one is for you. If you want to just read a chill book about characters exploring a landscape they are not welcome in, this book is also for you. This book is going on my elite “to read again” list.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a nonbiased review.

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I loved this one! What an utterly and absolutely original tale it was... McFall does an incredible job creating characters that are immensely human and relatable, full of foibles and quirks and blind-spots aplenty, and placed them in a universe that is magical realism at its finest. There is so much going on here, and all of it is managed with heart and dignity and an underlying recognition of the importance of family - found and genetic. There is humor and poignancy, desolation and opportunity - and it's all packaged in crisp clever writing that engages while it moves you. The narrator did a phenomenal job capturing all of these disparate elements and presenting them in a three-dimensional way that added to my enjoyment of the story. Alanna McFall is definitely on my to-watch list going forward!

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"The Traveling Triple C Incorporeal Circus" by Alanna McFall is a fiction paranormal book. It's really great!! 5 stars for this one!

The book is interesting and exciting all the way through! The characters are well developed. The plot is fairly simple, but there are many adventures along the way. I loved it and highly recommend it!

Chelsea Shoe is the main character. She needs to get to her brother's wedding in San Francisco. Unfortunately, she is in New York City, and she is a ghost, so she can only get there by walking. She has a mentor named Carmen who offers to go with her. Then there is Cyndrika. She's a mute mime who can communicate effectively with ghosts. She decides to go with them. The book is character driven but has plenty of interesting things happen on their journey.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 3/5
Pacing - 5/5
Unputdownability - 5/5
Enjoyment - 5/5
Narration - 5/5
Cover - 4/5
Overall - 37/8 = 4 5/8 -> 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Atthis Arts, and Alanna McFall for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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I think stories from the ghost perspective are the exception and not the rule, and these are not evil or malevolent ghosts. They're just people who have died, floating around in the afterlife and trying to get by. I thought the entire concept of this book was beautiful.

It takes you on both a physical and an emotional journey where two ghosts and a mute mime make the trek from New York to California. Along the way, they meet both beautiful souls (living and dead) and awful ones (again, living and dead).

But, really this is a book about self-discovery and unfinished business. I loved it.

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The Traveling Triple C Incorporeal Circus by Alana McFall when the book starts we meet Chelsea show who is on her way home to her girlfriend/secret fiancé after work. As she’s going to catch the train she has an accident and passes away. Fast-forward it’s two years later in the second anniversary of her death we see Chelsea again hanging out at her grave watching her loved ones come to visit. Her best friend Carmen Gutierrez has been dead for over 40 years and wouldn’t like knowing that Chelsea is at her grave grieving her death. Carmen does her best to keep Chelsea from becoming a whaler and that is a ghost that walks around crying and wailing all the time.
Cedric ja Jones is a mime in Central Park and the only human friend Carmen and Chelsea have along with a lot of other ghosts and that is because Cedricka is the only one who can see them. She is also nonverbal so most ghost learn sign language and help her with her act well everyone except for Chelsea because she is way too shy for that. When Chelsea tells Carmen she wants to go to San Francisco to her brothers wedding Carmen is skeptical because it thinks it’s a bad idea for a spirit to focus on the life they had before dying but because Chelsea keeps the real reason she wants to go to her self Carmen agrees and so does Cedricka The only issue is they’ll have to walk because ghost cannot ride in cars nor can they transport across town in seconds the only way they can get from point a to point B is by gliding or walking rather. So off they go to San Francisco they will run in to a Madam find a pet name her Charlie visit a real ghost house see a melting man and run into the worst kind of ghost up bunch of poltergeist, They even run in to other humans that can see ghosts but will they make it to San Francisco? Not to mention what will Carmen say when she finds out the main reason Chelsea wants to go to the wedding? When this book 1st started I thought it was going to be boring but around chapter 3 or four it started taking a long and with a great storyline and lots of LOL moments I truly and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I listen to the audio version and thought the narrator didn’t awesome job. I really don’t know how else to describe this book except that along the way they meet other people get into adventures rob a veterinarian and much much more it really is a funny funny book I want to thank the publisher for my free ARC copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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This was a kind of friends road trip book, and it was charming, but it also had some deeper messages about friendship and the rules we make for ourselves in life. The main character seemed younger than 27, but she didn't have a lot of life experience before she died in a tragic and pointless accident. She still thinks about and cares for her family, and her friends (including a real live one!) help her go to her brother's wedding.
This story is not heavy on plot, but if you enjoy quirky people having adventures, you might enjoy this a lot. The narrator is great, and brings the fun in at the right times. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook.

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This is a charming journey! Chelsea, a ghost, walks (because ghosts can't fly or drive, obviously) from New York City to San Fransisco with her ghost friend Carmen and human mime friend Cyndricka (hence the triple-C) to attend her brother's wedding. Along the way the travelling companions have adventures (and misadventures) and bond as they meet others on the road. The writing is very accessible and light (despite the subject matter), and this reads a bit like a cozy road trip novel, punctuated with heartwarming moments, slight tension, and humour.

The characters are detailed and diverse, and the paranormal elements make sense (but don't examine those too closely). I listened to the audiobook, and thought the narrator did a good job portraying all the characters, including using a different voice for the sign language parts of the dialogue. This is first and foremost a story about friendship, as well as love and loss, and I enjoyed following our characters across the country.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atthis Arts for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I’ve read a lot of paranormal/ fantasy books but I’ve certainly never read anything like this before!
We join Chelsea 2 years after she has died and is a ghost spending her time in NYC.
She’s unable to communicate with her family but is able to with the other ghosts haunting the city. Chelsea is also friends with a mute, mime lady who frequents Central Park and eventually this leads to a treck across America to reach San Francisco for a family wedding.
A tale of loss, love and family it also made me laugh and smile at times.
Lagged a bit in the middle but over all enjoyable.
Great narrator

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a really odd story about two ghosts & a mute mime travelling across the country for a wedding. story seemed to have no rhyme or reason for its events, but was still kind of fun? idk.

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