The palace of laughter
Jon Berkeley
 Miles Wednesday, an orphan boy who has recently escaped from the cruel Pinchbucket's orphanage, is the only one who witnesses the arrival of the Circus Oscuro in town one night. He is promptly visited by a tiger with the ability to talk; he considers making Miles his next meal, but leaves him alone after he "smells the circus in him". Miles, who has never even been to a circus before in his life, wonders what he could mean. The next evening, Miles sneaks into the circus to find the tiger and watches some of the show from behind the bleachers. He sees a small girl performing acrobatic stunts fall from the top of the tent and tries to catch her. She sprouts wings, however, and flies to safety. Miles' act of bravery results in him being kicked out by the ringmaster's right hand man, Ghengis. Miles stays hidden and sees the acrobat, who calls herself "Little", being tied up and taken back to her wagon when the show ends. Miles introduces himself and tries to steal the keys to rescue her, but is caught by the ringmaster, the Great Cortado. Miles pretends that he is interested in joining the circus and steps outside to prepare a "disappearing act". Angered at being tricked and losing one of his stars, Cortado unleashes a monstrous beast called The Null to chase after Little and Miles. The two children barely escape. Miles takes Little to a friend of his, a widow called Lady Partridge, who lives with her many cats in a treehouse made of her own antiques. Partridge gives them shelter and Little tells her story—she is actually a 400-year old Song Angel who fell from the sky along with her friend Silverpoint, a Storm Angel. After seeing Silverpoint protect Little from a mean clown by shooting lightning bolts at him, the Great Cortado kidnaps and separates the two; he takes Silverpoint to a mysterious place called the Palace of Laughter and forces him to perform there to protect Little. To prove her ability, Little sings Miles' stuffed bear, Tangerine, to life. Miles and Little decide to find the Palace of Laughter and rescue Silverpoint. The two meet many difficulties along the way. Tangerine wanders away from Miles and is taken by Ghengis, leaving Miles heartbroken. Luckily, the tiger appears again, and carries Miles and Little for a good portion of the journey. The tiger, after much pestering from Miles, reveals that the Circus Oscuro did have a tiger once: the tiger, Varippuli, was originally part of the circus of a great man called Barty Fumble, and showed him more loyalty than could ever be fathomed. The circus was always a success, until the year the Circus Oscuro appeared and began stealing the crowds. Barty was expecting his first child and knew he could not afford failure. He made a deal with the Great Cortado to combine the two circuses for the summer and then part ways. All was well until Barty's wife died in labor, leaving him heartbroken. He disappeared with his son, leaving Varippuli to the wrath of the evil Cortado. After attempting to starve Varippuli to make him perform once more, Cortado tried to whip the beast, but it got the better of him. Before Varippuli could deliver the final blow, Cortado found his gun and supposedly killed the tiger. Miles also runs into an old friend of Lady Partridge, an elderly former explorer named Baltinglass of Araby, who eagerly aids them. Just before they can reach the Palace of Laughter, Miles and Little are taken by a violent gang of orphan boys called the Halfheads and caught between the constant rivalry of two other gangs, the Stinkers and Gnats. With the help of Henry, one friendly member of the Halfheads and after the betrayal of String (who holds a grudge against Miles after being replaced by him), Little and Miles reach the Palace of Laughter and find it is nowhere near the pleasant place they expected it to be. The Great Cortado uses a method he has devised with the mysterious Dr. Tau-Tau to make people laugh uncontrollably and steal the laughter and happiness out of their souls. He then sells a drink that can temporarily make them feel themselves again. Cortado plans to spread his influence across the towns and eventually the world. Miles and Little are caught by Silverpoint, who at first pretends to not recognize them to keep them safe. He finally reveals Cortado's plan, and the three are befriended by the clown trio, the Bosillio brothers, who wish to help them. Cortado intends to make Miles and Little sit through the next performance and share the same fate as the other unfortunate spectators, but Miles is able to steal some of the antidote given to the clowns, Cortado and Ghengis before the show. Cortado and Ghengis happen to drink the water Miles replaces it with and now cannot stop laughing senselessly. The police arrive, informed by Lady Partridge and Baltinglass, who were informed by Partridge's cats who in turn were tipped off by the tiger. They lock up Ghengis and Cortado in the local asylum since they can't answer to any accusations after falling victim to their own scheme. String plans to get revenge on Miles by stealing Little and using her ability to fly to make himself the leader of the Stinkers. He finds a room where he believes she is locked up, but instead unleashes the Null. The monster goes on a rampage and Silverpoint is knocked unconscious trying to defeat him. He is about to squeeze Miles to death when Little sings her true name, saving Miles but tying herself to the earth forever. She loses her wings and is rescued from falling by the Bosillio Brothers. The Null is now much more tame and surprisingly affectionate towards Miles, who finds that he cannot let the city council destroy it. The Bosilio Brothers find Tangerine and return him to Miles, revealing that they gave it to him the day he was born. Barty Fumble was Miles' father and they were a part of his circus. Silverpoint returns the Realm of the Angels but is forced to leave Little behind. After one more talk with the enigmatic tiger (who Miles suspects is Varippuli), he promises to find what happened to his father and make Little's life on earth as happy as it was in the heavens.