"The Circle That Fits is a tender Bildungsroman that traverses the ligatures between destiny and identity. Daniel is both hungry for his parents' love, and maimed by its yoke-unable to be without them and unable to be free of them. I found myself in Daniel, adroitly told through Kevin Lichty's graceful and sincere prose. Tremendously crushing yet lilting with hope, The Circle That Fits will take you into dark and mystical corners of carny life from the perspective of a boy who allows us to witness exquisite love through the grotesque. This is a novella I didn't know I needed, and one I now can't imagine being without. Lichty has given us an astounding treasure."

"At the heart of Kevin Lichty's The Circle That Fits are two spectacles: the public display of a traveling carnival's thrills and the private drama of a fracturing family's pain, neither of which can exist apart from the other, at least not for our young protagonist. Lichty renders both his worlds with precise, surprising language and an enviably moving surrealism, one grounded always in the rich emotions running through this gripping novella."

"In prose that swerves and surprises like the best carnival ride, The Circle That Fits offers readers intimate access to a young man's life and way of seeing the world. Kevin Lichty evokes otherworldly wonderment even when describing the harshest realities, which in turn makes the novella both heartbreakingly beautiful and beautifully heartbreaking. A stunning debut."

"The haunting story of a family of broken dreamers, the promises they make but cannot keep, and the child that survives them, The Circle That Fits is a beautiful, nuanced novella of longing and belonging. The son of two carnival workers, Daniel spends his childhood in a trailer on the Midway. His experience is limited to the transient, hand-to-mouth grind of a carny. Under the bright lights, to the sound of the calliope, are constant threats and daily cruelties, heightened by moments of tenderness. Merging a coming-of-age story with an unflinching engagement of poverty, homelessness, and the American mythology of the freedom of the open road, The Circle That Fits is a gritty, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful work. It slipped under my skin like a sliver of glass and remains there."

"The Circle That Fits is an achingly beautiful portrait of boyhood, self-creation, and the power of family-the one we are born into, and the one we create for ourselves-to both nurture and haunt. In this world of fireflies, Ferris wheels, and fried dough, in exquisite, masterful prose, Lichty illuminates darkness and discovers grace."