I'm really late on this but I just finished the book yesterday. A great selection. At first, I wasn't really interested in reading it because I'm not a big circus fan but I'm so glad I did.
Jacob is such an inspiring character. He begins his "adventure" in the aftermath of such a horrible tragedy (the death of his parents and loss of his family practice) and begins his life without knowing where to go. But his spirit for life is really to be celebrated.
Young, sheltered Jacob could have just gave up on life and wallowed in his sorrow. After all, no one could really blame him. Many Americans found themselves destitute during the Great Depression as well. For a moment, I thought that was exactly what he intended to do when he ran away. However, once he reached the circus he really seemed determined to work hard and find his way through this new world. In the end, it gains him the greatest experience of his life- memories that he is able to relish in til 90 or 93 years of age. Plus he found his new family.
I thought the ending was fantastic. It seemed to completely mirror the beginning of the whole story. Old Jacob finds himself all alone in the world and completely sad. Once again, he runs away to the circus and finds "family." I thought it provided some nice closure. I would have been so sad if the author had Jacob die in the end so I'm thrilled to see him still living on.