Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The following information has been taken from the Allen & Unwin website for the book.

Description:

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression.
A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrienne who is married to August, a charismatic but violently unpredictable animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems unmanageable until he discovers an unusual way to reach her.
Water for Elephants is a story that has it all - warmth, humour, poignancy and passion. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin. It is a novel that will win your heart.

The book has also been adapted for film which was released by Flashpoint Entertainment and Fox 2000 Pictures in 2011.

About the Author:

Sara Gruen is a transplanted Canadian who moved to the States in 1999 for a technical writing job. Two years later she got laid off, and instead of looking for another job, she decided to take a gamble on writing fiction full time. Fortunately, the gamble paid off. She made her fiction debut in 2004 with Riding Lessons, followed by Flying Changes . Water for Elephants is her third novel, and her fourth, Ape House, was released across the world toward the end of 2010. Sara lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, four cats, two goats, and a horse in an environmentalist community in North Illinois. Her dream is to spend her life facedown in the ocean, coming up just long enough to eat a piece of fish, write a chapter, and go back in the water.

Author Interviews:

Interview with Juris Jurjevics

Interview with Erin Collazo Miller for About.com Bestsellers

GoodReads interview

Reviews:

Elizabeth Judd Review for New York Times Book Reviews