Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I might. It tells two intertwined stories: that of a young boy who runs away with the circus after his parents' death in a car accident, and that of an old man struggling to come to terms with the nursing home his children have chosen for him and his own aging body. Despite the fact that the young boy and the old man are the same character, and that you see a version of the climactic scene early in the book, the plot still contains many surprises. I particularly enjoyed the way the animals fit into the story.