Step right up for Gruen's 'Water for Elephants'

Could a novel about a Depression-era traveling circus -- co-starring an extraordinarily loyal elephant named Rosie -- be this summer's sleeper hit?

Booksellers are hoping Water for Elephants (Algonquin, $23.95) by Sara Gruen will be the next The Lovely Bones or The Kite Runner.

Meg Smith, spokeswoman for the 1,700-member American Booksellers Association, says that "enthusiasm has been extraordinary." The novel is the No. 1 Book Sense Pick for June, a monthly list of 20 titles recommended by independent booksellers.

Publisher Algonquin has increased the print run from 15,000 to 70,000 books and bumped Gruen's book tour from five events to 30, from Monday through July 28.

"The buzz has spread like wildfire," says Algonquin's Michael Taeckens, who sent out "tons of galleys" to independents.

Gruen has published two other novels: paperback originals Riding Lessons (2004; about an accident that derails a ...