Over the course of five books, A.S. King has established herself as a singular voice in today’s young adult literature. She brings vivid life to realistic kids working through raw deals, from the death of a friend in Printz honor winner “Please Ignore Vera Dietz,” to a girl coming to terms with her sexuality in the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner “Ask the Passengers.” (Her pirate-flavored debut, “The Dust of 100 Dogs,” is an exception, yet it establishes the magical realism that colors her work.)

Wherein the wonderful A.S. King tells me about the time she ran away to the circus in Ireland and her new, fantastic book “Reality Boy.”