Water for Elephants is a novel by Sara Gruen. It was published in 2006 by Algonquin Books. The story is about a 23 year old Polish American orphan who joins a circus during the Great Depression. Themes are love and romance, murder, and cruelty to animals. The story was made into a 2011 movie starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Jim Norton, and Hal Holbrook.