Thumbs up for Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. Young adult fantasy.
My God. A young adult fantasy book that’s actually different? No vampires, werewolves, or wizard schools? How could this be? Spunky Beatrice Shakespeare Smith has grown up behind the scenes at the Theatre Illuminata, where to describe a scene is to bring it to life; but after getting into trouble one too many times, she has to defend her right to a place there, and discover the the secrets of her own past in the process. The writing is rather plain, and I felt that there were things that needed to be explained more explicitly, but the creativity of the worldbuilding overwhelmed my minor complaints. Very fun, and I want the next one right away!
Bertie watched with growing horror as the brawl expanded to include most of the Ladies-in-Waiting and Rosencrantz. Guildenstern abandoned the fray to lick all the swords in sight, testing for poison. Someone in the very back row of the auditorium snickered.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it!