Applauseworthy.
The show goes on in this encore novelization of the hit comic-book series.
Fresh off closing night of their last show, the Backstagers are already gearing up for the next St. Genesius spectacle: Tammy, a nod to 1969 rock-opera Tommy. Irreconcilable differences between the alpha Onstager McQueen brothers land Beckett an opportunity to step in as director. More new ground is broken when the title role of a Deaf character is shared between Penitent Angels School guest stars Bailey and Adrienne, who is actually Deaf. For most, change brings new opportunities to try out unfamiliar backstage jobs. But a rift grows between boyfriends Jory and Hunter as Jory’s newfound social media stardom—and a persistent negative voice in his head—convinces him to abandon the show for an all-expenses-paid trip to Greece. Is it all too good to be true, or will Jory leave the Backstagers for real? In this sophomore effort, Mientus effectively expands the series’ mythic Backstage, which magically connects to theaters all over the world, into international territory. The already notably diverse cast broadens further to include disability. Despite Bailey’s initial choice to take the role of playing a Deaf character, her allyship and the company’s subsequent discussions about accurate representation expertly situate the novel in conversation with real-life casting controversies. Sygh’s two-color spot art accentuates the series’ whimsy and shojolike romance, albeit with a slightly darker edge.
Applauseworthy. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3365-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)
Sucked into "business" with a crooked classmate, bowling fanatic Lamar Washington makes good money faking his skills, but when a disruptive prank reveals his new friend Billy’s duplicity, he realizes how wrong it was to aim to be “the smoothest baddest dude” in Coffin, Ind.
This refreshing first novel is told in the first person with plenty of snappy dialogue by a smart African-American middle-schooler whose asthma has kept him out of the usual sports and whose older brother, a basketball star, consistently taunts him. Lamar’s new friendship threatens both a longstanding one and a promising new relationship with a girl. Tension mounts as Lamar is drawn further into an unsavory gambling world, realizing that his cheating is wrong but thrilled to have the cash to buy a Bubba Sanders bowling ball. A final, seriously physical fight with his brother leads to climactic arrests. The drab rigidity of Camp Turnaround, where Billy is incarcerated, contrasts with the excitement of the bowling alley Lamar loves. His grounding and community service seem appropriate. His understanding of the consequences of his prank fire alarm, both for his brother and for his basketball-mad small town, comes slowly and realistically, and the solution of his family issues is satisfying.
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-199272-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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