THE DARK COVE THEATRE SOCIETY

An anxious girl obtains a lead role in the Halloween play and confronts a legendary curse.

Sixteen-year-old Italian Canadian Violet Costantino and her best friend, Kay, who’s Two-Spirit and cued Cree, are scholarship students at Dark Cove Arts Academy, an elite performing arts boarding school on an island in British Columbia. Following an onstage panic attack the previous year, Violet switched to playwriting. But the required audition for the upcoming season unexpectedly lands her a major role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a spot in the Dark Cove Theatre Society, known for hosting secret parties at an abandoned campsite that’s plagued by rumors of a “slasher-type killer” responsible for students having gone missing years ago. Violet, who’s queer, takes the stage with her ex-crush Hunter Kinsey, the school’s golden boy, and Frankie Lin, the popular “resident ingenue,” who simultaneously irritates and impresses her. Mysterious events lead to Violet’s becoming the suspected target of the Society curse, whose victim is destined to drop out before opening night. Violet must avoid the curse, navigate complicated love triangles (on- and offstage), cope with mental health challenges, and resolve a fight with Kay. Although the plotlines wrap up a bit too quickly, this debut with gothic touches centers on diverse, well-developed teens who challenge their school’s narrow norms. Riley’s detailed worldbuilding creates a setting that readers will wish to explore more deeply than the story allows.

An original exploration of mental health set against an intriguing backdrop.