Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Lizzy

I participated in theater throughout high school, and I absolutely
loved it. I worked backstage (I can't sing or act), and I fell in love
with the people and the absolute chaos that is the theater. That's
probably part of the reason why I loved Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars so much. It reminded me of how it felt to be in the theater, surrounded by people who become a second family.

Bertie's
life is chaotic to say the least. She's grown up with constant scene
changes, without the knowledge of how she came to live in the theater,
and with the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream as her best friends. Needless to say, she gets into a lot of trouble.

The
characters in the book were great. Bertie was a strong, confident,
sometimes stubborn lead. She never took no for an answer, and even
during absolute chaos was able to improvise. The supporting cast was
what was most spectacular to me. Many of the characters were from
various different plays, and none of them seemed out of character. I
imagined that's just how they would act if they were living in the real
world (especially the fairies). I think I should also mention Ariel,
from The Tempest, who ended
up being my favorite character from the book. I was intrigued by his
character, then I hated him, I pitied him, and I loved him. I ended up
understanding his motivation to bring down the theater, and also saw
him grow as a character.

Fans of the theater will enjoy seeing
their favorite characters outside of their respective plays, while
other readers might be inspired to go read those plays to find out
more. I loved this book, and can't wait to read the sequel.