Book Review: Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Title: Eyes Like Stars

Author: Lisa Mantchev

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: July, 2009

Hardcover: 368 pages

Stand Alone or Series: Series–this is the first in a series

How I got this book: Bought

Why I chose this book: Well, the cover got my attention first.  I have to admit, this is an amazing cover.  Second, as I was flipping through the book, I noticed that it was written as a semi-script.  Since I love acting, I automatically picked this book up.  So glad I did!

Synopsis:

All her world’s a stage
Enter Stage Right
Beatrice Shakespeare Smith (Bertie): Our heroine.
Nate: A dashing pirate who will do anything to protect Bertie.
Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom: Four tiny, mischievous fairies, and Bertie’s loyal sidekicks.
Ariel: A seductive air spirit. Disaster follows in his wake, but Bertie simply cannot resist him.
Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. The actors are bound to the Théâtre by The Book, an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of the actors, but they are her family. And she is about to lose them all because The Book has been threatened, and along with it the Théâtre. It’s the only home Bertie has ever known, and she has to find a way to save it. But first, there’s the small problem of two handsome men, both vying for her attention. The course of true love never did run smooth. . . .

 

Review:

 

There are no words for my love of this book.  I thought the writing style was so uniquely creative, so expressively original, so…  I need to take a trip to the thesaurus.  But do you catch my gist?  This book has a certain… je ne sais quoi.  (See how I threw in my french there.)

 

We follow Bertie, a thirteen year old who lives at Theatre Illuminata.  The Theatre has been her home since she was left on the doorstep when she was a baby.  The actors can’t leave the theatre–and Bertie doesn’t know why they would want to.  When Bertie discovers a way that they can leave, hindering the theatre in the process, the information leaks down to Ariel, the sweet-talking air spirit, and the theatre becomes in danger of collapsing all together.  

 

Bertie is a laugh-out-loud, lively character to follow.  I loved the details of how she loved to dye her hair.  (I considered dying my hair blue after reading this.)  In this unique style of writing–similar to that of a script, Mantchev captures your heart and stashes it away at Theatre Illuminata.

 

Other books by this author:  Perchance to Dream, So Silver Bright (Coming in September).