Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pub. Date: July 2009
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 368pp
Series: Theatre Illuminata

She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.

She knows every part, butAll her world’s a stage.

Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.

she has no lines of her own.

That is, until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.

COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

If you're a fan of Shakespeare plays or just someone who loves the theater life so much, this will definitely be your book. With Eyes Like Stars, an exciting and unique read, Lisa Mantchev made her debut a really brilliant one.

What I love about the book was the storyline, it sounded totally different. It not only took place in a theater but also a theater where everyone was born to play their parts unfailingly from years to years. That made the characters from your familiar plays so refreshing and new - they were still the great artists yet they had their own personalities, some were bubbly and sweet while some dreamy, grumpy or annoying. But that wasn't the best part. The magic was. Once it stepped into the center of story I could hardly put the book down. Honestly I wasn't too sure how I felt about Eyes Like Stars at the first few chapters but as everything drew to the crucial problem, the thrill to know what would happen next was overwhelming.

Bertie was such a cool girl. Following her meant going on an unstoppable adventure. She was full of surprises, full of troubles and you would never guess what crazy thing was coming up on her way. What fascinated me from this girl wasn't the fact that she was strong and determined, but her power over words. It was simply amazing, especially to those who wanted to become writers in the future. The triangle of Bertie, Nate and Ariel was very addicting too. Even though I so wish I could tell you who she had deep feelings for, you have to find out yourself. Both guys were special in their own ways - Nate was caring and heroic while Ariel dangerous yet too irresistible.

I was quite glad this book had a satisfied and somewhat clear ending. The twist was unexpected thus I liked it really much. Some parts were still open and vague, which, I guess, would be where the next book starts from. I hope act II will come out soon because I just cannot wait to see Bertie and others again.

Rating: 4/5