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Theater Novels (Older)
If the lullaby of Broadway is calling, then young adult readers who enjoy watching and taking part in plays and musicals will relish this list of recommended novels featuring teen thespians-in-training. See also our booklist for intermediate readers.
(2)
YA
Ever since fifth grade, Martha "Marty" Sullivan has been happy with just one friend: flamboyantly gay Jimmy. But now she's attending an all-girls' Catholic high school, which expands her social horizons both among girls (rebellious new friend Xiang) and guys. This mostly light comedy of errors is an honest portrayal of the cluelessness inherent in early high schoolers.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2015
(3)
YA
Two teens grapple with profound loss: Damon's best friend committed suicide and Melanie's mother died from cancer. Through artistic endeavors--photography (Damon), painting (Melanie), and acting in a school production of Othello (both)--each forges a path through complex grief and a romantic relationship soon develops. Dual first-person narratives heighten emotional intimacy in this deft, sensitive exploration of loss and healing.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(3)
YA
Seventeen-year-old Katherine seeks to avenge her Catholic father's death by masquerading as a male actor to kill Queen Elizabeth I. She and Toby, the closeted-bisexual royal spy charged with foiling the assassination, become mutually attracted while performing the leads in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a play of disguises, deception, gender, and love. Told via dual first-person narratives, this entertaining historical novel deals with many still-relevant topics. Bib.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(3)
YA
In 1991, Tara Maureen Murphy enters senior year with high expectations: lead in the school musical, a spectacular prom, continued social dominance as half of a "Supercouple." When things don't fall into perfect place, this mean-girl antihero turns to manipulations and lies. Told via passed folded notes, this multi-voiced epistolary novel is an entertaining time capsule of the early 1990s--"you know what I mean?"
Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant
(3)
YA
Zara is living her dream: cast from obscurity to star in a classic Greek tragedy with a famous director in a legendary NYC theater; and she's falling in love with gorgeous lighting assistant Eliza ("Eli"). However, mysterious deaths--possibly related to a curse on the theater--threaten the girls' idyll. Murder-mystery meets psychological thriller meets sweeping romance in a story both tragic and beautiful.
Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant
(2)
YA
Growing up in a low-income housing project, thirteen-year-old friends and dancers Mila and Tai have always trusted each other. After living with her aunt for a summer, Mila seems to care only about auditioning for a new gifted arts program. But Tai's not the only one who's been hurt, and eventually Mila reveals her secret. Readers will root for both young women as they tell their stories in memorable alternating voices.
Reviewer: Eboni Njoku
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2018
(3)
YA
Diary entries chronicle each day of Chloe Snow's freshman year of high school, including friendship drama, theater drama (she lands the lead in the musical), a crush on an ultimately unworthy senior boy, and her parents' painful-for-her separation. The entries are a believable mix of humor and pathos as self-involved but sympathetic Chloe does some growing up and becomes a bit more self-aware.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
(2)
YA
Fresh from the countryside, fourteen-year-old Richard Malory arrives in London in 1597 searching for his estranged father. The novel is an engrossing blend of intrigue and insight into the operation of a theater in Shakespeare's day. The disguises are many, the assumptions of false identities are plentiful, and the plot twists numerous--much like an Elizabethan drama.
Reviewer: Mary M. Burns
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2001
(2)
YA
Eighth graders Izzy and Annie form the Flirt Club so they don't "blush, stutter, sputter, and basically run away and die around boys." Told through notes, journal entries, and minutes from Flirt Club meetings, Daly's tale of the (mis)adventures of a pair of self-professed drama dorks is a warm and funny portrait of the ups and downs of middle school life.
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2011
(3)
YA
Eighth-grade theater girl Mattie finds herself playing Romeo opposite Gemma, her first girl-crush. Mattie struggles with her feelings: Does liking this one girl make her a lesbian? What happens if her classmates find out? The ending leaves Gemma's intentions toward Mattie fuzzy. It's refreshing to see a same-sex relationship featured in a light middle-school romp with clever (if not very deep) parallels to Romeo and Juliet.
Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester
(3)
YA
In this tense romantic thriller, skateboarder Gabe endures threats and worse from his increasingly unstable ex as he tries to get to know another girl; across the country, Elyse enters an ill-advised relationship with her drama teacher. Obsessive, even dangerous relationships are the thematic threads linking these teens' stories together until the plots intersect in surprising ways.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Attending a highly regarded theater camp on scholarship makes sheltered small-town Floridian and rising senior Penny question her own expectations that she'll marry her high-school sweetheart, Logan, and take over her family's diner. A tender love story with appealing focus on the power of a transformative summer, the desire for independence, and the pursuit of one's dreams.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(2)
YA
The premise of this entertaining collaboration is simple: there are two Will Graysons. One is risk-averse and straight; the other is gay, lonely, and depressed. An online romance involving the first Will's best friend leads to an encounter between the nominal doppelgangers. The quirky premise and epic spin on interpersonal drama more than compensate for some narrative unevenness.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2010
(2)
YA
Hand's pungently atmospheric novel portrays illicit sexual love and theatrical talent as matters nearly sacred. Cousins Maddy and Rogan, plus glamorous Aunt Kate, are the last of their family's theatrical legacy. Rogan's otherworldly singing stuns audiences, but Kate chooses reliable Maddy for acting school in London, splitting the lovers. Romantic readers will be swept through the short novel in a single sitting.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2010
(2)
YA
Seventeen-year-old Cass is devastated by her best friend Julia's death. Cass takes off on a cross-country bike trip; later, back home, she struggles to mend fences with her nemesis (and love interest) Heather, star of a play Julia had been writing. Cass is both unique and very relatable. Horner manages to treat the grieving process with respect while maintaining a positive tone.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2010
(2)
YA
Drama queen Mrs. Amberson moves into Scarlett's family's occupancy-challenged Manhattan hotel. She hatches schemes to save the hotel, resolve Scarlett's love life, and jumpstart Scarlett's brother's acting career. Johnson keeps the laughs coming while delineating sibling dynamics with warmth and insight. Pointed characterizations and a family future in peril drive this over-the-top comedy, all presented with wry New Yorker aplomb.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2008
(2)
YA
Cynthia is an ordinary sixteen-year-old. She has a BFF, Annie; a crush on musical theater prodigy, Ryan; and a job tech-directing the school's Sweeney Todd production. But ordinariness goes to hell--literally--when new librarian Mr. Gabriel seems to be mesmerizing students. A Buffy-esque blend of supernatural-baddie confrontation, school story, and dark comedy, with a sweet romance thrown in for good measure.
Reviewer: Katie Bircher
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2014
(1)
YA
Closeted gay high-school senior Kit cultivates his innate acting ability when he lands the leading male role in the (fictional) controversial play Talk. His first-person narrative alternates with that of confident queen bee Lindsay, who plays opposite the quiet Kit. The novel flows in a poetic stream-of-consciousness style; mounting tension within the script parallels the tension in Kit's and Lindsay's lives.
Reviewer: Marika Hoe
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2005
(2)
YA
In Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Tiny Cooper--friend to one Will, love interest of the other--directs a musical about his life. Now, that musical is its own book, written as theater dialogue with stage directions from the self-aware protagonist. Perhaps of most interest to Will Grayson fans, this story of coming out, love, and friendship also stands on its own.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2015
(3)
YA
Insecure high-school senior Claudia and hard-edged class president Iris are assigned to work on the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. As Iris regrets a break-up with her girlfriend and Claudia hopes for romance with a popular boy, an unlikely friendship evolves and expands. Told in Claudia's conversational voice, the novel's realistic characters tread familiar YA territory in a fresh, candid way.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(2)
YA
Sophomore Ethan enjoys acting in school plays, but his main role is portraying the honor student for his family. Lydia, the intriguing new girl, seems to be the only one who understands that he's taken on the part of the "good boy." Readers will figure out before the infatuated Ethan does that Lydia is bad news. Her increasingly menacing antics keep the heart racing.
Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2005
(2)
YA
Myers's adaptation of Bizet's opera, written as a play with occasional arias, is set in contemporary Spanish Harlem: Carmen works in a wig factory, José's a cop, Micaela dreams of being a teacher, toreador Escamillo is a rapper-turned-mogul. The libretto is dramatic and passionate, spiced with funny repartee. An excellent note by Myers is appended, along with melody lines for the songs.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2011
(2)
YA
It's the last semester of high school, and everything's on the verge of change. In this twenty-sixth Alice book, there are plenty of hurdles for her to jump, including waiting for college acceptance letters and acting in a play. Alice fans will see her through this tumult as she attempts to sort out who she is and what she wants.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2011
(2)
YA
Max Friedman is continually taunted by his dead mother's tumor, which he believes is inside his brian. After transferring to an arts school, he participates with five new eccentric friends in the school's Gothic/steampunk production of Hamlet. This compounds Max's growing existential crisis until he's forced to finally confront his loss and grief. Pixley's poetic prose is full of raw emotions, vivid imagery, and a touch of morbid humor.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2018
(2)
YA
Sixth grader Grayson daydreams about being a girl, despite being seen by everyone as male. Grayson keeps people at a distance until Amelia moves to town. After landing the (female) lead in a play, Grayson fights for the right to present her truest self to others--both on and off stage. Polonsky captures her protagonist's loneliness, then courage, in an immediate and intimate narrative.
Reviewer: Shara Hardeson
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2014
(3)
YA
Teen detective Francie Frye (Enchantment Lake) returns for another whodunit in northern Minnesota, this one involving the murder of an archeologist--with Francie's brother Theo as the prime suspect. Meanwhile, a new school year unfolds for Brooklyn-transplant Francie; new friends (and some enemies), a lead in the school play, and surprising plot twists give this readable mystery a modern-day Nancy Drew feel.
Reviewer: Rita Soltan
(2)
YA
Fourteen-year-old Tallulah Casey (Georgia Nicolson's younger cousin) attends a performing arts summer school in the Yorkshire Dales. She quickly makes friends--all as boy-obsessed as she--while garnering self-confidence and discovering her hidden talents. Lullah's madcap adventures, her literary musings, and her naive inner monologues are all highly entertaining. An amusing glossary of Briticisms and Tallulah's own made-up phrases is appended.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2011
(3)
YA
Fifteen-year-old Cadie's beloved bookworm father announces he has another daughter around her age who's coming to live with them. Cadie battles resentment of half-sister Elizabeth while starring in their Quaker school's Shakespeare play. This unique story about a diverse family of former commune-dwelling hippies is ultimately grounded in realistic relationships and dialogue.
Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester
(2)
YA
Louise Wolfe--a high-school senior, budding journalist, and member of the Muscogee Nation--works on the school newspaper, where she meets half-Lebanese/half-Scottish Joey Kairouz, an ambitious photojournalist. Lou learns how to write about controversy with the school's "color-conscious" casting of its Wizard of Oz production. Lou and Joey's love story deepens over the course of the novel, and Smith effectively presents the continuous microaggressions Lou faces as a young Native woman. Glos.
Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2018
(2)
YA
When her father is arrested for being a Catholic, fourteen-year-old Rosalind escapes to London, in this historical novel set in 1592. A chance encounter with the playwright Christopher Marlowe results in a gig for Rosalind (now disguised as a boy) as his assistant. Thomson has created a well-rounded character who reacts believably to her unraveling life.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2006
(3)
YA
Senior Megan Harper, an aspiring theater director with a string of ex-boyfriends, embodies Shakespeare's line "the course of true love never did run smooth." Yet during her school's production of Romeo and Juliet, she slowly realizes that her unconventional aspiring-playwright friend Owen might just be her own Romeo. Theater culture takes center stage in this flirty and entertaining romance told in Megan's spunky first-person voice.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(2)
YA
Adam Ziegler, a.k.a. Z, is running the lights for his school play. Z's struggle to balance his techie loyalty with his growing interest in an actress also forces him to face his feelings over the loss of his father. Through Z's narration, Zadoff develops a complex character study that's equal parts witty, informative, insightful, and painfully realistic.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2011
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