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The Backstagers and the Ghost Light

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

The stage crew at St. Genesius Prep—or Backstagers, as they like to call themselves—are ready for whatever the theater world can throw their way: the madness of tech week, inevitable prop malfunctions, and all the paranormal activity that goes on behind the scenes. Luckily Jory, Hunter, Sasha, Beckett, and Aziz are up for the job!

But lately, someone—or something—seems set on ruining their production of Phantasm. It all started when an actor brought a Spirit Board to the cast party, and the ghost light blew out. Every good theater kid knows that a ghost light must be left on to keep ghosts from moving in the shadows of an empty theater. To figure out what's haunting the theater and save the show, the Backstagers will have to use their smarts, bravery, and a little bit of magic!

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  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 1, 2018
      The Backstagers gets the Lumberjanes treatment in this novelization of the comic-book series.Backstage drama kids Aziz, Hunter, Beckett, Jory, and Sasha have a few more performances left at St. Genesius Preparatory High School before the end of the school year. At the latest cast party, a bunch of actors, or Onstagers, pull out a spirit board for a few laughs and end up accidentally busting the Ghost Light --the stage light said to keeps ghosts away. When a ghost lurking backstage tries to get out, the lore turns out to be truth. Now it's up to the crew to go back into the unknown to save the theater. But can they do it without the stage managers? Sygh's two-color spot art and the overall whimsical narrative tone keep the comic-book series' spirit intact. Unfortunately, the sometimes-lofty third-person omniscient narrator is a bit of a mismatch. The sweet, blush-filled romances read a bit more chaste here than in the comics, but this may attract younger audiences. The already-diverse array of male characters broadens to include Reo, who is biracial (Japanese/Irish) and a witch. Fans of the series will appreciate Mientus' exploration of characters' backstories--and all will have a chance to learn more in future prose installments.An adequate dessert for existing fans that just may tempt a few new ones as well. (Fantasy. 10-14)

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      August 1, 2018
      Grades 5-8 As if the technical challenges of mounting a high-school production of the Broadway musical Phantasm (chandelier and all) aren't steep enough, a ghost has taken to haunting the theater, there's a ringer with a secret agenda in the cast, and head builder Hunter is having a rough time juggling the workload and his relationship with new boyfriend Jory. This prose spinoff of the Backstagers comics series, also illustrated by Sygh, takes up established story lines, and though Mientus makes earnest efforts to fill in the backstories, readers would be well advised to start with the original. Still, as the author sends his resourceful stagehands to battle an archetypal theater ghost, he preserves the spirit and flavor of the comics with hilarious pranks and theater talk, high-energy hustle, and, particularly, in a young cast, notably diverse in ethnic and gender identity, who face personal issues common to everyone . . . as well as the odd supernatural threat. Sygh's occasional portraits and action scenes, seen in unfinished form, offer a visual link to the graphic volumes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2019
      In this series-starting novel based on the Backstagers comics series, the St. Genesius Prep theater techs and their new witch friend, Reo, battle ghosts in the dangerous, magical Backstage. Meanwhile, the tight-knit group of boys struggles with school-theater-love balance. Plenty of insider theater jokes are wrapped in a humorous ensemble story with wide appeal. Monochromatic spot illustrations and brisk pacing contribute to the readability.

      (Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.6
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:4

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