Mantchev, Lisa: Eyes Like Stars
Eyes Like Stars (2009)
Written by: Lisa Mantchev
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 352 (Hardcover)
This review is far later than I intended, and I apologize.
Eyes Like Stars suckered me with its oh-so-very gorgeous cover. I noticed the faeries flying around (you know how leery I am of faeries), but after reading the excellent reviews on Amazon and actually stumbling upon the book in Barnes & Noble, I couldn't resist. At all. It's too pretty!
The premise: Bertie Shakespeare Smith lives in the Theatre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written actually exist, but only inside the theater itself. Bertie is no character, but rather an orphan, left at the theater's door. She loves her home, loves her friends, but can't resist causing trouble. When the Theater Manager has enough and decides to kick her out, Bertie convinces him to give her a chance to find her place among the company, to allow her to contribute in such an indispensable way that she won't need to leave. But once he agrees, Bertie finds herself in over her head, and what ensues threatens the very existence of the magical theater itself.
Review style: Stream-of-conscious variety with some spoilers.
I'll say it first: this book is a little difficult to adjust to. Part of it's my fault, because I refuse to read backcover/jacket-flap blurbs because I don't want to be spoiled AT ALL, so in this case, I made my reading a little more difficult than necessary. But since I can't be the ONLY person who does that, I'll repeat, it takes a bit of adjustment to settle into this book. Reason being that while you're meeting all of the colorful characters, you're suddenly starting to wonder who's real and who's not.
Don't get me wrong, they're all real. But what I thought were actual actors (say, in Nate's case) simply BEING their role 24/7 are actually more magical than that. The Players are characters brought to life, and they LIVE inside the theater but can't leave the lobby due to the theater's magic. So everyone in this book, save for the Managers of every sort, and of course Bertie, are Players, therefore of a magical origin, and therefore cannot leave the theater.
The conflict of the plot occurs once Bertie's been sentenced to leave and she begs to stay. Nate (love interest #1) declares that if she leaves, he is too, and other Players echo that sentiment. The Theater Manager says that's impossible, but it bugs him, which clues Ariel (love interest #2) that Bertie, somehow, DOES have the power to free them, and that's the one thing Ariel wants most of all--to be free.
This is, truly, a fantastic book once you understand the rules that govern it. The faeries aren't the focus of the story at all, but rather Bertie's sidekicks, and they're delightfully enjoyable comic relief, much like the character of the pixie Jenks in Kim Harrison's adult UF novel Dead Witch Walking. The theater itself is a joy, and while I have very minimal experience in the theater (thank you, high school!), I felt very much at home in Mantchev's choice of setting. The rivalries between department heads was delightful, but most delightful was the overall character interaction, and how the story progressed in such a way you didn't see how it would play out.
That said, this is not a perfect debut. The first thing, which isn't a beef or flaw so much as it is a logical question: if the COMPLETE WORKS OF THE STAGE is SUCH an important book (and it is!), why is it simply left out on the stage, let alone in Bertie's room, for anyone to stumble upon it and damage it? Forget the fact it's sacred: one would think it'd be either locked away in the Theater Manager's safe or under some BEAUTIFUL display that's very, very protected. It will be from this point on, obviously, but it's one of those questions that, had I been writing this book and thought of it, would've ruined my plotting completely. I couldn't go forward with such an obvious question as that. :)
I also am curious about the love triangle we see in the pages. I'm Team Nate, yet the last scene with Bertie and Nate when they're acting out what happened when Ariel stole the book was really uncomfortable, and it kind of ruined their chemistry for me. Still, Bertie wants to save him and that's important. However, how things work out with Ariel will be interesting. He's both a villain and a hero in this book, and I'm not entirely convinced Bertie should be so forgiving of his actions, even though she's able to repair the damage he caused.
There's another question that I hope will be answered in the sequels: surely it wasn't coincidence that it was Nate's page fluttering around when the Sea Witch made her appearance, which allowed her to snatch Nate when she did and also steal his page. I won't be surprised if we learn, later, that Ariel intentionally let Nate's page fly at that time.
The story of Bertie's family was interesting, but I suspected who her mother was before it was revealed. The identity of her father, however, has NOT been revealed, though is it so wrong that I'm convinced it's the Theater Manager? It makes sense in light of his reaction to the missing Ophelia, as well as the fact he'd always wanted to be a playwright, but couldn't. Yet it's Bertie whose got the magic that can tell stories that control the players.
If her father isn't the Theater Manager, I'll be shocked. I'll also hope that it's someone infinitely better who makes sense, because right now, I have no idea who he could be.
My Rating
Must Have: close to the Keeper Shelf, but I had some trouble in the beginning getting settled into the story, and there's an evil part of me that wants to pick at a few threads in the plot, just to see if it'll unravel. That said, this is a DELIGHTFUL, FANTASTIC read. The unique setting (at least, it's unique to me, especially in YA) does wonders for the book, and I think even readers who aren't familiar with the theater are going to enjoy this very much. Fans of Shakespeare will also have fun, since all of the Players we meet are Shakespearean characters. The character interaction is just one of the many selling points of the book. There's also tension, mystery, intrigue, love, and of course, comedy. Those of you, like me, who are tired of faeries, have no fear: this book isn't about faeries, and the ones we have here are pure fun, pure comic relief. The pages fly when reading this book, and there's so much about it that's unique in terms of setting (and in some cases, style), that I'm just thrilled to bits with it. Readers who want something different from the usual fangs, fur, fey fare in YA need to get their hands on this book. Especially readers who, like me, enjoy a wee little bit of romance to keep the character relationships interesting. There's no doubt I'll pick up the sequel as soon as it's released, so I'm very, very glad I took a chance on this title. It's just too enjoyable and too much fun to ignore.
Cover Commentary: I bought the book for the cover. Mostly. It had good reviews too. :) But the cover, it's gorgeous, and that's all there is to it. It says everything you need to know about the setting and the story, the heroine is portrayed just as I wanted to imagine her. The whole thing is just perfect, so if it caught your eye, go ahead and indulge your cover-loving self. You won't be disappointed.
Next up: Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon