This was a fantastic expansion of the backstager's universe into a book! All of our favourites return alongside some new ones and a new fearful foe from behind the stage door!

"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!"

-I loved the Backstagers! The graphic novels are amazing, so wanted to check this out. Great fun and action packed. Cant wait for the next one! Buy it for the little one in your life!

I loved this book. It’s a great mystery with well written characters. High.y recommend for anyone looking for a little mystery and adventure!

The Backstagers And The Ghost Light by Andy Mientus (Amulet Books)
I got this as an EARC from Netgalley. It was a really cute premise with a really sweet cast of characters. The whole focus on a backstage crew at a school was right up my street. For me, it fell a bit flat but I’m sure younger readers will love it.

Rating: ★★★

The Backstagers and the Ghost Light is the first in a middle grade series based on The Backstagers comics. I haven't read the comics, although I can assure you I absolutely want to now! (The illustrations are from the same illustrator as the comics, Ryan Sygh, and they're delightful.) This book became known to me because the author is Andy Mientus, a musical theater actor I'm a fan of (he was in Deaf West's Spring Awakening, among other things) both for his talent and his openness and advocacy about bisexuality. Needless to say, this theater nerd (and backstager; I do props!) was very excited to get an ARC of this, read it in just a day over the summer, and now that it's out in the world I can talk about it!

As someone who had not read the comics, I could tell this book is a sequel to them. (The ending of this book also makes it clear there will be a series.) There is an explanation of a recent event that must have been from the comics, and I think it's explained fairly well. What I didn't know going into this and you definitely should is that the world of the series is not just quirky, but full-out fantasy. Those marvelous descriptions of the backstage isn't just figurative language--the backstage actually connects to every other backstage, which is really cool! Plus, as the title indicates, this is blended with theater lore that adds another level to it, and there's a new character in the form of a teen witch.

The characters are all endearing (and the illustrations help) with their own quirks, skills, and desires, and they're all good friends. Two of the boys are in a happy relationship and deal with a lot of important and realistic feelings about responsibility and adjusting--one of them, Jory, has recently moved and I really related to his description of visiting his hometown again. Also, one of the boys is subtly indicated to be trans and at least one other is a person of color.

It is a little strange for a middle grade (prose) book to focus on high schoolers which wouldn't seem as strange in comic form, but the illustrations and the alternate universe the book takes place lends it a playful feel that works. I say "alternate universe" because there are many musical theater references throughout this book, but they are all slightly altered in a humorous way to make any theater kid laugh. Lease? Les Terribles? Amazing.

This is a book for every theater kid that takes great joy with theater mythos, fantasy, and the friendships backstagers form when working on a show. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it comes out!

This was cute, I liked the setting, I liked the magic, I liked the concept. However, this novelization just plops you right into things without much of an explanation. Normally, I don't mind being thrown into the new world without much rhyme or reason or explanation and getting to know it as I go along. The problem is because these characters came from a graphic novel first I felt like I was missing out. You can read this without reading the graphic novels first but it is clear that you're missing out on things.

At first I thought this would be a graphic novel because of the cover and the length so I was surprised to see it was a chapter book. Again given the length, one would assume it was for younger kids, but I think the content is for older ones. I didn’t see anything remarkable about this book, and was slightly confused through out it. I will pass on purchasing and recommending it.

The great thing about Andy Mientus taking on the Backstagers in novel form is that now some of my FAVORITE characters in the comics universe now live in book format. And that's pretty cool. Frankly, EVERYONE should be BFFs with Jory, Hunter, Aziz, Beckett, and Sasha, and now more people have the chance to do so!

The heart of the story was fantastic. The mystery and the weird ghostly mystery at the heart of this story were very enjoyable. I think that I did want to see more from this novelization than I got (the characters were very quickly introduced, and I can't help feeling that people who don't know these characters would have a more difficult time truly getting into this story). I think the beginning especially felt rough, and the fact that Jory still considered himself to be Brand New bothered me a little bit, but the feeling of being kinda stuck resonated well enough that I was able to forgive it. I loved the introduction of Reo the witch, and while there was some heartache to Hunter's undergoing stage manager trials, it does give me GREAT JOY to imagine a world of the Backstagers where Hunter runs the show! (That said, I really do just want the story of Tim & Jamie, please give this to me one day)
While the beginning felt rough, and the end somewhat rushed, it was a delightful & fun story, and Mientus managed to capture quite a bit of the quirk and fantastic world of the Backstagers! There were scenes that truly added to the universe of the Backstagers, and I'm very grateful that this book exists. I think the finished product will be a delight to behold, since there will be some art by Rian Sygh that will add wonderfully to the story.

3.5 Stars!

I’m always looking for cute middle grade novels about theater and friendship. Written by Broadway actor Andy Mientus and illustrated by Rian Singh, Backstagers and the Ghost Light, the first book in the new Backstagers series based on the comics series of the same name by James Tynion the fourth and illustrated by Singh, is a showstopper. Cute, fun and adventurous, this heartwarming tale is filled with theatrical superstitions and jokes and offers powerful lessons about friendship, family and community.

Backstagers and the Ghost Light follows a production of Phantasm (a loosely fictionalized Phantom of the Opera) at St. Genesius Preparatory High School and the Backstagers that need to make sure it goes smoothly, powering the lights, sound and set. Jory, Hunter, Sasha, Beckett and Aziz must investigate when strange, ghost-like things start to happen in their theatre. Their investigation take them into the tunnels of the backstage, where the magic of theater comes alive and fantastical creatures roam the many rooms. It also requires the help of Reo, a new student (and witch), at St. Genesius.

Part of what I loved about this book was that it was so much fun. Written in a bouncy, jovial style and filled with so much hope and action, it is a quick read that is hard to put down. The book also features numerous fun, engaging illustrations that bring the story to life even more.

This is a book that rewards readers who love theater. I can see this book being a gateway for young readers into the world of theater and all its magic. For older readers, it rewards those with a love for the stage. I laughed out loud at some of the theatrical jokes and my heart warmed at passages about the affective power of musical theater. It’s also a book with casual queer representation (gay and trans male rep), which I was so happy to see in a book targeted towards a middle grade audience.

I fell in love with the world of the St. Genesius Backstagers in this weird, fun little book. I can’t wait to see what will happen to these characters next and look forward to the rest of this series.

I felt at home as I read this book. Think "Harry Potter" meets the television show "Smash" meets Seth Rudetsky. I found it to be descriptive, entertaining and at times, pretty wild. The fantasy part of this book took me to depths (sometimes literally) I hadn't expected. I directed a teenage summer camp for 10 years and would definitely recommend it to my former students. I also appreciated how the author made the characters' sexuality just a part of the book, not the focus of the book. It's who the characters are, but not what the book is about. Read this book if you're a theater kid, used to be a theater kid, or want to know what it's like to be a theater kid.

A perfect love letter to theatre and backstage shenanigans. As a musical geek, I loved spotting the references to many of my favourite musicals and anyone who's spent a reasonable amount of time running around the endless liminal spaces of backstage in a theatre will love the concept of Backstage as being somehow outside the usual limits of space and time. I loved the ghost plot and how it resolved itself, not to mention the allusions to traditional theatre superstitions. Also the perfect balance between characters' relationship drama (I love Jory and Hunter so much!), supernatural hi-jinks and the process of putting on the school show. I absolutely have to read the original comics now!