Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing an advanced copy for an honest review.

Okay, Showstopper is basically what happens when you throw a bunch of theatre kids, messy emotions, and actual murder into one summer camp and let it spiral. It’s chaotic, dramatic, kind of bloody—and I was into it. Faye’s been coming to the Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp forever, and this is her final summer before graduation. She’s finally ready to be seen for who she really is—no more getting shoved into white-passing roles, no more shrinking herself down. This is her time to shine. But of course, it’s never that simple.

Cue best-friend rivalry, a very distracting new boy, and—oh yeah—people starting to “accidentally” vanish backstage. And by vanish, I mean full-on gruesome Final Destination-level stuff. It’s very the show must go on energy, even if someone’s bleeding out in the wings. What I loved is that it totally leans into the drama—both the emotional kind and the horror kind. There’s real tension between ambition and identity, friendships getting tested, and the pressure to stand out without totally losing yourself. And then there’s the murder-y side of things, which is wild and creepy in a way that feels over-the-top on purpose, like a slasher film dressed up in jazz hands.

It’s funny, sharp, a little dark, and totally theater kid core. If you love stories with big personalities, petty backstage chaos, and just the right amount of blood, Showstopper is a blast. Opening night might be cursed, but honestly? I’d still buy a ticket.

A summer‑camp murder mystery with plenty of theater camp energy and dark humor, but the high drama sometimes undercuts the suspense. Charming and diverse cast, yet the pacing feels uneven and the tension never fully sticks.

Prepare for a Cursed Production!

Showstopper was my first Lily Anderson novel; however, it most definitely won't be my last. I LOVED this writing style. Although this is labeled as young adult, the writing style and tone transcend age. The age of the main character is someone who is on the cusp of adulthood, so that is the determining factor there, but there is plenty for all ages to enjoy. This book is full of mystery, suspense, and dead bodies. The mystery of the story unfolds immediately, as we witness the first dead body from an "offstage" perspective. This causes the story to set off at a fast pace. This story flies by when reading, and it kept my interest the whole time.

The bodies and the killer are the driving facets of this book. I thought that I had figured out who the killer was, but Anderson does a great job of keeping readers on their toes. Ensuring that there are enough reveals and twists to satiate until the very last page. Not to mention, the scariest thing to do in a scary novel is to have a romance. However, readers rejoice as we get to experience an adorable romance that blossoms slowly but surely. Throw in some adorable side characters who add in some humor, and this was an excellent story just overall! It is perfect for fans of Scream, The Gallows, or Friday the 13th!

Miss Congeniality meets Riverdale in this highly suspenseful thriller about a musical theater summer camp! Faye is in for the summer of her life (maybe her last). It's spent competing for the best part, falling for the new guy, and running for her life. There are so many twists and turns, and it's nearly impossible to guess who the killer is.

I say almost, because in the end I totally called it. If you've spent your life watching horror movies, you might be able to follow the tropes and come to the right conclusion. It doesn't take anything away from the book at all, because even if you know *who*, you won't know *why* until the grand reveal. This book is horror done right! Expect a little bit of violence and gore, as it is definitely a slasher story.

Thank you SO MUCH to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this advanced copy! I immensely enjoyed it.

4.5 stars

Now THAT is a horror ending. This book took me awhile to get into, but once I was in, I was absolutely hooked.

Ghostlight Theatre Camp is a camp hosted on a college campus, where teens go to pull off a staggering feat - putting on a musical production in only three weeks. Unfortunately this summer the show starts with a bang; and the hits just keep coming.

It’s impossible to discuss the plot of this book without spoilers, so I’m not going to ruin it for anyone. The twist of who the actual big bad is - and why - is 100% worth not spoiling.

I love that this book didn’t pull punches just because it was a YA novel. I was open jawed, stomach dropped, flipping pages like I was reading for my life for the whole last third of the book. You can tell that Lily Anderson was a true theater kid; no one who grew up outside of the theater could write these kids the way she did.

Besides an incredible plot and ending, the writing of this story was paced so well that I could feel what the characters were feeling, but without dragging, and the end was downright compulsive.

This is a story that I will recommend to everyone I know who loves horror or thrillers, regardless of age.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing for the arc for my honest review!

3.5 out of 5 stars/First pov with a mix of third pov for a few chapters

The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp is putting on a production of RIVERDALE this summer. Faye has been a member of this summer camp program for the last five years. This is her sixth and final year. The first day of camp they find out that their director was murdered and the summer gets even bloody as the rehearsals take place. Faye is trying her best to get through this production because the show must go on. But will they be able to survive opening night?

Personally I loved the theatre references to everything. I'm a huge theatre person. I never thought that the pacing was off but I wanted more of a twist. Also I didn't like how the 'techie' in the theatre world was written. I've spent my life working shows backstage and just seeing the stereotypes was hard.

YA mystery/thrillers will always be my favorite genre. This one will keep you guessing throughout the whole book. So many twists and turns!

A camp slasher but make it musical! As a bit of a musical theater kid growing up myself, I was immediately sold on the location being a residential summer theater camp! I loved the diverse characters and all the theater references. Especially for YA, the gore was just right and never felt like it was there just for the sake of it. There was a pretty large core group of main characters, but they were so uniquely described, I never felt lost and they all fit just right. While there was a lot of light hearted coming of age atmosphere, this book also contained some pretty heavy themes which made it feel accessible to many ages of readers. I really enjoyed trying to puzzle out who the killer was, and loved that I didn't see the twist coming! Was every part of this story totally believable? No. But, it was so fun I didn't even care!

Thank you, Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is Faye’s final summer at Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp, her home away from home every summer since middle school, and she is determined to make it her best. She is embracing her mixed heritage, veering from the white passing roles she had taken in the past, even if that means competing with her best friend. Caught up in the hustle and bustle of new experiences and crushing hard on a new camper, Faye begins to see the patterns in the tragic accidents happening to the crew. People are dying in horrible ways, but they are explainable, right? There surely isn’t someone killing people at Ghostlight, right?

This is such a bloody, vibrant, ridiculous, and incredibly fun ya thriller!!

This is a well paced, campy YA horror novel. I picked it up because of the summer camp setting, and theater fans will love the nods to classic productions and superstitions more than I did. Great diversity and representation! It touches on sensitive and important topics but I think it would benefit from going more in depth instead of only touching on them in a one off fight and in the classic villain monologue at the end.

The show must go on!

I’m a theatre kid through and through, so I was ecstatic to pick this up! Throw in a little murder and I’m a GONER 😍

I loved the main character, Faye and I enjoyed her other leading cast members. I appreciated the diversity in this book and it made it all feel more real to me. Wes was so cute and I enjoyed hearing a little about his journey.

This was fast paced and so fun! I did think it was a tad predictable as I was able to guess part of the ending, however there were still a few twists in there.

All the theatre references were my kryptonite and I LOVED reading about something I actually knew and getting every reference!

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this one and def recommend!

Showstopper - Lily Anderson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars)

Synopsis:
The Ghostlight Youth Theatre Camp has been home to Faye for the last five summers. For her final year, she vows to break out of her typecast and play Veronica in her camp’s production of “Riverdale.” She anticipated her biggest problem to be competing with her best friend for the role, but when crewmembers are found dead, a bigger issue may be waiting in the wings. There’s a killer yearning for the spotlight, but the show must go on...right?

Review:
This book truly is a showstopper! A classic slasher brought to a theatre camp, to create a truly unforgettable read. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to add this to my slasher summer reads. I loved so much about this book: the camp setting, the plot, the characters, the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ representation!! I will not be shutting up about this book and I urge you to read it when it comes out on September 30, 2025!

❗️Trigger warnings: gore, SA, grooming, death of minors

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Lily Anderson for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

SPOILERS AHEAD:
I absolutely LOVED this book. The only reason I docked .5 stars is for two reasons 1) I wish there was a little bit of an epilogue to tie things up. The ending felt abrupt. 2) I absolutely could see Kai as the killer but I’m having a hard time understanding Terry’s motivation. I see what the author was trying to do but I just can’t understand her being one of the killers.

I thought this story about youth at a theater camp was an interesting twist on the 80s style summer camp experience where killers are the loose. The concept was interesting. The characters were somewhat diverse with the main FMC being Black and Puerto Rican. However, the story left something to be desired. There wasn't suspense and the humor was subpar. It wasn't a bad story by any means though.

I’m a Halloween year round kind of girl so summer camp slashers are always a favorite of mine. One dealing with theatre? Sign me up!

I really loved this book, I did. However I have to take it to 4 stars instead of 5 for lack of believability. Not a single adult cares that multiple kids are dying? I just can’t believe that.

Its still a very fun read.

First things first thank you Netgalley for this e-arc! So to be honest with y’all I picked this book based on the cover and title without knowing much else.

I read a lot of horror but haven’t delved too far into the YA facet of this genre and this book made me glad I did. Theater camp murder seemed like a really fun idea for a horror book, so I was excited to give it a shot.

It took me a while to really get into it, but by the last half I couldn’t put it down. The “surprise” at the end floored me, but also gave so much clarity to the killers reasoning that if anything, I sided with them. I had a feeling there was some sort of connection to the killers family member, but was not expecting the harsh truth of why and how things came to be.

I really enjoyed the diverse characters and queer representation in this book. It was nice to read characters that were very real and didn’t feel like they were thrown in for the sake of having an inclusive book. Issues the characters faced in life were brought up in incredibly organic ways, but had enough detail that the reader could really grasp the disparities these characters face.

Overall I enjoyed this book more than I expected and maybe I’ll give some more YA Horror a shot!


::spoilers!:::
I loved the way Lily Anderson worked in the way that teens can become preyed upon by adults who are not quite considered adults. Grooming and manipulation are such terrible things that they are a horror all on their own, no murders needed. In the end I will admit I absolutely took Kia’s side (a big good for her moment!) even if murder may not have been the best option to resolve her sisters assault.

I really liked this. I thought it was a really nice YA read. The story flowed well and the characters were fleshed out enough to care about. I do think it’s a little predictable, but I read a lot of mystery and thriller books so that’s probably more my problem than a story problem. I do wish there was an epilogue to see a little of what happens after. It’s a full story and the ending is fine but it does feel a little abrupt.

This was a lot of fun. A perfect slasher for summer. Teenagers being brutally hunted by a bloodthirsty relentless killer. Blood, gore, chasing, and comedic relief.

This is like Glee meets Scream! Fun YA summer read for sure! Great pacing & the characters made you feel like you went to school with them!

A fun slasher story. Some parts required me to stretch my believability a bit too much. The main group of characters were occasionally hard to read, especially when the MC would insist that they were not a clique, even though they were most definitely a clique (and kind of a bullying one, to be honest). More to come on TikTok.

Showstopper by Lily Anderson is a dazzling, blood-splattered love letter to theater kids and the dark side of ambition. Think High School Musical meets Scream—with a sharp social conscience and a whole lot of stage blood. But this isn’t just gore for gore’s sake. Showstopper digs into deeper themes: The toxic side of artistic ambition, and the danger of being unseen. Faye’s journey is not just about survival, but about reclaiming her voice and her identity in a system that tries to erase her.