The Backstagers and the Final Blackout (Backstagers Book Three)

Author Andy Mientus (who is also an actor) concludes his trilogy of books based on The Backstagers comic by BOOM! Studios.  The first two books were a lot of fun, and this third book wraps up the adventures of these young backstagers as they try to prevent the theater artifacts from falling into the wrong hands.  It's always a joy for me to read books that combine more than just one of my loves - and in this instance, the combination of mystery, theater, and comic books pretty much cinches the fact that I'm going to love it!

The Backstagers and the Final Blackout brings our intrepid group of theater students face-to-face with the evil Thiasos Organization in a final battle over the theater artifacts.  Beckett and his merry band have safely stored the four artifacts they have recovered in a place that Thiasos can never find - or so they thought!  So, what happens when a masked stranger not only finds them, but manages to break through the defenses in place and steal all four of them, with the help of his own two artifacts that he has in hand?  The backstagers quickly realize that means there is only one artifact left the Thiasos Organization does now have: the Show Bible!  It then becomes a race against time to find the Show Bible before the enemy does, because if they don't, life as they know it will be changed forever!

Of course, Mientus does not make it easy on our heroes - Beckett is struggling to balance his work with the backstagers with his time with Bailey (his girlfriend), who has no idea the secrets he is keeping.  Meanwhile, Jamie and Timothy are preparing to graduate, which means final exams, choosing the right college, and passing the torch.  Sasha is growing more confused about his Genius and what it means for him and how to understand what it can tell him, and Hunter is beginning to question whether fighting for all of these artifacts is truly worth the cost.  Despite these personal dramas, though, they manage to follow the clues to locate the Show Bible (which includes a fun-tastic trip through a number of show-themed tests that really put our heroes through the ringer and force them to embrace the talents they all possess!) - but just as they think they have it, the Thiasos Organization shows up and takes it out from under them!

Anyone that has ever been in the theater knows - there is always way more drama going on behind the scenes than there actually is on the stage!  And Mientus definitely captures the truth of that statement in this final part of the Backstagers' battle for the theater artifacts.  The climactic battle with the Thiasos Organization reveals a dark plan that not even the members of the organization realize the full extent to which it will change reality as they know it, but it also reveals a traitor from the backstagers' own school!  Ultimately, one of the backstagers makes a huge sacrifice to save everyone, and it requires all of the skill, knowledge, and quick-thinking on the part of Beckett and his friends to save their own being possessed by a theater god for all eternity!

When I first saw Mientus as the Pied Piper on CW's The Flash, I did not know at the time that he had a background in theater and that, years later, I'd be reading and enjoying books that he wrote.  Mientus is a multi-talented man who has shared his love of the theater and writing with fans like me, and for that, I thank him profusely!  And because of these books, I'm on my way to check out The Backstagers comic from BOOM! Studios (which, by the way, happens to be drawn by Rian Sygh, the very same person who provided the art in all three of Mientus' books!).

With this trilogy concluded, I'm left wondering - just what will Mientus surprise us with next?

RATING:  9 trails of candy out of 10 for providing an all-ages story that combines theater, supernatural, mystery, drama, and romance in a tale that is fun and engaging and can be enjoyed by everyone!

The Backstagers and the Theater of the Ancients (Backstagers Book Two)

Actor and writer Andy Mientus returns to the world of the Backstagers with this second novel in his series based on the BOOM! Studios comic book. Now, I'm going to be up front and honest - as I started to read this book, even though I read the first one and remember pretty much the plot of that story, I did have a difficult time remembering each of the characters. Because I don't read the comic book, so am not overly familiar with the Backstagers, I had to refer back to the cover with the introduction of each character in the story, so that I could get a visual image of the characters as they appeared in the book.  Once I had them in my mind, though, the story flowed pretty easily.

The Backstagers and the Theater of the Ancients once again finds the backstage crew at St. Genesius Prep up to their necks in trouble and adventure. Having resolved the mystery of the ghost light, it now safely tucked in the great auditorium down the halls behind the "Unsafe Door," the crew is ready to get to work on the next play, Tammy - a rock opera about a young deaf girl! But what at first everyone thinks will be an easy show - after all, these kinds have become experts in their respective backstage positions - becomes a near tragedy, because everything is thrown into chaos when everyone has to assume new roles!  Beckett suddenly finds himself in the director's chair when Blake throws a temper tantrum and storms out! Sasha unexpectedly finds himself on his own in the lighting booth, having to figure everything out for himself. Aziz is forced to create and build the entire set by himself, while Reo must handle not only the props, but costumes as well!  Hunter has his hands full with stage managing, and Jory? Well, Jory has suddenly become obsessed with social media - so much so, that he his work as costume designer has been passed on to Reo, and the magical Designer's Notebook has been laid to the side, unused. But not unwanted....

An unexpected invitation to Greece has Jory quitting the backstagers and flying off on his own to what he thinks will be a fantastic opportunity. He takes the Designer's Notebook along (just in case he gets inspired to do some designs for the show, despite his having quit the show), unaware that he is walking into a trap.  Someone wants the Notebook, someone who's intentions are not exactly benevolent in nature. And back at St. Genesius, Tammy is not coming together at all.  Even the idea of having two actresses handle the leading role - one deaf and one hearing - does not seem to be enough to save the show. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and Beckett is beginning to realize that this may be the first show at St. Genesius to never actually make it to the stage.

Mientus provides another look at the chaos that is the backstage life of the theater. He hits the nail on the head with a lot of the conflict that occurs, the mishaps, and the many, many, MANY trials and errors when it comes to costuming, lighting, and props, as well as blocking and set-building. While the finished project may come across so seamlessly, anyone who has ever worked in theater can attest to the fact that what these backstagers go through in their production of Tammy is pretty much an every day thing for actors, directors, stage managers, and every other backstager. With my own experience in the community theaters here locally, it makes the reading of this series all the more enjoyable.

However, all that being said, the one thing about this book that TRULY made me smile and captured my interest even more than the theater aspect is the use of Adrienne, a young deaf girl who takes on the lead role in the production of Tammy! Mientus captures so many nuances about deaf culture and how people view deaf people and the accommodations that can be made to utilize a deaf actress to actually play a deaf character on stage - there is no way I can imagine Mientus not having had some experience with deaf people in his own life.  Adrienne is portrayed very realistically, and the use of sign language throughout the book (with artist Rian Sygh providing some great visuals of the signs themselves!). Kudos to Mientus for remembering that this idea of "all-inclusiveness" should also include deaf people!

The gang, of course, rescues Jory and save the day (in quite a wild and fun way), and the overarching story becomes a bit more clear, as the kids now have three of the magical theater artifacts that a certain unknown someone is trying to get ... and if that cliffhanger at the end is any indication, the backstagers may end up having to fight someone they thought they could trust over those artifacts in upcoming books!

RATING:  9 God mics out of 10 for creating a story with a wide variety of characters who are there for one another through thick and thin and can solve a mystery amidst all the chaos that is theater!

The Backstagers and the Ghost Light (Backstagers Book One)

The Backstagers (Book 1)
The Backstagers and the Ghost Light
Publisher:  Amulet Books
Publication Date (September 2018)
ISBN 10 - 1419731204
ISBN 13 - 978-1419731204
208 Pages

Theater and Mystery - the perfect combination for a great book. Throw in an author who is actually an actor who portrayed the Pied Piper in CW's television series, The Flash, and it makes the attraction even stronger. Now, on top of that, base the book on a successful comic book series, and there is no way in the world that I could not pick this up! Thus explains why I bought this first book in a new series of novels by Andy Mientus based on the Boom! Studios comic book series, The Backstagers.

Now, the first thing I realized after getting several chapters into The Backstagers and the Ghost Light is that this series is definitely intended for readers who are already familiar with the comic book series. While the characters are given fairly decent introductions that gives you an idea of who they are, there are so many references to past adventures and experiences, this feels like a sequel of sorts to the comic book series.  I began to feel like I had missed out on a huge chunk of the story that brought these characters to where they are now, that I started to wonder if this was an intentional marketing ploy to try and lead people who have never read the comic to rush out and buy the comic and find out what the characters are talking about (as they mention past adventures and situations, but don't provide any details, leaving new readers in the dark to a certain extent....)

Nevertheless, I trudged on with the book, and I did find the story to be rather enjoyable. Five backstagers in their school theater - Sasha, Becket, Hunter, Jory, and Aziz - are prepping finishing up the run on their current production and getting ready for the next one, when a ghostly mystery presents itself. All theater geeks know that every theater leaves a single light on every night - a "ghost light" - to keep away any ghosts and spirits who may want to haunt the theater.  It's a tradition. So what happens when the Backstagers' ghost light goes out? Why, it opens the door for a ghost who suddenly creates havoc for the upcoming show, starting with a ruined audition due to a falling light fixture ... and culminating in a supernatural portal opening backstage that lets in one of the most dangerous creatures of another realm this world has ever not seen! And the Backstagers' only hope is the young girl who was cast as the lead in the new production - and who just so happens to have her own secret reason for being in that very theater!

It's obvious Mientus is familiar with the theater life, as not only does he use the proper lingo, but he also captures the true feel of the theater, from the director, to the actors, to the stage hands and stage managers.  It was almost like being part of a production (albeit with a supernatural twist) again as I read the book. And the ending definitely sets the stage (no pun intended!) for the next book in the series.

RATING:  6 cans of Diet Coke out of 10 for mixing theater and mystery with a dash of comic fun!