Act 1

November 24, 2014
Jack Goodrich was a child actor in Broadway musicals, but his voice changed just after he landed his first lead, and he lost the role. Jack’s parents subsequently whisk the family to Cleveland for his father’s new job; they move in down the street from Louisa Benning, a musically talented seventh-grader and fellow MTN (Musical Theater Nerd), who can’t believe her luck that the new boy on the block was on Broadway. Jack and Lou get off to a rough start, but their friendship blossoms after they get roles in a community production of Into the Woods. First-time authors Keenan-Bolger and Wetherhead show that they know their way around a musical (both are Broadway veterans). Writing in the two characters’ alternating viewpoints, they trace Jack’s gradual acceptance of his new circumstances while tackling boys-in-musicals stereotypes (when a bullying classmate derides Jack’s Broadway background as “so gay,” their peers instantly shut the bully down). While the story charts a predictable course, this is nevertheless a sweet series opener, packed with theatrical references and minutia, sure to please any young MTN. Ages 8–12. Agency: Gersh Agency.

November 15, 2014
When Jack Goodrich, a 12-year-old Broadway actor, moves from New York City to Shaker Heights, Ohio, he decides to reinvent himself-but his new neighbor and classmate, musical aficionado Louisa Benning, is determined to lure him into a local production.In New York, Jack went to the Professional Performing Arts School, where it was perfectly normal for a boy to take ballet without becoming "bully bait." Not so at Shaker Heights Middle School, so Jack, whose changing voice has left him feeling insecure about his true passion, decides to try out for soccer. But Louisa, who dreams of being a Broadway actress, uses every trick in the book to get him to audition for the Shaker Heights Community Players' production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Jack and Louisa take turns narrating the story in the first person, and the conflict between them has a manufactured quality. This is partially because neither has an offstage reality and also because the outcomes of Jack's two "will he, won't he" dilemmas seem inevitable. The joy in this book, which is full of theater lingo and other references, is the palpable pleasure the protagonists take in the art and craft of musical theater and its subtle but boffo ending. Theater fans will eat this up, but it's unlikely to find a wider audience. (Fiction. 10-14)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 6-8-Lou, a self-proclaimed MTN (Musical Theater Nerd) returns home from summer theater camp to discover a new family, with a boy her age, moving into the neighborhood. When she spies Jack wearing a Mary Poppins Broadway show T-shirt, Lou wonders if she has found a kindred spirit, a fellow MTN. She is ecstatic to learn that Jack not only hails from New York City, but has actually appeared in several Broadway musicals. However, Jack left New York in humiliation after his voice started to change during rehearsals for a new play. When the two tenuous friends start seventh grade, Jack declares himself finished with theater, and tries out for the soccer team instead. But Lou won't give up on him, and when the community theater announces auditions for Into the Woods, she is confident that she and Jack are destined for the leads, whether he knows it or not. The story is told alternately in the voices of Lou and Jack, which allows the personalities of both characters to shine. Lou is passionate and sarcastic, Jack is angry and unsure. Their relationship develops in fits and starts as they learn to trust each other. While there are no surprises in this book, it is an entertaining examination of friendship and theater.-Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor School District, Lancaster, PA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
Grades 4-8 It's never easy being the new kid. For Jack Goodrich, it's even harder; he's leaving New York City behind for the Ohio suburbs, as well as a starring role in a new Broadway musical, all because his voice decided to pick the worst time possible to start changing. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Jack's new neighbor is Louisa, the town's loud-and-proud musical-theater nerd. With community-theater auditions loomingfor Sondheim's Into the WoodsLouisa is determined not to let the once-bitten Jack let go of his Broadway past. Jack and Louisa are authentic, exuberant characters whose extensive musical-theater knowledge is due to the expertise of their creators; Keenan-Bolger and Wetherhead are both vetted Broadway performers. It might not be a book for those uninterested in theater, but for readers who are, this first in a trilogy is a can't-miss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)