A review by the_fabric_of_words
Fearless by Mandy Gonzalez

5.0

This book features a character a little like a Latina “Nate” (Tim Federle’s series that has been banned in a lot of states, most recently Texas) but intended for slightly younger readers.

Twelve-year old Moncia Garcia is following her dream to be a Broadway star. She gets a call up as an understudy to the musical Our Time and off she goes to NYC with her abuela.

After meeting her castmates, seeing how far along the cast is in rehearsals, and figuring out how school works on a Broadway play, she quickly learns all the girls playing this part before her have fallen to the theater’s curse. That’s why she was called up.

If she wants the play to go on, much less be a smash hit, she’ll have to figure out what the curse on the Ethel Merman Theater actually is, how it got there, and what it needs to stop haunting actors and dragging their productions and the theater down.

Even if it means she’s not on stage to make it happen.

I loved this quick tale. It’s a bit mysterious, but certainly not horror (I have a ton of great horror books planned for October!). And I loved that it was written by one of the actresses from Hamilton.

Enjoy!

Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?

Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/