Théâtre Illuminata
Théâtre Illuminata is a young adult fantasy trilogy by Lisa Mantchev. The books are "Eyes Like Stars" (2009), "Perchance To Dream" (2010) and "So Silver Bright" (2011). "Eyes Like Stars" was nominated for the 2009 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy and the 2010 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature. The first book takes places in the mysterious Théâtre Illuminata "where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain,"—as written at the back of the book. The characters are bound to the Théâtre by The Book, a magical book  containing the scripts of every play. Because of this tie, they are unable to leave the theatre. The protagonist is Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, more commonly called Bertie. While she herself is not an actor and is not bound to the book, she has lived in the theatre as long as she can remember and it is her home. Novels. Section::::"Eyes Like Stars". "Eyes Like Stars" is the first novel in the "Théâtre Illuminata" trilogy. Théâtre Illuminata is a theater where characters are born because of their role in a play. Everyone at the theater is a Player in some sort  of play or manager of theater, be it a lead or chorus member. Except Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Bertie has been at the Théâtre Illuminata since before she can remember. She has caused many damages to the theatre throughout her seventeen years, but the Theater Manager has been patient with her. Until she blows a cannon through the set and is asked to leave. Utterly shocked, Bertie convinces the Theater Manager that if she can move Hamlet into the setting of Egypt, sell out the performance and get a standing ovation, she can stay. Throughout the story, The Book that binds  the Players to the Théâtre is captured by Ariel, an air spirit from "The Tempest", who desperately wants freedom. Unable to rip out his own page, he rips out every other page and nearly causes the Théâtre to collapse. Nate, a pirate from "The Little Mermaid", is kidnapped by Sedna, the Sea Goddess, in an attempt to save Bertie from her. Towards the end it is revealed that Ophelia, Prince Hamlet's lover from "Hamlet", is Bertie's mother. It is also revealed that the true reason the Theater Manager did not want Bertie to stay was because she had  the ability to free the players, which, in the end, she does free Ariel, and because he didn't want her to discover her past. At the very end, the two, along with the four fairies from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", head out into the real world to rescue Nate from Sedna. Section::::"Perchance To Dream". "Perchance To Dream" is the second novel in the "Théâtre Illuminata" trilogy. "The Seattle Times" described the book as "about a girl growing up in a family that's part of "the enchanted Théâtre Illuminata," thanks to which she learns about every play ever  written — and gradually discovers her own unusual writing powers." Section::::"So Silver Bright". "So Silver Bright" is the third, and final, novel in the "Théâtre Illuminata" trilogy. It was released on the 13th September 2011. Reception. "The New York Times" included "Eyes Like Stars" in a discussion of fairies in young-adult books in 2009. "School Library Journal" included "Eyes Like Stars" in an article about Young Adult books that feature fairies in 2010. "Kirkus Reviews" gave "Eyes Like Stars" a starred review in 2009. They also favorably reviewed "Perchance To Dream" in 2010.