Olive and the Backstage Ghost

A ghost story with a literary heart for fans of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and The Graveyard Book. Theater kids and ghost-story readers alike will find new meaning in the term stage fright.

All great theaters have their ghosts. . . .

After Olive Preiss freezes during a theater camp audition, she flees in despair. She finds herself at Maudeville, a beautiful old theater that she’s never noticed before. She enters, goes onstage, and sings her song. “Thank you for that lovely audition, darling,” comes a voice from the shadows. “I believe I have just the part for you.”

Olive is thrilled to work with Maude Devore, the glamorous actress who owns the theater, and her eclectic cast of misfits. Yet gradually there are signs that Maudeville isn’t exactly what it seems. Sometimes—just for a moment!—it feels wrong. As opening day approaches, Olive’s doubts and fears grow. But no matter what, this show must go on . . . and on . . . and on. . . .

“Equal parts heart and bone-deep creepiness.” —Claire Legrand, author of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

Michelle Schusterman lives in a monstrous city filled with ghosts, some of whom she allows to creep into her stories. She is the author of I Heart Band, a Scholastic Reading Club pick, and The Kat Sinclair Files. She’s also an instructor at Writopia Lab, a nonprofit organization that offers creative-writing workshops for children and teens from all backgrounds. Find out more at michelleschusterman.com.