Today's Feed Your Ears post is super special :) That's because Lisa Mantchev is visiting! Her novel, Eyes Like Stars, was released this July, and I'm thrilled that she was willing to put a playlist together for us to go with the book.
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Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars playlist with her commentary:
1. "Eyes Like Stars" - Faulter - Darling Buds of May
I found this song only after we retitled the novel... I think it speaks for itself (and is especially shiny, given that "Darling buds of May" is a Shakespearean reference.)
2. "The Chairman's Waltz" - John Williams - Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack
This is the music that would accompany Bertie and the fairies moving past the velvet curtains, around the half-lit backstage area, in the places only they really know about at the Théâtre.
3. "Moonlight Serenade" - Klaus Badelt - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack
Nate's entrance song.
4 and 5. "The Wedding Samba" - Edmundo Ros & His Rumba Band and "Je Chante" - Charles Trenet - A Good Year soundtrack
Two numbers I'm pretty sure Mr. Hastings would play on the Victrola in the Properties Department.
6. "Koop Island Blues" - Koop, featuring Ane Brun - Koop Islands
Very "By The Sea"-esque (you know your Sweeney Todd, yes?) and something I can hear playing in the background as Bertie and the fairies frolic in old-fashioned flannel bathing costumes at the seaside set.
7. "Falling Slowly" - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Once soundtrack
Bertie and Nate, summed up in a song.
8. "The Assasins' Tango" - John Powell - Mr. & Mrs. Smith soundtrack
Bertie and Ariel's Tango Music
9. "The Only One"/"Call Me When You're Sober" - Evanescence - The Open Door
The sort of music Bertie probably would have listened to when mad at either one of the boys, had she an iPod.
10. "Prendersi per mano" - Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo soundtrack
Almost ALL the Cirque music instantly transports me to the stage... it's very theatrical and evocative... this soundtrack and the other Cirque music comes even more into play for Perchance To Dream
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So, I think this is one AWESOME playlist. Thank you so much Lisa! Plus, Lisa put together this awesome playlist so you can listen to most of the songs:
If you haven't already, check out Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars, already on shelves, and the Theatre Illuminata website.
All Beatrice (Bertie) Shakespeare Smith knows is the Théâtre Illuminata. At the Théâtre, players are born to fill their particular role, bound to the building itself by The Book. Bertie has no idea who her parents are; just that she was left at the Théâtre to be taken care of. Despite not being a player, at the Théâtre she feels like she belongs. Living with the stage as her bedroom and the four fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as her closest companions, Bertie grows up to love the written word, action, and chaos (well, maybe she doesn’t love chaos but she can’t seem to help but create it). Unfortunately, it’s this attraction to disaster that constantly gets Bertie in trouble. When it finally goes too far, Bertie needs to find out what makes her indispensible before she loses her home and her family.
Lisa Mantchev’s Eyes Like Stars is a truly unique new fantasy. Though the beginning of the novel was a bit confusing, it didn’t take very long to become engrossed in Bertie’s story. Eyes Like Stars weaves script with narrative, so that Bertie’s story can’t be told without both. Along these lines, I love how Lisa Mantchev emphasizes the power of words and blurs the distinction between what is written and what is real. Plays that are likely familiar to the reader (such as Hamlet) come to life, and even with such liberty, Lisa Mantchev manages to stay true to the nature of each character. Though sometimes irksome, the four fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream increase the hilarity of the story so that the reader can’t help but laugh. As the scenes unfold, the charismatic yet dangerous Ariel (from Shakespeare’s The Tempest) enters the story, as does the modest and kind pirate Nate (from The Little Mermaid). It is particularly interesting to read how they play off of each other as they vie for Bertie’s attention. Overall, Eyes Like Stars is a really enjoyable read once you get past the very beginning. The characters are wonderful, and the imagination that went into this story is incredible. As the first installment in a trilogy, I was pleased to say that the end of Eyes Like Stars felt resolved enough to leave the reader satisfied while leaving plenty of storylines hanging in order to build anticipation for Act II. 8 out of 10.
P.S. Check back tomorrow for Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars playlist!
In My Mailbox was created by Kristi from The Story Siren. Here's what I found in my mailbox, at the bookstore, and at the library these last two weeks. Summaries are taken from Amazon, B&N, and GoodReads.
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong - If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever. Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.
Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn - Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Four sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them.
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (ARC, won in a contest by Jennifer of YABOOKNERD) - It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (ARC from 1 ARC Tours) - All her world's a stage. Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She is not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but has no lines of her own. Until now. Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.
After by Amy Efaw (ARC from 1 ARC Tours) - An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . . Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there's only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (ARC for review) - Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
So there you have it, my mailbox for the last two weeks. What found its way into your hands this week?
By: Maryann Yin,
on 3/23/2015
By: Kristin,
on 8/21/2009
I'm so excited too!