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Degrassi #9
Exit Stage Left
The school play turns Degrassi Junior High upside down when Stephanie Kaye, the student body president, and Joey Jeremiah, the class clown, compete for starring roles
- GenresYoung Adult
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
William Pasnak
10 books1 followerWILLIAM PASNAK, a Vancouver writer, has twice won the R. Ross Annett Award for children's literature, given by the Writers' Guild of Alberta.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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December 10, 2023Snake having a crush on LD? Snake having a bad home life with his mom? Wheels and Lucy having the hots for each other? This was a wild book.
January 19, 2024
Degrassi Junior High School Musical
The first half of this book was very bleh for me, I thought I would be giving it 2 stars. However, the second half of the book was much better and I enjoyed it.
The first half of this book was very bleh for me, I thought I would be giving it 2 stars. However, the second half of the book was much better and I enjoyed it.
April 13, 2023
THIS IS NOT SPOILER FREE!
Sadly, this is my least favorite Degrassi book. It did have a lot working against though, so let's give it some leeway. Unlike, the other books in the Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High series, this one focuses on multiple characters. Because of that, it felt clunky and confusing at times as I was trying to remember who was doing what, etc. I also felt that the author didn't capture many of the characters. The other books mostly had writers from the actual show and this one did not.
The overall plot is that the Degrassi students are putting together a play. It ends up effecting everyone in weird ways. Now I'll break down the various plot threads by character and my criticisms of each:
LD: LD is the closest we come to a "main character" of the book, meaning it follows her storyline the most. Unfortunately, it is partially inspired by the episode "Nothing to Fear," in which LD is terrified to see her father in the hospital since her mother died in a hospital previously. Now this was not a bad episode, but it shows LD at her most annoying in my opinion and she acts the same way in this book. So, LD is afraid that her father's health problems have returned. However, instead of asking about it, she just allows it to effect every aspect of her life. I just thought we'd see some character growth since "Nothing to Fear"...
It turns that her father was just planning a vacation to Corsica, where the Delacortes are from (I liked this). He cannot afford to take LD, so she promises to find somewhere to stay (I'll continue this later on). In the meantime, she has been appointed master carpenter for the play. She quickly runs everyone off with her bossiness and eventually only has Snake helping her. I thought this was very out of character for LD as I don't remember her acting this way in the show.
Stephanie: She starts off the book strong but becomes lost in the middle. This is unfortunate as Steph has the most compelling storyline coming off the season 1 finale of Degrassi Junior High. After winter break, Steph has gotten rid of her risque clothing but remains interested in Wheels. She immediately wants to play the lead opposite Wheels. Unfortunately for her, she is cast as the mother character and Lucy as the lead. Steph's storyline drops off around here, but is picked back up near the end. She is extremely jealous of Lucy and Wheels. However, after seeing a new side to him, her crush abruptly ends and she is able to play Lucy's mother.
Yick: At the beginning, it doesn't feel like we're going to follow Yick that much but he eventually feels like the third lead strangely. Yick is not interested in acting and signs up for special effects instead. He mostly likes the job, except the part that involves making a ghost. He is so spooked about it that he ends up putting firecrackers in the ghost (to ward off a real ghost?). When the firecrackers go off but don't burn the place down, Yick takes this as it working. This storyline is very strange... The author calls Yick Chinese several times, but he's actually South Asian (maybe Vietnamese). That mistake aside, Yick's being afraid of ghosts is directly linked to him being "Chinese." It's just strange.
Wheels: Wheels is not exactly a main character but we some scenes from his point of view. So, he is cast as the male lead opposite Lucy. He is no longer interested in Stephanie, instead developing interest in Lucy. For some reason, Wheels becomes suspicious of Joey whose character in the play is kind of a dirtbag. He starts treating Joey terribly, which just feels stupid and out of character. Steph later talks to him about it and he apologizes to Joey.
Joey: We barely get anything from Joey's point-of-view. He's his usual annoying self for the most part. Like Wheels, he's over Steph and likes Lucy. She doesn't reciprocate. He becomes jealous of Wheels, who soon starts treating Joey badly (see above). Unfortunately, Joey happens to be in the same spot as some mishaps. Everything is eventually worked out. Side note: The Zit Remedy have two other songs: "I Don't Want To Be A Porcupine With Anyone Else But You, Baby" and "Worms of Fire." Thankfully, our ears are spared.
Lucy: We see little of Lucy's POV as well. She is cast as the female lead and becomes interested in Wheels, but is afraid to step on Steph's toes. Later, Lucy invites LD to stay at her house while LD's dad is in Corsica. I really liked this part as it establishes LD's and Lucy's friendship. Both of them are shown to be friends with Voula in the book, so it makes since that they become best friends while it sort of happens randomly in the show. Note: She's called "Lucy Baines"???
Arthur: Arthur feels like he's going to be a main character, but partway through the author decided to focus on Yick instead. He gets a part in the play and becomes obsessed with learning how to be poor... At one point, he buys dog food to try but his dad ends up eating it by mistake! I'm sorry, but does his dad have eyes or taste buds? Anyway, Arthur's storyline feels pointless because it goes nowhere.
Now to conclude LD's storyline. She learns that she actually does need help to finish making the sets. She reconciles with everyone and the play is successful. The book ends with Lucy and Wheels interested in each other and.... Snake and LD?? I'm sorry but I don't see either couple, but especially not Snake and LD. It doesn't fit in with the show or with their characters. So random!
So, this book was interesting enough to read once but I didn't really like it. It doesn't match up with the show like the other books, which make mistakes but not this many. I also don't think you could consider this book canon.
Sadly, this is my least favorite Degrassi book. It did have a lot working against though, so let's give it some leeway. Unlike, the other books in the Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High series, this one focuses on multiple characters. Because of that, it felt clunky and confusing at times as I was trying to remember who was doing what, etc. I also felt that the author didn't capture many of the characters. The other books mostly had writers from the actual show and this one did not.
The overall plot is that the Degrassi students are putting together a play. It ends up effecting everyone in weird ways. Now I'll break down the various plot threads by character and my criticisms of each:
LD: LD is the closest we come to a "main character" of the book, meaning it follows her storyline the most. Unfortunately, it is partially inspired by the episode "Nothing to Fear," in which LD is terrified to see her father in the hospital since her mother died in a hospital previously. Now this was not a bad episode, but it shows LD at her most annoying in my opinion and she acts the same way in this book. So, LD is afraid that her father's health problems have returned. However, instead of asking about it, she just allows it to effect every aspect of her life. I just thought we'd see some character growth since "Nothing to Fear"...
It turns that her father was just planning a vacation to Corsica, where the Delacortes are from (I liked this). He cannot afford to take LD, so she promises to find somewhere to stay (I'll continue this later on). In the meantime, she has been appointed master carpenter for the play. She quickly runs everyone off with her bossiness and eventually only has Snake helping her. I thought this was very out of character for LD as I don't remember her acting this way in the show.
Stephanie: She starts off the book strong but becomes lost in the middle. This is unfortunate as Steph has the most compelling storyline coming off the season 1 finale of Degrassi Junior High. After winter break, Steph has gotten rid of her risque clothing but remains interested in Wheels. She immediately wants to play the lead opposite Wheels. Unfortunately for her, she is cast as the mother character and Lucy as the lead. Steph's storyline drops off around here, but is picked back up near the end. She is extremely jealous of Lucy and Wheels. However, after seeing a new side to him, her crush abruptly ends and she is able to play Lucy's mother.
Yick: At the beginning, it doesn't feel like we're going to follow Yick that much but he eventually feels like the third lead strangely. Yick is not interested in acting and signs up for special effects instead. He mostly likes the job, except the part that involves making a ghost. He is so spooked about it that he ends up putting firecrackers in the ghost (to ward off a real ghost?). When the firecrackers go off but don't burn the place down, Yick takes this as it working. This storyline is very strange... The author calls Yick Chinese several times, but he's actually South Asian (maybe Vietnamese). That mistake aside, Yick's being afraid of ghosts is directly linked to him being "Chinese." It's just strange.
Wheels: Wheels is not exactly a main character but we some scenes from his point of view. So, he is cast as the male lead opposite Lucy. He is no longer interested in Stephanie, instead developing interest in Lucy. For some reason, Wheels becomes suspicious of Joey whose character in the play is kind of a dirtbag. He starts treating Joey terribly, which just feels stupid and out of character. Steph later talks to him about it and he apologizes to Joey.
Joey: We barely get anything from Joey's point-of-view. He's his usual annoying self for the most part. Like Wheels, he's over Steph and likes Lucy. She doesn't reciprocate. He becomes jealous of Wheels, who soon starts treating Joey badly (see above). Unfortunately, Joey happens to be in the same spot as some mishaps. Everything is eventually worked out. Side note: The Zit Remedy have two other songs: "I Don't Want To Be A Porcupine With Anyone Else But You, Baby" and "Worms of Fire." Thankfully, our ears are spared.
Lucy: We see little of Lucy's POV as well. She is cast as the female lead and becomes interested in Wheels, but is afraid to step on Steph's toes. Later, Lucy invites LD to stay at her house while LD's dad is in Corsica. I really liked this part as it establishes LD's and Lucy's friendship. Both of them are shown to be friends with Voula in the book, so it makes since that they become best friends while it sort of happens randomly in the show. Note: She's called "Lucy Baines"???
Arthur: Arthur feels like he's going to be a main character, but partway through the author decided to focus on Yick instead. He gets a part in the play and becomes obsessed with learning how to be poor... At one point, he buys dog food to try but his dad ends up eating it by mistake! I'm sorry, but does his dad have eyes or taste buds? Anyway, Arthur's storyline feels pointless because it goes nowhere.
Now to conclude LD's storyline. She learns that she actually does need help to finish making the sets. She reconciles with everyone and the play is successful. The book ends with Lucy and Wheels interested in each other and.... Snake and LD?? I'm sorry but I don't see either couple, but especially not Snake and LD. It doesn't fit in with the show or with their characters. So random!
So, this book was interesting enough to read once but I didn't really like it. It doesn't match up with the show like the other books, which make mistakes but not this many. I also don't think you could consider this book canon.
November 17, 2025
kinda wish this was the cannon of the show! Its so good but it changes a lot of characters&would change the show so I guess I'm fine with it not being cannon but making a book that isnt cannon made me really confused for a bit. I had to Google it because it's been a few years since I watched Seasons 1&2 of JH.
CW: weird transphobic "joke" Im trying not judge because it was written in 1987 and Joey is JH&he's Joey,also mentions of abuse&classicist storylines.
This book is mostly light hearted as most episodes of DJH are which was nice since I've been rewatching so much NextGen lately. I really disliked LD in the show because she seemed so boring just having the one storyline of fear of hospitals due to her mom's death which is a great storyline but she needed more,if this were cannon I wouldve liked her SO MUCH more! Her&Snake are so cute together&I dont think they wouldve effected much of NextGen by being together but maybe? I really hate Wheels in this book ; turning his back on Joey when I guess Joey wasnt the one playing the tricks? They dont explain what was happening but I wish they wouldve ; like why not say Arthur was behind it or Rick? Instead they really want it to seem like it was a ghost. I guess since the book is for JH kids Im not too mad but as a 27 year old Im not believing in ghosts! Lol I shouldnt be so critical but I'm not mad because I laughed&smiled everytime I read this book from "bristle brain" to "toy duck in the pot of chili" to his dad eating the can of dog food, even though that one made me mad at first. Arthur pissed me off "whats it like being poor?" "Poor people dont have dishes so why do I have to wash dishes even though I just ate with dishes? My character is poor&poor people watch hockey on tv." I know Arthur is a 7th grader but I wanted to slap him!! I felt so bad for Yick having to put up with him as his only friend. Get Yick a friend that doesnt make being poor sound like hell. I've been poor&we had dishes but we didnt have cable! Still well written and fun.
CW: weird transphobic "joke" Im trying not judge because it was written in 1987 and Joey is JH&he's Joey,also mentions of abuse&classicist storylines.
This book is mostly light hearted as most episodes of DJH are which was nice since I've been rewatching so much NextGen lately. I really disliked LD in the show because she seemed so boring just having the one storyline of fear of hospitals due to her mom's death which is a great storyline but she needed more,if this were cannon I wouldve liked her SO MUCH more! Her&Snake are so cute together&I dont think they wouldve effected much of NextGen by being together but maybe? I really hate Wheels in this book ; turning his back on Joey when I guess Joey wasnt the one playing the tricks? They dont explain what was happening but I wish they wouldve ; like why not say Arthur was behind it or Rick? Instead they really want it to seem like it was a ghost. I guess since the book is for JH kids Im not too mad but as a 27 year old Im not believing in ghosts! Lol I shouldnt be so critical but I'm not mad because I laughed&smiled everytime I read this book from "bristle brain" to "toy duck in the pot of chili" to his dad eating the can of dog food, even though that one made me mad at first. Arthur pissed me off "whats it like being poor?" "Poor people dont have dishes so why do I have to wash dishes even though I just ate with dishes? My character is poor&poor people watch hockey on tv." I know Arthur is a 7th grader but I wanted to slap him!! I felt so bad for Yick having to put up with him as his only friend. Get Yick a friend that doesnt make being poor sound like hell. I've been poor&we had dishes but we didnt have cable! Still well written and fun.
December 29, 2025
This was my first degrassi book and it was cute. It was fun to have a story after watching the series with these characters. I'll be looking for others.
January 6, 2026
perfect extension of the series while still adding new elements! loved it! 4/5
October 17, 2008
How I Came To Read This Book: My mom scoped it out at the public library she worked at in the "Free Books" pile and snagged it for me.
The Plot: The book is essentially like an episode of Degrassi. In this particular instance, the school is putting on a play, but the various Degrassi students are coping with relationships, families, schoolwork, and fear that will ultimately teach them some morals through their participation (or lack thereof) in the play.
The Good & The Bad: I think this book was a fun throwback for me, as the main characters from the show were very much present here and the entire book felt like watching an episode. That being said, if you don't like flat characters and moral-based storytelling, you probably won't dig this book. It's nothing extraordinary by any means, but fun for fans of the original 80s program.
The Bottom Line: A fun throwback for fans of 80s Degrassi!
Anything Memorable?: My last book before Harry Potter 7!!!
50-Book Challenge?: Book #35 in 2007
The Plot: The book is essentially like an episode of Degrassi. In this particular instance, the school is putting on a play, but the various Degrassi students are coping with relationships, families, schoolwork, and fear that will ultimately teach them some morals through their participation (or lack thereof) in the play.
The Good & The Bad: I think this book was a fun throwback for me, as the main characters from the show were very much present here and the entire book felt like watching an episode. That being said, if you don't like flat characters and moral-based storytelling, you probably won't dig this book. It's nothing extraordinary by any means, but fun for fans of the original 80s program.
The Bottom Line: A fun throwback for fans of 80s Degrassi!
Anything Memorable?: My last book before Harry Potter 7!!!
50-Book Challenge?: Book #35 in 2007
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