What do you think?
Rate this book
Showstopper
"A witty summer camp murder mystery where drama unfolds both on and off the stage . . . . In this love letter to theater life, the joy and passion derived from the art form shine through brightly." —Kirkus Reviews
TAKE YOUR FINAL BOW
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a monthlong musical-theater intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her white-passing roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise. Suddenly, she’s competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right? But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath.
TAKE YOUR FINAL BOW
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a monthlong musical-theater intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her white-passing roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise. Suddenly, she’s competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right? But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2025
12 people are currently reading
4727 people want to read
About the author
Lily Anderson
11 books828 followersLily Anderson is the author of THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU, NOT NOW NOT EVER, and UNDEAD GIRL GANG. A former school librarian, she is deeply devoted to Shakespeare, fairy tales, and podcasts. Somewhere in Northern California, she is having strong opinions on musical theater. Find her online at www.mslilyanderson.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
October 29, 2025
✨✨ 4.95 ✨✨
“Musical theater is one big beautiful, shared story.”
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillion Children's Publishing Group for this advanced title!
There is nothing I didn’t enjoy about this title. It resonates with me because I’m a theater Mom, and some of the context mentioned is exceptionally accurate. This was a time when “tech week” was still called “hell week”, which changed (for her) as a professional theater actor.
I enjoyed the backstory about the players and how everyone's circumstances are different. The bits about typecasting are dead on, and how some adults don’t understand how what they call “a hobby” can be a viable and lucrative career path. 🎭 Theater kids don’t choose theater because it’s easy or lucrative (for some); they choose it because they can’t imagine doing anything else.
The main characters are likable in their own way and feel sentimental about their last year at the Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp together. For these friends, it’s perfectly imperfect. Camp is only three or four weeks, but the time they spend together honing their craft is invaluable.
There is a darker side to camp with fewer constraints, minimal supervision, and college-aged students working as stagehands. It’s easy for things to go unnoticed and for unhealthy relationships to bloom.
When the campers hear about the first murder, it’s a one-off, and they wonder how this happened or if someone got carried away. The second murder is an omen, but the third and fourth spells serial killer.
No one knows who will be next, putting all the campers on edge as they try to rehearse for their “killer” summer performance. Friendships are tested as Faye no longer wants to play the “good girl” role, and she finds herself in competition with her best friend. Tensions run high as the killings seem to be without purpose or reasoning.
But in a thriller 🔪, there’s always a good ole’ revenge story just below the surface.
I enjoyed this title, and I can’t wait to get it for my daughter. For me, it’s everything a Fall thriller should be: a body count, mean girls, stupid boys, and a reckoning.
“Musical theater is one big beautiful, shared story.”
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillion Children's Publishing Group for this advanced title!
There is nothing I didn’t enjoy about this title. It resonates with me because I’m a theater Mom, and some of the context mentioned is exceptionally accurate. This was a time when “tech week” was still called “hell week”, which changed (for her) as a professional theater actor.
I enjoyed the backstory about the players and how everyone's circumstances are different. The bits about typecasting are dead on, and how some adults don’t understand how what they call “a hobby” can be a viable and lucrative career path. 🎭 Theater kids don’t choose theater because it’s easy or lucrative (for some); they choose it because they can’t imagine doing anything else.
The main characters are likable in their own way and feel sentimental about their last year at the Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp together. For these friends, it’s perfectly imperfect. Camp is only three or four weeks, but the time they spend together honing their craft is invaluable.
There is a darker side to camp with fewer constraints, minimal supervision, and college-aged students working as stagehands. It’s easy for things to go unnoticed and for unhealthy relationships to bloom.
When the campers hear about the first murder, it’s a one-off, and they wonder how this happened or if someone got carried away. The second murder is an omen, but the third and fourth spells serial killer.
No one knows who will be next, putting all the campers on edge as they try to rehearse for their “killer” summer performance. Friendships are tested as Faye no longer wants to play the “good girl” role, and she finds herself in competition with her best friend. Tensions run high as the killings seem to be without purpose or reasoning.
But in a thriller 🔪, there’s always a good ole’ revenge story just below the surface.
I enjoyed this title, and I can’t wait to get it for my daughter. For me, it’s everything a Fall thriller should be: a body count, mean girls, stupid boys, and a reckoning.
October 29, 2025
3.5 stars!
Faye and her friends attend theater camp every summer. Upon arrival they learn their beloved director has passed away. Rumor has it, he was murdered. As production begins, so does a deadly duo. Will opening night go off without a hitch or will death take center stage?
Guess what?! I was a theater kid! I attended a theater camp for three summers, took voice lessons for many years and starred in numerous shows. I would have an anxiety attack stepping on stage now but then, I loved the rush. With that said, Showstopper brought me back to that era of life. I loved all the nods to shows and the use of theater jargon. It was a good time! Chaos, murder and kooky kids kept me entertained. I found it super amusing and fun!
Faye and her friends attend theater camp every summer. Upon arrival they learn their beloved director has passed away. Rumor has it, he was murdered. As production begins, so does a deadly duo. Will opening night go off without a hitch or will death take center stage?
Guess what?! I was a theater kid! I attended a theater camp for three summers, took voice lessons for many years and starred in numerous shows. I would have an anxiety attack stepping on stage now but then, I loved the rush. With that said, Showstopper brought me back to that era of life. I loved all the nods to shows and the use of theater jargon. It was a good time! Chaos, murder and kooky kids kept me entertained. I found it super amusing and fun!
October 15, 2025
Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook!
Faye is headed back to her last year of a musical theater intensive camp. Alongside her best friend Kai, and the other “veterans,” Faye has big dreams this year to overcome her typecasting. When staff and students start gettjng killed off one by one, everyone realizes that they might have a serial killer on the loose. Will the show still go on?
I had THE best time with this book. I hadn’t heard anything about it until I got it as a free download in a horror PR Box, and I am so glad I was lucky enough to stumble upon it then.
This is a love letter to musical theater and slasher films/books - a niche combination that absolutely worked for me as a lover of both. There were so many musical/broadway specific jokes that hit hard and had me smiling and laughing throughout. If you are a theater nerd who doesn’t mind a little gore, I have no doubt you would enjoy this one.
Showstopper was silly while also having moments of suspense, a hard balance to achieve. The characters were your typical high school campers, lovable teens taking everything too seriously. It was easy to keep track of all of the characters, and while I didn’t feel particularly attached to any specific character, I loved having an almost snowglobe-esque feeling of watching all of the drama and horror unfold.
Faye is headed back to her last year of a musical theater intensive camp. Alongside her best friend Kai, and the other “veterans,” Faye has big dreams this year to overcome her typecasting. When staff and students start gettjng killed off one by one, everyone realizes that they might have a serial killer on the loose. Will the show still go on?
I had THE best time with this book. I hadn’t heard anything about it until I got it as a free download in a horror PR Box, and I am so glad I was lucky enough to stumble upon it then.
This is a love letter to musical theater and slasher films/books - a niche combination that absolutely worked for me as a lover of both. There were so many musical/broadway specific jokes that hit hard and had me smiling and laughing throughout. If you are a theater nerd who doesn’t mind a little gore, I have no doubt you would enjoy this one.
Showstopper was silly while also having moments of suspense, a hard balance to achieve. The characters were your typical high school campers, lovable teens taking everything too seriously. It was easy to keep track of all of the characters, and while I didn’t feel particularly attached to any specific character, I loved having an almost snowglobe-esque feeling of watching all of the drama and horror unfold.
May 28, 2025
Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. for the eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Lily Anderson’s Show Stopper is a YA thriller with a generous dose of camp drama, musical theater flair, and a creeping sense of danger that unfolds beneath spotlights and stage makeup. With her signature wit and sharp characterization, Anderson brings us into the world of Ghostlight Camp, where the teens are dramatic, the performances are intense, and the body count keeps rising.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel, it was engaging, witty, and clearly written with a deep love for both theater and the high-stakes emotions of adolescence. Anderson’s voice shines, and the authenticity of her experience as a “theater kid” is felt on every page. As someone who’s been in that similar world (former band kid), I saw the real love and understanding poured into the pages, especially through the chaotic, expressive, and often over-the-top cast of characters.
That said, one thing that pulled me out of the story at times was the near-total lack of adult intervention or concern. There’s something jarring about a murder (or multiple suspicious deaths) happening at a summer camp, and the response from adults is more or less a shrug and a “break a leg.” Parents, even those of our main character, Faye, seem far too willing to let their barely legal kids stay in a clearly dangerous environment, surrounded by drunken college students and oblivious camp staff. It’s not that I needed a realistic procedural thriller, but the level of “meh” from authority figures made parts of the plot feel implausible, even for a YA story.
That being said, I appreciated that Anderson did eventually offer some explanations that grounded the more dramatic elements. What at first seems like a string of accidents is revealed to have layers, some characters may not be as innocent (or as oblivious) as they seem, and I was glad this was explored rather than left ambiguous. It brought the story full circle and made some of the earlier questionable plot points easier to digest in hindsight.
In terms of tone and theme, Show Stopper is definitely best suited for its intended YA audience, particularly for theater and artsy kids who love a bit of melodrama mixed with horror. While I may have wanted a little more realism in terms of adult response and risk management, I also recognize that the story is more about the intensity of being young, passionate, and obsessed with art, even in the face of danger.
Final verdict? A fun, slightly far-fetched but heartfelt tribute to theater kids everywhere. It’s Glee meets Scream, with a strong undercurrent of authenticity from an author who clearly remembers what it was like to live for the next performance.
Lily Anderson’s Show Stopper is a YA thriller with a generous dose of camp drama, musical theater flair, and a creeping sense of danger that unfolds beneath spotlights and stage makeup. With her signature wit and sharp characterization, Anderson brings us into the world of Ghostlight Camp, where the teens are dramatic, the performances are intense, and the body count keeps rising.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel, it was engaging, witty, and clearly written with a deep love for both theater and the high-stakes emotions of adolescence. Anderson’s voice shines, and the authenticity of her experience as a “theater kid” is felt on every page. As someone who’s been in that similar world (former band kid), I saw the real love and understanding poured into the pages, especially through the chaotic, expressive, and often over-the-top cast of characters.
That said, one thing that pulled me out of the story at times was the near-total lack of adult intervention or concern. There’s something jarring about a murder (or multiple suspicious deaths) happening at a summer camp, and the response from adults is more or less a shrug and a “break a leg.” Parents, even those of our main character, Faye, seem far too willing to let their barely legal kids stay in a clearly dangerous environment, surrounded by drunken college students and oblivious camp staff. It’s not that I needed a realistic procedural thriller, but the level of “meh” from authority figures made parts of the plot feel implausible, even for a YA story.
That being said, I appreciated that Anderson did eventually offer some explanations that grounded the more dramatic elements. What at first seems like a string of accidents is revealed to have layers, some characters may not be as innocent (or as oblivious) as they seem, and I was glad this was explored rather than left ambiguous. It brought the story full circle and made some of the earlier questionable plot points easier to digest in hindsight.
In terms of tone and theme, Show Stopper is definitely best suited for its intended YA audience, particularly for theater and artsy kids who love a bit of melodrama mixed with horror. While I may have wanted a little more realism in terms of adult response and risk management, I also recognize that the story is more about the intensity of being young, passionate, and obsessed with art, even in the face of danger.
Final verdict? A fun, slightly far-fetched but heartfelt tribute to theater kids everywhere. It’s Glee meets Scream, with a strong undercurrent of authenticity from an author who clearly remembers what it was like to live for the next performance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2025
well… not quite.
hearing this pitched as glee meets scream instantly sold it for me; however, if anything, this was a watered down version of those two things. my main issue with the book was that it lacked the horror/slasher/thriller/whatever you want to call it element that drives the plot and instead focuses on the logistics of theater camp without the full-blown dramatics shown not told (just the one-dimensional archetypes of a theater kid). the friendship, additionally, didn’t feel exactly close knit for all the deaths to be *as* disruptive to the teens and failed to make the reveal shocking.
i did like the motive behind the killings, though, but it could’ve been fleshed out more with the dynamics and character backstories. it’s just a shame that it wrapped up abruptly.
hearing this pitched as glee meets scream instantly sold it for me; however, if anything, this was a watered down version of those two things. my main issue with the book was that it lacked the horror/slasher/thriller/whatever you want to call it element that drives the plot and instead focuses on the logistics of theater camp without the full-blown dramatics shown not told (just the one-dimensional archetypes of a theater kid). the friendship, additionally, didn’t feel exactly close knit for all the deaths to be *as* disruptive to the teens and failed to make the reveal shocking.
i did like the motive behind the killings, though, but it could’ve been fleshed out more with the dynamics and character backstories. it’s just a shame that it wrapped up abruptly.
October 8, 2025
3.5 stars
i’m always in for a book from lily, but i’ve really enjoyed her move into horror-y plots.
I liked faye well enough. she’s driven and full of heart and is absolutely in love with the three weeks of theatre camp. there are a good amount of characters here (to use faye’s lingo, both leads and ensembles), but the story mostly stays in faye’s pov.
plot wise, it was okay. i loved the “offstage” chapters and how we got to see the murders took place. there’s an element of the plot that i wasn’t expecting and i really wish we would have gotten just a little more info about it throughout the story, instead of the info dump at the end. maybe that was to keep me guessing?
overall, this was a fun and quick read with some serious topics sprinkled in. i can’t wait to see what lily comes up with next.
fyi: off page grooming, off page statutory rape
**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**
i’m always in for a book from lily, but i’ve really enjoyed her move into horror-y plots.
I liked faye well enough. she’s driven and full of heart and is absolutely in love with the three weeks of theatre camp. there are a good amount of characters here (to use faye’s lingo, both leads and ensembles), but the story mostly stays in faye’s pov.
plot wise, it was okay. i loved the “offstage” chapters and how we got to see the murders took place. there’s an element of the plot that i wasn’t expecting and i really wish we would have gotten just a little more info about it throughout the story, instead of the info dump at the end. maybe that was to keep me guessing?
overall, this was a fun and quick read with some serious topics sprinkled in. i can’t wait to see what lily comes up with next.
fyi: off page grooming, off page statutory rape
**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**
September 22, 2025
see, this is why we classical theater kids look down on the musical theater kids
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for this honest review!
In Showstopper, rising high school senior Faye Abernathy returns to the musical theater summer camp she spends all year desperately missing, ready for a final triumph alongside her clique of friends "the vets" and perhaps also the hot, mysterious new guy. Wrinkles start to appear in this plan when they discover their director has been maybe-murdered (BEFORE posting the cast list!) and when other staff and campers start to go missing and/or fall victim to mysterious "accidents" perpetrated by a killer in a commedia mask. When the cops prove useless, it of course falls to these theater kids to solve the mystery before the unthinkable happens (their show gets shut down. The horror!)
As both a former theater kid myself and a frequent staffer at a theater summer camp, I was excited to read this one. I found the writing and characters spot on, and absolutely loved how organically the author explored the story's core idea, namely: must the show go on?
This could have been titled "Kim, There's People That Are Dying: The Novel." It made for quite a few sensible chuckles every time a character was murdered or maimed and the others were like "But who's going to get her part in the show?" or used the death as an excuse to sing "memorial" karaoke. I appreciated the way Showstopper managed to both understand/empathize with theater kids while also critiquing the cliqueyness, elitism, and, (no pun intended), drama that comes with that world. Like, no, kids, your most annoying castmate doesn't deserve to LITERALLY die.
I wasn't totally a fan of the last act, the resolution of the mystery. Not because it wasn't a good resolution on paper—if nothing else, it felt earned—but because it made for a huge tonal shift (do read content warnings), and also because the pacing got kind of wack (see: the abrupt ending). Much of the climax relied on characters making some fairly baffling decisions, and suddenly the hand of the author was just a little too visible.
But I still enjoyed Showstopper overall! I sure was flipping those pages, eager to see what happened next. The whole concept of a theater camp slasher is kind of a slay (😉), and I liked that this one starred realistic characters and carefully balanced its empathy and critique.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for this honest review!
In Showstopper, rising high school senior Faye Abernathy returns to the musical theater summer camp she spends all year desperately missing, ready for a final triumph alongside her clique of friends "the vets" and perhaps also the hot, mysterious new guy. Wrinkles start to appear in this plan when they discover their director has been maybe-murdered (BEFORE posting the cast list!) and when other staff and campers start to go missing and/or fall victim to mysterious "accidents" perpetrated by a killer in a commedia mask. When the cops prove useless, it of course falls to these theater kids to solve the mystery before the unthinkable happens (their show gets shut down. The horror!)
As both a former theater kid myself and a frequent staffer at a theater summer camp, I was excited to read this one. I found the writing and characters spot on, and absolutely loved how organically the author explored the story's core idea, namely: must the show go on?
This could have been titled "Kim, There's People That Are Dying: The Novel." It made for quite a few sensible chuckles every time a character was murdered or maimed and the others were like "But who's going to get her part in the show?" or used the death as an excuse to sing "memorial" karaoke. I appreciated the way Showstopper managed to both understand/empathize with theater kids while also critiquing the cliqueyness, elitism, and, (no pun intended), drama that comes with that world. Like, no, kids, your most annoying castmate doesn't deserve to LITERALLY die.
I wasn't totally a fan of the last act, the resolution of the mystery. Not because it wasn't a good resolution on paper—if nothing else, it felt earned—but because it made for a huge tonal shift (do read content warnings), and also because the pacing got kind of wack (see: the abrupt ending). Much of the climax relied on characters making some fairly baffling decisions, and suddenly the hand of the author was just a little too visible.
But I still enjoyed Showstopper overall! I sure was flipping those pages, eager to see what happened next. The whole concept of a theater camp slasher is kind of a slay (😉), and I liked that this one starred realistic characters and carefully balanced its empathy and critique.
July 16, 2025
Prepare for a Cursed Production!
Showstopper was my first Lily Anderson novel; however, it most definitely won't be my last. I LOVED this writing style. Although this is labeled as young adult, the writing style and tone transcend age. The age of the main character is someone who is on the cusp of adulthood, so that is the determining factor there, but there is plenty for all ages to enjoy. This book is full of mystery, suspense, and dead bodies. The mystery of the story unfolds immediately, as we witness the first dead body from an "offstage" perspective. This causes the story to set off at a fast pace. This story flies by when reading, and it kept my interest the whole time.
The bodies and the killer are the driving facets of this book. I thought that I had figured out who the killer was, but Anderson does a great job of keeping readers on their toes. Ensuring that there are enough reveals and twists to satiate until the very last page. Not to mention, the scariest thing to do in a scary novel is to have a romance. However, readers rejoice as we get to experience an adorable romance that blossoms slowly but surely. Throw in some adorable side characters who add in some humor, and this was an excellent story just overall! It is perfect for fans of Scream, The Gallows, or Friday the 13th!
Showstopper was my first Lily Anderson novel; however, it most definitely won't be my last. I LOVED this writing style. Although this is labeled as young adult, the writing style and tone transcend age. The age of the main character is someone who is on the cusp of adulthood, so that is the determining factor there, but there is plenty for all ages to enjoy. This book is full of mystery, suspense, and dead bodies. The mystery of the story unfolds immediately, as we witness the first dead body from an "offstage" perspective. This causes the story to set off at a fast pace. This story flies by when reading, and it kept my interest the whole time.
The bodies and the killer are the driving facets of this book. I thought that I had figured out who the killer was, but Anderson does a great job of keeping readers on their toes. Ensuring that there are enough reveals and twists to satiate until the very last page. Not to mention, the scariest thing to do in a scary novel is to have a romance. However, readers rejoice as we get to experience an adorable romance that blossoms slowly but surely. Throw in some adorable side characters who add in some humor, and this was an excellent story just overall! It is perfect for fans of Scream, The Gallows, or Friday the 13th!
October 9, 2025
[4.5 stars] This is probably one of the best books I’ve read in a while. My two problems with it aren’t really problems so much as preferences: I felt it was appropriately gory for YA but I would’ve preferred a little more gore and few more bodies throughout the book. And secondly, I wish it had been a little campier, especially with the theater references. Theater kids are nothing if not over the top, so if this book had been a little more over the top, I would appreciate it more.
That being said, I think it was written very well and had a clear plot line with good pacing with the revelations. I loved the initial storyline and thought the ending was really good. (I was yelling expletives for the big reveal.) I also liked that the ending was very succinct - there was not a lot of drawn-out aftermath.
Despite being theater kids, who can get annoying in real life, I found all the characters to be pretty likable, and I loved the amount of representation in them.
Overall, great book. Would highly recommend.
That being said, I think it was written very well and had a clear plot line with good pacing with the revelations. I loved the initial storyline and thought the ending was really good. (I was yelling expletives for the big reveal.) I also liked that the ending was very succinct - there was not a lot of drawn-out aftermath.
Despite being theater kids, who can get annoying in real life, I found all the characters to be pretty likable, and I loved the amount of representation in them.
Overall, great book. Would highly recommend.
December 20, 2025
Camp Ghostlight has always been the most fun theatre experience of Faye's life.
Faye is tired of being cast as the Goody-Two-Shoes and faces emotions of it being her last summer at Camp Ghost Light with her found-family, a cute new guy at camp, and the issues facing her friends (body dysmorphia, family drama at home, typecasting, first attractions).
As if being a teenager isn't rough enough with all of these things, there have been continuous accidents occurring at camp. Are they accidents or could it be murder?
Stolen costume pieces, scenic shop mishaps, falling sandbags....or are they planned?
Blending the love of theatre, camp horror-flicks, and Riverdale was clearly Anderson's dream story to tell. There are things that I cannot say without giving away everything.
I will say, Anderson had me going for a while on the real cause and I fell for it, but the twist I didn't see coming still got me in spite of the number of mysteries I've read. Bravo. I appreciate Anderson addressing several very tough topics (not including the ones I have mentioned) that are sadly very real, but I hope you get roped into Showstopper.
Just remember, the show must go on!!
Faye is tired of being cast as the Goody-Two-Shoes and faces emotions of it being her last summer at Camp Ghost Light with her found-family, a cute new guy at camp, and the issues facing her friends (body dysmorphia, family drama at home, typecasting, first attractions).
As if being a teenager isn't rough enough with all of these things, there have been continuous accidents occurring at camp. Are they accidents or could it be murder?
Stolen costume pieces, scenic shop mishaps, falling sandbags....or are they planned?
Blending the love of theatre, camp horror-flicks, and Riverdale was clearly Anderson's dream story to tell. There are things that I cannot say without giving away everything.
I will say, Anderson had me going for a while on the real cause and I fell for it, but the twist I didn't see coming still got me in spite of the number of mysteries I've read. Bravo. I appreciate Anderson addressing several very tough topics (not including the ones I have mentioned) that are sadly very real, but I hope you get roped into Showstopper.
Just remember, the show must go on!!
September 15, 2025
Showstopper not only is a tribute to the love of musical theatre that binds so many people together, but also the genre of slasher movies. The clues were scattered perfectly, and yet somehow I didn’t pick up on them. Each red herring was placed perfectly, so much so that I had no idea who to trust.
For Faye, each summer is the best time of year. For three weeks, she and her friends attend Ghostlight, the theatre camp at Rockwell College, and put together a show. As veterans and the director’s favorites, they’re typically cast as the leads. But when the director, Boaz, is murdered- a new director takes his place.
But Boaz isn’t the only killing. As the curtains begin to close, Faye, Kai, Rosie, and newcomer Wes must figure out who is behind the murders between rehearsals for Riverdale, before they come for them, too.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for the e-arc! I absolutely flew through this book, and when it comes out on September 30th I think you guys will, too!
For Faye, each summer is the best time of year. For three weeks, she and her friends attend Ghostlight, the theatre camp at Rockwell College, and put together a show. As veterans and the director’s favorites, they’re typically cast as the leads. But when the director, Boaz, is murdered- a new director takes his place.
But Boaz isn’t the only killing. As the curtains begin to close, Faye, Kai, Rosie, and newcomer Wes must figure out who is behind the murders between rehearsals for Riverdale, before they come for them, too.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for the e-arc! I absolutely flew through this book, and when it comes out on September 30th I think you guys will, too!
August 21, 2025
As long as your suspension of disbelief is front and center and you can ignore a camp continuing to run despite multiple murders and an attempted murder, as well as the adults being completely useless, then you will enjoy this book.
Showstopper is really, really far fetched. What makes horror great is when there’s a possibility that the events depicted could actually occur, but I can’t imagine any camp continuing to operate in these circumstances.
It definitely was written by someone who had experience with theatre, specifically youth theatre, and those parts are all incredibly accurate. It’s just really hard to believe that none of the adults shut down the camp after the first student was murdered, or that the police didn’t bother to investigate even if they thought it was a prank gone wrong.
The last 10% of the book is when it really gets good. That’s when the action finally increases and we get to the twists which were well done. I just wish the suspense leading up to that point was higher.
All in all Showstopper is a fun theatre-centric YA slasher that has LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC representation.
There’s also a “showmance” romantic subplot that was rather sweet.
I received an ARC copy courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and NetGalley, however my review is completely my own unbiased personal opinion, left of my own volition.
Showstopper is really, really far fetched. What makes horror great is when there’s a possibility that the events depicted could actually occur, but I can’t imagine any camp continuing to operate in these circumstances.
It definitely was written by someone who had experience with theatre, specifically youth theatre, and those parts are all incredibly accurate. It’s just really hard to believe that none of the adults shut down the camp after the first student was murdered, or that the police didn’t bother to investigate even if they thought it was a prank gone wrong.
The last 10% of the book is when it really gets good. That’s when the action finally increases and we get to the twists which were well done. I just wish the suspense leading up to that point was higher.
All in all Showstopper is a fun theatre-centric YA slasher that has LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC representation.
There’s also a “showmance” romantic subplot that was rather sweet.
I received an ARC copy courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and NetGalley, however my review is completely my own unbiased personal opinion, left of my own volition.
October 4, 2025
This was a really solid campy thriller.
We knew it was going to be campy because it's musical theater summer camp and I think Lily hit all of the right notes on this one. Pun fully intended.
This had a really solid though line with the murders and I did have a pretty good idea as to why the people were being murdered. I also kind of agreed with it. It's not often that you're like "Yep, I'd have stabbed them too." but... I kind of did feel that way. Until the end. For . . . reasons.
We knew it was going to be campy because it's musical theater summer camp and I think Lily hit all of the right notes on this one. Pun fully intended.
This had a really solid though line with the murders and I did have a pretty good idea as to why the people were being murdered. I also kind of agreed with it. It's not often that you're like "Yep, I'd have stabbed them too." but... I kind of did feel that way. Until the end. For . . . reasons.
September 28, 2025
3.50 rounded to 4!
Lily Andersons Showstopper is a witty nod to theatre/drama kids at heart. More than just a murder mystery, it’s also engaging and a suspenseful read! If you enjoyed Riverdale and Scooby doo you’ll enjoy this one! Also I really love the cover of this 🙂↕️
Thank you netgalley for the arc 🖤
Lily Andersons Showstopper is a witty nod to theatre/drama kids at heart. More than just a murder mystery, it’s also engaging and a suspenseful read! If you enjoyed Riverdale and Scooby doo you’ll enjoy this one! Also I really love the cover of this 🙂↕️
Thank you netgalley for the arc 🖤
November 23, 2025
"It's not worth dying for Riverdale." Or something like that. 🤣 These people don't care at all about their safety. Book would translate to a Scream-genre movie pretty easy though. Think those vibes and not a serious thriller, and you'll have a great time. The show must go on!
Read by Keylor Leigh. #booksin25
Read by Keylor Leigh. #booksin25
June 14, 2025
I thought this story about youth at a theater camp was an interesting twist on the 80s style summer camp experience where killers are the loose. The concept was interesting. The characters were somewhat diverse with the main FMC being Black and Puerto Rican. However, the story left something to be desired. There wasn't suspense and the humor was subpar. It wasn't a bad story by any means though.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2025
For about 35% of the book I kept thinking that I had read the book already because it reminded me so much of “Come Out, Come Out” with theater being the main plot line.
I just couldn’t get it out of my head so it did skew my rating a bit because I just found the theater parts to be so similar in my mind.
But that ending! The last half of the book was such a whirlwind and reminded of “Scream” but it a good way! I was genuinely shocked at the end and felt like the pieces of the puzzle did line up
I just couldn’t get it out of my head so it did skew my rating a bit because I just found the theater parts to be so similar in my mind.
But that ending! The last half of the book was such a whirlwind and reminded of “Scream” but it a good way! I was genuinely shocked at the end and felt like the pieces of the puzzle did line up
May 14, 2025
4 stars
This book delivers twists, turns, and just the right dose of gore. A theatrical nod to all the drama kids—“Macbeth!” While it’s clearly aimed at a young adult audience, it still managed to hold my attention as an adult reader. I didn’t see the ending coming, and the plot thickened in all the right places.
Kudos to the author for crafting an engaging, suspenseful read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
-Java
This book delivers twists, turns, and just the right dose of gore. A theatrical nod to all the drama kids—“Macbeth!” While it’s clearly aimed at a young adult audience, it still managed to hold my attention as an adult reader. I didn’t see the ending coming, and the plot thickened in all the right places.
Kudos to the author for crafting an engaging, suspenseful read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
-Java
April 22, 2025
This young adult horror follows a high school student, Faye, as she attends her last summer of theater camp. Everything is supposed to be perfect as she says goodbye to the place she's spent every summer since she was in middle school, but people keep turning up dead. Unsure of who's telling the truth and who's lying (since it is a camp full of young actors, after all - you can't trust their reactions), Faye and the other campers insist that, despite the danger, the show must go on.
Even without being a former theater kid myself, I very quickly fell into this story. I didn't want to put the book down. The pacing kept me engaged throughout, without any slow parts dragging down the story. The ending was so satisfying as all the pieces came together - realizing the answer was right in front of you the whole time, even though I hadn't figured it out before that point.
Anderson's writing did a great job of painting the setting. While I never attended theater camp, I did attend a sleepaway camp at a college very similar to the fictional Rockville College. As I was reading this, I almost felt like I was back there. The cliques, the crummy dorms that everyone tries to make more comfortable - it was all so familiar to me and described so well by Anderson. It also provided a great change of pace from the traditional "summer camp in the middle of the spooky woods".
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery - one that keeps you guessing throughout.
I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Even without being a former theater kid myself, I very quickly fell into this story. I didn't want to put the book down. The pacing kept me engaged throughout, without any slow parts dragging down the story. The ending was so satisfying as all the pieces came together - realizing the answer was right in front of you the whole time, even though I hadn't figured it out before that point.
Anderson's writing did a great job of painting the setting. While I never attended theater camp, I did attend a sleepaway camp at a college very similar to the fictional Rockville College. As I was reading this, I almost felt like I was back there. The cliques, the crummy dorms that everyone tries to make more comfortable - it was all so familiar to me and described so well by Anderson. It also provided a great change of pace from the traditional "summer camp in the middle of the spooky woods".
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery - one that keeps you guessing throughout.
I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 18, 2025
*To be published September 30th, 2025*
This is a well paced, campy YA horror novel. I picked it up because of the summer camp setting, and theater fans will love the nods to classic productions and superstitions more than I did. Great diversity and representation! It touches on sensitive and important topics but I think it would benefit from going more in depth instead of only touching on them in a one off fight and in the classic villain monologue at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
This is a well paced, campy YA horror novel. I picked it up because of the summer camp setting, and theater fans will love the nods to classic productions and superstitions more than I did. Great diversity and representation! It touches on sensitive and important topics but I think it would benefit from going more in depth instead of only touching on them in a one off fight and in the classic villain monologue at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
April 16, 2025
Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
If you’ve ever lived for the spotlight, powered through tech week with nothing but nerves and caffeine, or sworn that the show must go on even as chaos breaks loose backstage… “Showstopper” by Lily Anderson is your twisted little love letter. This is a YA horror book made for theater kids, and this book is definitely entertaining.
Set at Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp, a summer haven for high school drama kids, Showstopper blends classic slasher horror with coming-of-age emotions, messy friendships, queer romance, and—oh yeah—a serial killer picking off cast and crew one by one. Equal parts Scream and High School Musical, it delivers both gory thrills and emotionally layered storytelling. Faye is an Afro-Latina theater kid who’s finally ready to take the stage as herself—no more sugarcoated princess roles. It’s her last summer at Ghostlight, and she’s determined to make it count. But her dream of center stage gets tangled up with best friend drama, a swoon-worthy (and trans) love interest, and a whole lot of blood. When mysterious "accidents" begin to strike down fellow campers—stagehands, actors, even directors—it becomes clear that someone isn’t just gunning for a standing ovation… they’re out for revenge.
Anderson absolutely nails the backstage energy—rivalries, tech booth hookups, cast politics, and that hell week adrenaline that makes everyone forget how exhausted (and sometimes endangered) they are. This is written by a theater kid for theater kids. There’s standout LGBTQIA+ representation throughout, with characters open about their identities and relationships. Faye’s love story with a trans character is refreshingly sweet and emotionally mature without overtaking the main plot.
Yes, there’s a body count—and yes, it escalates into full-blown horror—but “Showstopper” is more than just a murder mystery. It offers pointed commentary on toxic theater culture, especially the way adult men in theater/tech prey on young actresses and young teenagers don’t realize there is something wrong with adults pursuing hook-ups with underage teenagers. They just think it’s “normal,” showing how this thinking is internalized. There’s also an underlying message about how institutions fail to protect teens when things go wrong. The killings aren't random; they’re personal.
Each kill scene gets its own chilling POV, ratcheting up the dread while giving readers an up-close look at the stakes. As the deaths grow more brutal, the absurdity of everyone still focusing on the production becomes almost darkly comedic… and terrifyingly real.
After the initial bloodbath, the middle drags a bit as the story leans more into melodrama than murder. The slow-down lets us marinate in character dynamics, but I did feel that the tension fizzles too long before the final act as the story focuses more on the theater aspects over the thrills of the murders. You may guess the "why" behind the murders early on, but the full reveal still offers surprises—especially in who’s involved. It’s a revenge story at its core, but one rooted in heartbreak, not just horror. The ending offers solid closure for most characters, including a gut-wrenching resolution for one. Still, an epilogue would’ve helped soften the come-down from the intensity and show more healing after the final curtain.
Overall, “Showstopper” is a standout YA horror with teeth, heart, and a killer instinct for theater drama. It's gory and glittery, fun and furious, and filled with the kind of complex, emotional teen characters who feel like real people—messy, brave, and doing their best in the face of the unthinkable. Whether you're here for the kills, the camp, or the camaraderie, “Showstopper” earns its standing ovation.
💀 Trigger Warnings: gore, violence, death of minors, grooming/age-inappropriate relationships (addressed critically)
🏳️🌈 Highlights: strong LGBTQIA+ rep, BIPOC main character, sweet queer romance amidst the horror
If you’ve ever lived for the spotlight, powered through tech week with nothing but nerves and caffeine, or sworn that the show must go on even as chaos breaks loose backstage… “Showstopper” by Lily Anderson is your twisted little love letter. This is a YA horror book made for theater kids, and this book is definitely entertaining.
Set at Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp, a summer haven for high school drama kids, Showstopper blends classic slasher horror with coming-of-age emotions, messy friendships, queer romance, and—oh yeah—a serial killer picking off cast and crew one by one. Equal parts Scream and High School Musical, it delivers both gory thrills and emotionally layered storytelling. Faye is an Afro-Latina theater kid who’s finally ready to take the stage as herself—no more sugarcoated princess roles. It’s her last summer at Ghostlight, and she’s determined to make it count. But her dream of center stage gets tangled up with best friend drama, a swoon-worthy (and trans) love interest, and a whole lot of blood. When mysterious "accidents" begin to strike down fellow campers—stagehands, actors, even directors—it becomes clear that someone isn’t just gunning for a standing ovation… they’re out for revenge.
Anderson absolutely nails the backstage energy—rivalries, tech booth hookups, cast politics, and that hell week adrenaline that makes everyone forget how exhausted (and sometimes endangered) they are. This is written by a theater kid for theater kids. There’s standout LGBTQIA+ representation throughout, with characters open about their identities and relationships. Faye’s love story with a trans character is refreshingly sweet and emotionally mature without overtaking the main plot.
Yes, there’s a body count—and yes, it escalates into full-blown horror—but “Showstopper” is more than just a murder mystery. It offers pointed commentary on toxic theater culture, especially the way adult men in theater/tech prey on young actresses and young teenagers don’t realize there is something wrong with adults pursuing hook-ups with underage teenagers. They just think it’s “normal,” showing how this thinking is internalized. There’s also an underlying message about how institutions fail to protect teens when things go wrong. The killings aren't random; they’re personal.
Each kill scene gets its own chilling POV, ratcheting up the dread while giving readers an up-close look at the stakes. As the deaths grow more brutal, the absurdity of everyone still focusing on the production becomes almost darkly comedic… and terrifyingly real.
After the initial bloodbath, the middle drags a bit as the story leans more into melodrama than murder. The slow-down lets us marinate in character dynamics, but I did feel that the tension fizzles too long before the final act as the story focuses more on the theater aspects over the thrills of the murders. You may guess the "why" behind the murders early on, but the full reveal still offers surprises—especially in who’s involved. It’s a revenge story at its core, but one rooted in heartbreak, not just horror. The ending offers solid closure for most characters, including a gut-wrenching resolution for one. Still, an epilogue would’ve helped soften the come-down from the intensity and show more healing after the final curtain.
Overall, “Showstopper” is a standout YA horror with teeth, heart, and a killer instinct for theater drama. It's gory and glittery, fun and furious, and filled with the kind of complex, emotional teen characters who feel like real people—messy, brave, and doing their best in the face of the unthinkable. Whether you're here for the kills, the camp, or the camaraderie, “Showstopper” earns its standing ovation.
💀 Trigger Warnings: gore, violence, death of minors, grooming/age-inappropriate relationships (addressed critically)
🏳️🌈 Highlights: strong LGBTQIA+ rep, BIPOC main character, sweet queer romance amidst the horror
December 24, 2025
Lily Anderson’s Showstopper wants to be a sharp, self-aware horror satire—one that skewers performance culture, teen ego, and the desperate social masking that comes with adolescence. On paper, it’s an appealing premise: a theater camp, a self-absorbed cast, and a slasher stalking the wings. Unfortunately, the novel never finds the balance it needs. There’s a fine line between satire and cruelty, and Showstopper crosses it so often that what might have been incisive instead feels exhausting, mean-spirited, and ultimately hollow.
The story is filtered almost entirely through the protagonist’s perspective, and that voice is the book’s biggest liability. Rather than a controlled, purposeful narration, the text reads like a single extended run-on sentence—an angry, spiraling inner monologue that never pauses long enough to let the reader breathe, reflect, or care. The protagonist’s fixation on not being cast as Veronica in the camp’s production of Riverdale overwhelms everything else, including the fact that people around her are being targeted by a serial killer. That imbalance could have been intentional—an indictment of self-centeredness and performative outrage—but the book doesn’t do enough work to make it feel like commentary rather than accident.
As a result, the stakes feel fundamentally broken. When a character treats a bruised ego as more devastating than escalating violence, the narrative needs to show us why that disconnect matters. Instead, the protagonist’s indifference toward real danger isn’t framed as tragic, ironic, or revealing; it’s just grating. Her anger is so loud and so constant that it flattens every other emotional register. Fear doesn’t land. Grief barely registers. Even humor, which satire relies on, gets lost in the noise.
That tonal misfire extends to the novel’s attempt at meta commentary. Showstopper gestures toward big ideas—how teens perform versions of themselves to survive, how social hierarchies reward cruelty, how art spaces can be just as vicious as any cafeteria—but it never sharpens those observations into something coherent. Satire requires precision. Cruelty without insight is just cruelty, and too often this book seems content to sneer at its characters rather than interrogate them. Everyone is awful, and not in a revealing way. They’re simply unpleasant to spend time with.
The supporting cast fares no better. Friends, rivals, authority figures—none of them feel fully realized beyond their worst traits. Instead of exaggerated archetypes that illuminate a system, they come across as thin caricatures designed to be mocked or dismissed. When danger escalates, there’s no emotional payoff because the novel hasn’t given us anyone to root for or even understand. In horror, empathy is currency. Without it, tension collapses.
The slasher elements themselves are similarly underdeveloped. They exist more as background noise than as an integrated engine of the plot. The threat never meaningfully reshapes the characters’ behavior or forces growth; it’s just another thing happening while the protagonist fumes about casting decisions. This disconnect drains the story of momentum and makes the violence feel oddly incidental, which is a strange choice for a book marketed around its killer hook.
What’s most frustrating is that Showstopper didn’t have to fail this way. A tighter focus, a more disciplined narrative voice, and a clearer sense of what—and who—the book was critiquing could have turned this into a smart, biting exploration of teenage narcissism and performative identity. Instead, the novel confuses relentless negativity for insight and volume for depth.
By the end, I wasn’t disturbed or enlightened; I was annoyed. Weak storytelling, horrible characters, and a tone that mistakes bitterness for brilliance make Showstopper a chore rather than a thrill. If the goal was to expose the absurdity of teen drama, perhaps staging Mean Girls would have been the better choice. At least that story understands the difference between being sharp and just being cruel.
The story is filtered almost entirely through the protagonist’s perspective, and that voice is the book’s biggest liability. Rather than a controlled, purposeful narration, the text reads like a single extended run-on sentence—an angry, spiraling inner monologue that never pauses long enough to let the reader breathe, reflect, or care. The protagonist’s fixation on not being cast as Veronica in the camp’s production of Riverdale overwhelms everything else, including the fact that people around her are being targeted by a serial killer. That imbalance could have been intentional—an indictment of self-centeredness and performative outrage—but the book doesn’t do enough work to make it feel like commentary rather than accident.
As a result, the stakes feel fundamentally broken. When a character treats a bruised ego as more devastating than escalating violence, the narrative needs to show us why that disconnect matters. Instead, the protagonist’s indifference toward real danger isn’t framed as tragic, ironic, or revealing; it’s just grating. Her anger is so loud and so constant that it flattens every other emotional register. Fear doesn’t land. Grief barely registers. Even humor, which satire relies on, gets lost in the noise.
That tonal misfire extends to the novel’s attempt at meta commentary. Showstopper gestures toward big ideas—how teens perform versions of themselves to survive, how social hierarchies reward cruelty, how art spaces can be just as vicious as any cafeteria—but it never sharpens those observations into something coherent. Satire requires precision. Cruelty without insight is just cruelty, and too often this book seems content to sneer at its characters rather than interrogate them. Everyone is awful, and not in a revealing way. They’re simply unpleasant to spend time with.
The supporting cast fares no better. Friends, rivals, authority figures—none of them feel fully realized beyond their worst traits. Instead of exaggerated archetypes that illuminate a system, they come across as thin caricatures designed to be mocked or dismissed. When danger escalates, there’s no emotional payoff because the novel hasn’t given us anyone to root for or even understand. In horror, empathy is currency. Without it, tension collapses.
The slasher elements themselves are similarly underdeveloped. They exist more as background noise than as an integrated engine of the plot. The threat never meaningfully reshapes the characters’ behavior or forces growth; it’s just another thing happening while the protagonist fumes about casting decisions. This disconnect drains the story of momentum and makes the violence feel oddly incidental, which is a strange choice for a book marketed around its killer hook.
What’s most frustrating is that Showstopper didn’t have to fail this way. A tighter focus, a more disciplined narrative voice, and a clearer sense of what—and who—the book was critiquing could have turned this into a smart, biting exploration of teenage narcissism and performative identity. Instead, the novel confuses relentless negativity for insight and volume for depth.
By the end, I wasn’t disturbed or enlightened; I was annoyed. Weak storytelling, horrible characters, and a tone that mistakes bitterness for brilliance make Showstopper a chore rather than a thrill. If the goal was to expose the absurdity of teen drama, perhaps staging Mean Girls would have been the better choice. At least that story understands the difference between being sharp and just being cruel.
September 30, 2025
Showstopper by Lily Anderson
Length: 320 pages
Source: Netgalley eARC
Publication date: September 30, 2025
BOOK BLURB
This summer’s production is to die for.
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a month-long musical intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her good-girl princess roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise.
Suddenly, she's competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right?
But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath. Lights, curtains...murder!
MY THOUGHTS
Even though I do read YA sometimes and love horror/mystery plots, this wasn’t really my thing. The premise for the book sounded SO good, but I found the characters one-dimensional. I made it to 56%, hoping I would get more engrossed in the story, and then I finally just jumped to the end. It’s not that I knew who the killer was and got bored with the serial-killer storyline. It’s that I didn’t care about any of the characters enough to worry what would happen to them. I did really like Wes, the new camper, though.
I went to lots of camps as a teen, so I completely understand that they become their own little world with their own little idiosyncrasies, inside jokes, social hierarchies, etc. But this book doesn’t let you forget that these kids are at theater camp. They’re all-caps DRAMATIC! THEATER! KIDS! There’s more here about theater camp than I ever wanted to know, so much so that this isn’t a horror story at a theater camp but a theater-camp story with a serial-killer side character. Also, it ends rather abruptly. No epilogue, no wrap up, not even a curtain call! Just…raise the house lights; it’s over.
I think there’s absolutely an audience for all of this teen drama; it just isn’t me. I wanted the "horror" driving the story, not the “theater” of it all.
— A
Thanks to Netgalley and Lily Anderson for an eARC of this book. All opinions are mine. Reviews posted regularly on StoryGraph, Instagram, BlueSky, BookBub, Fable, and Goodreads.
Length: 320 pages
Source: Netgalley eARC
Publication date: September 30, 2025
BOOK BLURB
This summer’s production is to die for.
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a month-long musical intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her good-girl princess roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise.
Suddenly, she's competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right?
But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath. Lights, curtains...murder!
MY THOUGHTS
Even though I do read YA sometimes and love horror/mystery plots, this wasn’t really my thing. The premise for the book sounded SO good, but I found the characters one-dimensional. I made it to 56%, hoping I would get more engrossed in the story, and then I finally just jumped to the end. It’s not that I knew who the killer was and got bored with the serial-killer storyline. It’s that I didn’t care about any of the characters enough to worry what would happen to them. I did really like Wes, the new camper, though.
I went to lots of camps as a teen, so I completely understand that they become their own little world with their own little idiosyncrasies, inside jokes, social hierarchies, etc. But this book doesn’t let you forget that these kids are at theater camp. They’re all-caps DRAMATIC! THEATER! KIDS! There’s more here about theater camp than I ever wanted to know, so much so that this isn’t a horror story at a theater camp but a theater-camp story with a serial-killer side character. Also, it ends rather abruptly. No epilogue, no wrap up, not even a curtain call! Just…raise the house lights; it’s over.
I think there’s absolutely an audience for all of this teen drama; it just isn’t me. I wanted the "horror" driving the story, not the “theater” of it all.
— A
Thanks to Netgalley and Lily Anderson for an eARC of this book. All opinions are mine. Reviews posted regularly on StoryGraph, Instagram, BlueSky, BookBub, Fable, and Goodreads.
June 2, 2025
e-ARC
Rating: 4/5
For those who love:
- good murder mysteries
- theatre kids
- showmance
- Scooby Doo
- Nancy Drew
- Riverdale
-----------------------------------------------
Faye is headed off to her last summer at Ghostlight, her favorite three week theater camp at a community college. She's excited to see her best friends, enjoy her last year at camp, and hopefully star in a new role: the bad girl. Faye has always been cast as the blonde haired good girl: Alice in Wonderland, Glinda the Good Witch, Cinderella. You name it, she's played it. But this year is different. She's embraced her natural curly black hair and said goodbye to the bleach blonde, embracing her inner bad Sandy. Problem is, she's never told her best friends she's going for a different role, which is a problem considering one of them, Kai, always gets those roles.
When she arrives to camp, it's already starting to be different but not in the way she expected. The camp director is dead. In steps a new director who throws away all the old rules, including the tapes the campers sent in, deciding instead to do call backs. Once Faye reveals her new secret, tensions rise between her and Kai. It gets worse when Faye gets the good girl role again, and someone typically in the ensemble gets the lead. But then she's attacked and severely injured. Add a cute new camper into the mix and Faye may be in over her head. As bodies start dropping and more issues rise, will the show go on or will it be a show stopper?
----------------------------------
Thank you to Lily and the publisher for allowing me to read this in advance! If you know me, you know I love a good murder mystery and throw in teenage angst and romance? Sign me up!! This is one of the few murder mysteries where I wasn't able to guess who done it, which I was super excited about. The showmance was quite cute added in, but I did feel like there was a lot going on in the plot as one time. This can be good and bad, as it gives a good amount of detail but it can be a lot to try and summarize/explain. The other problem i had was the explanation of some of the theatre terms and ideas. Some were clearly explained but others I felt like could have been explained more clearly, or maybe add a glossary at the end to help explain certain aspects of the book. You could tell this was written by someone who loves the theatre and has a deep understanding, which I can appreciate melding into the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to mystery fans!
Rating: 4/5
For those who love:
- good murder mysteries
- theatre kids
- showmance
- Scooby Doo
- Nancy Drew
- Riverdale
-----------------------------------------------
Faye is headed off to her last summer at Ghostlight, her favorite three week theater camp at a community college. She's excited to see her best friends, enjoy her last year at camp, and hopefully star in a new role: the bad girl. Faye has always been cast as the blonde haired good girl: Alice in Wonderland, Glinda the Good Witch, Cinderella. You name it, she's played it. But this year is different. She's embraced her natural curly black hair and said goodbye to the bleach blonde, embracing her inner bad Sandy. Problem is, she's never told her best friends she's going for a different role, which is a problem considering one of them, Kai, always gets those roles.
When she arrives to camp, it's already starting to be different but not in the way she expected. The camp director is dead. In steps a new director who throws away all the old rules, including the tapes the campers sent in, deciding instead to do call backs. Once Faye reveals her new secret, tensions rise between her and Kai. It gets worse when Faye gets the good girl role again, and someone typically in the ensemble gets the lead. But then she's attacked and severely injured. Add a cute new camper into the mix and Faye may be in over her head. As bodies start dropping and more issues rise, will the show go on or will it be a show stopper?
----------------------------------
Thank you to Lily and the publisher for allowing me to read this in advance! If you know me, you know I love a good murder mystery and throw in teenage angst and romance? Sign me up!! This is one of the few murder mysteries where I wasn't able to guess who done it, which I was super excited about. The showmance was quite cute added in, but I did feel like there was a lot going on in the plot as one time. This can be good and bad, as it gives a good amount of detail but it can be a lot to try and summarize/explain. The other problem i had was the explanation of some of the theatre terms and ideas. Some were clearly explained but others I felt like could have been explained more clearly, or maybe add a glossary at the end to help explain certain aspects of the book. You could tell this was written by someone who loves the theatre and has a deep understanding, which I can appreciate melding into the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to mystery fans!
October 4, 2025
This was such a fun YA slasher novel!
Showstopper by Lily Anderson is a witty and suspenseful YA murder mystery set at Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp. Seventeen-year-old Faye is entering her final summer at camp determined to embrace her Afro-Latina identity and land a leading role—but once opening night approaches, the production is overshadowed by mounting danger. Stagehands vanish, castmates are injured, and whispered rumors of sabotage swirl behind the scenes. As the body count rises and a masked intruder lurks backstage, Faye must rely on her wit, courage, and love for theater to survive this deadly, high-stakes performance.
I always love a good YA palette cleanser, and this one definitely did not disappoint! As someone who went to high school and college to study vocal performance, so many things in this novel resonated with me as they were preparing to perform their musical, Riverdale. I've never been to a sleepaway summer camp, and I was only in a musical once in middle school, but this whole book made me nostalgic for the time I spent singing in a choir with my classmates. The intermittent "Offstage" chapters with each character's POV as they got killed off was cool, and with each chapter you got closer to figuring out who was behind all the deaths at the camp. I also loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. Mars and Wes were such lovable characters!
One thing I wished we would have gotten from the book was a more fleshed-out resolution to the romance side-plot that occurred throughout the story. It was looking hopeful for the two characters as we got closer to the end of the book, but the book ended with such a dramatic scene that we never got to find out what happened next for the characters, or even an implied ending for them.
Other than that, I had a wonderful time reading this book and I highly recommend it for all ages, thriller and mystery readers, theatre lovers, and really anyone else!
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book!
Showstopper by Lily Anderson is a witty and suspenseful YA murder mystery set at Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp. Seventeen-year-old Faye is entering her final summer at camp determined to embrace her Afro-Latina identity and land a leading role—but once opening night approaches, the production is overshadowed by mounting danger. Stagehands vanish, castmates are injured, and whispered rumors of sabotage swirl behind the scenes. As the body count rises and a masked intruder lurks backstage, Faye must rely on her wit, courage, and love for theater to survive this deadly, high-stakes performance.
I always love a good YA palette cleanser, and this one definitely did not disappoint! As someone who went to high school and college to study vocal performance, so many things in this novel resonated with me as they were preparing to perform their musical, Riverdale. I've never been to a sleepaway summer camp, and I was only in a musical once in middle school, but this whole book made me nostalgic for the time I spent singing in a choir with my classmates. The intermittent "Offstage" chapters with each character's POV as they got killed off was cool, and with each chapter you got closer to figuring out who was behind all the deaths at the camp. I also loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. Mars and Wes were such lovable characters!
One thing I wished we would have gotten from the book was a more fleshed-out resolution to the romance side-plot that occurred throughout the story. It was looking hopeful for the two characters as we got closer to the end of the book, but the book ended with such a dramatic scene that we never got to find out what happened next for the characters, or even an implied ending for them.
Other than that, I had a wonderful time reading this book and I highly recommend it for all ages, thriller and mystery readers, theatre lovers, and really anyone else!
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book!
October 30, 2025
Another Ghostlight Theater Camp summer and Faye is determined to change her typecast from ingenue to bad girl. She and her bffs are finally reunited and she's ready to go out for the role of Veronica in Riverdale, but then it's announced that their director Boaz is dead and things don't feel right at Ghostlight for the first time...and Boaz is only first in the deaths that summer.
I was hoping for a scary spooky season horror slasher goodness, and this was just not it. Every single character was so over-the-top insufferable that I didn't care who lived or died. I guess maybe I should have known that this would be so filled with musical theater references that I wouldn't understand half of it, but sadly I did not and so was very let down. I really hated the portrayal of Rosie as a naive, cherubic little baby who got shoved into comedic old-lady roles in every play because she was what, fat? She was a year younger than the other students! She wasn't a baby! She was somehow also motherly because she had a bunch of younger siblings. I think there was supposed to be commentary on that very aspect of how fat girls are typecast in roles and in life, but all it felt like was reinforcement to me.
The characters were also very mean. I get that it's supposed to add to the drama, but there's no real consequence for it. I highlighted a particularly mean part where they laugh at and mock a girl who was just AXED??? I get that it's supposed to play into the "we're cliquey theater kids!!" idea but it was just awful.
Okay I'm back with more things I disliked. Faye's whole attempt to rebrand herself is pretty much given up part way through the book, and she initially brings up her Afro-Boricua roots when mentioning her hair and how she is white passing but isn't actually white, and then it literally gets forgotten for the rest of the book. Other than being casually referenced once or twice. It feels like such a flat attempt to make her less one-note but it doesn't work because it gets abandoned so quickly.
I was hoping for a scary spooky season horror slasher goodness, and this was just not it. Every single character was so over-the-top insufferable that I didn't care who lived or died. I guess maybe I should have known that this would be so filled with musical theater references that I wouldn't understand half of it, but sadly I did not and so was very let down. I really hated the portrayal of Rosie as a naive, cherubic little baby who got shoved into comedic old-lady roles in every play because she was what, fat? She was a year younger than the other students! She wasn't a baby! She was somehow also motherly because she had a bunch of younger siblings. I think there was supposed to be commentary on that very aspect of how fat girls are typecast in roles and in life, but all it felt like was reinforcement to me.
The characters were also very mean. I get that it's supposed to add to the drama, but there's no real consequence for it. I highlighted a particularly mean part where they laugh at and mock a girl who was just AXED??? I get that it's supposed to play into the "we're cliquey theater kids!!" idea but it was just awful.
Okay I'm back with more things I disliked. Faye's whole attempt to rebrand herself is pretty much given up part way through the book, and she initially brings up her Afro-Boricua roots when mentioning her hair and how she is white passing but isn't actually white, and then it literally gets forgotten for the rest of the book. Other than being casually referenced once or twice. It feels like such a flat attempt to make her less one-note but it doesn't work because it gets abandoned so quickly.
August 11, 2025
GLEE meets SCREAM, a pairing like chocolate and peanut butter for musical theater nerds who like thrillers.
SHOWSTOPPER follows our main character, Faye, at the musical theater summer camp she's been going to for five years. It becomes apparent right off the bat that this year, Faye's final year, is not going according to plan: the camp director, Boaz, dies before camp starts and then death follows through the three week camp.
Right off the top of my head, I really loved the representation in this book. Faye is Afro-Latina and the love interest is a trans man with plenty of supporting and background trans and queer rep. It was great to see that representation without feeing shoe-horned in. I also really liked a lot of the cast of characters; our main core, the "vets" of Ghostlight, are nice to follow and many of the side and background characters are interesting. The writing style feels conversational and while it can feel a little simple or cliche, it's also YA and I wasn't expecting something super high level. The gorey bits were well-written and I really enjoyed the use of "Offstage" when the reader exits Faye's monologue into another character.
All that being said, I don't think this book worked well for me as a mystery/thriller. In my mind, a mystery needs to have bread crumbs that leads you to the end. Not all of those clues absolutely need to be relevant (in fact, I'd argue that misleading clues are just as important), but there does need to be some kind of throughline that makes sense for the conclusion. Personally, while I didn't feel entirely blindsided by the reveal at the end, I didn't think that there were many clues left behind to really solidify it until the last few chapters. I also just felt massively underwhelmed by the ending; it just peaks and then it immediately comes down. I would have loved to see something a little more resolute.
This was not a bad read at all! An easy 3 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
SHOWSTOPPER follows our main character, Faye, at the musical theater summer camp she's been going to for five years. It becomes apparent right off the bat that this year, Faye's final year, is not going according to plan: the camp director, Boaz, dies before camp starts and then death follows through the three week camp.
Right off the top of my head, I really loved the representation in this book. Faye is Afro-Latina and the love interest is a trans man with plenty of supporting and background trans and queer rep. It was great to see that representation without feeing shoe-horned in. I also really liked a lot of the cast of characters; our main core, the "vets" of Ghostlight, are nice to follow and many of the side and background characters are interesting. The writing style feels conversational and while it can feel a little simple or cliche, it's also YA and I wasn't expecting something super high level. The gorey bits were well-written and I really enjoyed the use of "Offstage" when the reader exits Faye's monologue into another character.
All that being said, I don't think this book worked well for me as a mystery/thriller. In my mind, a mystery needs to have bread crumbs that leads you to the end. Not all of those clues absolutely need to be relevant (in fact, I'd argue that misleading clues are just as important), but there does need to be some kind of throughline that makes sense for the conclusion. Personally, while I didn't feel entirely blindsided by the reveal at the end, I didn't think that there were many clues left behind to really solidify it until the last few chapters. I also just felt massively underwhelmed by the ending; it just peaks and then it immediately comes down. I would have loved to see something a little more resolute.
This was not a bad read at all! An easy 3 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
August 4, 2025
Take everything with a grain of salt; every time I read YA, I remember why I don't like YA. Let's start out with the good: I loved the representation, having a trans guy as a love interest, a lot of ethnic diversity through the characters (which is pretty rare when it comes to theater), and overall, most characters felt distinct in some way. The descriptions of each character when introduced painted a vivid picture and I also thought that the "kills" were very well done and fed into the campy aspect. I also enjoyed the use of "Offstage" as a chapter heading whenever Faye would leave somewhere.
As far as the parts I did not like: there were far too many characters introduced at rapid speeds, and it was hard for me to keep track of who was who. I also found all of the characters to be insufferable, entitled, and just didn't like them. This can add to the appeal of a slasher -- then you don't get too attached, but I really did not like the main character. Also, the entire setup was not believable for me -- do theater camps like this exist? I went to a theater camp, and it was nothing like this (though, to be fair, I was in tech, and this book does not look fondly on techies). The fact that there are so many MURDERS and the camp just...keeps going? Where are the adults? Why does no one seem to care and want to go home? If people were getting murdered, I would be out, no matter how much I loved camp and even if it was my last year.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
As far as the parts I did not like: there were far too many characters introduced at rapid speeds, and it was hard for me to keep track of who was who. I also found all of the characters to be insufferable, entitled, and just didn't like them. This can add to the appeal of a slasher -- then you don't get too attached, but I really did not like the main character. Also, the entire setup was not believable for me -- do theater camps like this exist? I went to a theater camp, and it was nothing like this (though, to be fair, I was in tech, and this book does not look fondly on techies). The fact that there are so many MURDERS and the camp just...keeps going? Where are the adults? Why does no one seem to care and want to go home? If people were getting murdered, I would be out, no matter how much I loved camp and even if it was my last year.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2025
I enjoyed this book. Despite being YA it is a pretty fast paced and dark murder mystery/ slasher horror.
The characters were well done. It leaned perfectly into tropes of both theater kids and the characters they play. You can tell it’s a love letter from someone who really enjoyed theater and has an authentic account of what it’s like through the eyes of the MC Faye.
The writing is simple but engaging. I kept wanting to read more and more. The setting and characters help drive the plot and it gets really bonkers.
The slasher story at a camp with a campy plot. It’s all the corniness you’d expect. Like how all this murder happens and everyone is like but the musical is more important 🤣🤣 you just have to roll with it like any other absurd slasher plot.
The reveal and mystery - I was in denial with my thoughts and kelts flip flopping but I had figured out a big portion of it. The clues are very obviously displayed (works for a YA plot). There some pretty heaving hitting topics though. I do wish the reasoning was completely different as I wasn’t a fan of the “why”.
But this book did have me in my feels with how much I liked the characters. Definitely cried at the end.
I think it’s a great option for anyone who l loves theater or musicals, was a theater kid, raised a theater kid (and is nothing like Faye’s parents) and doesn’t mind dark themes including murder, sexual themes including consent.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and the publishers Henry Holt and Co.
The characters were well done. It leaned perfectly into tropes of both theater kids and the characters they play. You can tell it’s a love letter from someone who really enjoyed theater and has an authentic account of what it’s like through the eyes of the MC Faye.
The writing is simple but engaging. I kept wanting to read more and more. The setting and characters help drive the plot and it gets really bonkers.
The slasher story at a camp with a campy plot. It’s all the corniness you’d expect. Like how all this murder happens and everyone is like but the musical is more important 🤣🤣 you just have to roll with it like any other absurd slasher plot.
The reveal and mystery - I was in denial with my thoughts and kelts flip flopping but I had figured out a big portion of it. The clues are very obviously displayed (works for a YA plot). There some pretty heaving hitting topics though. I do wish the reasoning was completely different as I wasn’t a fan of the “why”.
But this book did have me in my feels with how much I liked the characters. Definitely cried at the end.
I think it’s a great option for anyone who l loves theater or musicals, was a theater kid, raised a theater kid (and is nothing like Faye’s parents) and doesn’t mind dark themes including murder, sexual themes including consent.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and the publishers Henry Holt and Co.
May 24, 2025
Thank you Henry Holt & Co and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Thrilling! Faye has been attending The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp for years. This is her last summer before she ages out of the program. She’s determined to get out of her typecast as the good girl. They’re doing Riverdale this year and she’s determined to get cast as Veronica. Even if that’s the same part that her best friend Kai is going for. Things are off to an explosive start when they learn that their beloved camp director is dead, and not just dead but murdered. However the show must go on. This year they first have to audition for their parts. And there’s a new guy that catches Faye’s eye. Wes is cute and seems to know what he’s doing. But how much do they really know about him? As they begin the show everything feels off and the feelings aren’t helped when more people die. It seems like an accident at first but soon they’ll realize there is a killer amongst them. Can Faye and her friends figure out who it is before more people die? Or will looking lead them into danger? Can Faye change her typecast? Musical lovers will enjoy this one all the teenage drama and angst mixed with the theatrics of musical theatre! A queer thriller that intense, gripping, and pulse pounding! I had no clue who the killer was with this one and was absolutely shook! The story left me wondering and unsure what I would do in this situation! Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews