This book is so much fun and such a great adventure. It's a Broadway adventure and a love letter to Broadway. This story is perfect for those middle schoolers who don't have an art program but have a deep love of musical theater

I was given a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is delightful! The Ethel Merman Theater is cursed. No one is sure how or why, but the evidence speaks for itself. Show after show has flopped and the theater is about to close. Enter twelve-year-old Monica Garcia, who has been cast to star in a Broadway musical revival of The Goonies, the theater’s last chance to produce a hit before it shutters its doors for good. Filled with adorable characters you'll love. Highly recommend. #Fearless #NetGalley

This was just okay. I thought that the writing could have been a lot better since unfortunately it was pretty lackluster for me. I loved the theater element, and think children will enjoy the haunted parts as well. However, this was pretty forgettable and I hope if Gonzalez writes more in the future, her talent improves.

This was a fun Middle Grade book, that I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves Broadway or wants a good MG read!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

A campy, spooky story for fans of Broadway and people who believe in ghosts! Love the behind-the-scenes look at Broadway from an actual Broadway star

There is a lot of potential in this book and perhaps someone closer to the intended age will enjoy this more, but I was underwhelmed. I love anything Broadway, but the mystery was convoluted.

2 stars. Round down - really a 2.5. I really liked the premise of this book but ultimately it just didn't do it for me. It felt very autobiographical but needed a ghost writer. The writing was so choppy and didn't flow. The plot gets lost among the attempt to make jokes. The premise started out strong but this wasn't spooky at all. This just fell flat.

2.5 stars = Mostly solid to solid, some issues but okay overall.

Fun theater/Broadway tidbits in this paranormal mystery, but the execution could have been stronger. Not much character development for anyone but the main protagonist even though there is a quartet of kids working on the mystery together. Several moments of telling rather than showing pulled me out of the flow of the story. Potential is there, and some re-working - maybe multiple POVs with the other three kids - would have made this stronger.

Monica’s dream has come true. Not only is she traveling to New York, but she also gets to star in an actual Broadway musical. For so long, this has been an impossible dream, and knowing that it’s coming true is almost overwhelming. But when Monica arrives at the theater, the Ethel Merman, she soon learns that the production is having many issues. Many of them seem to be caused by this mysterious curse that insists on ruining every part of the musical. Actors keep leaving or getting injured, set pieces don’t work correctly, and the lights keep flickering on and off. Monica and her fellow castmates are going to have to figure out exactly what caused the curse at the Ethel Merman, or risk the production being cancelled once and for all.

I received an advanced reading copy of Fearless in exchange for an honest review.

Fearless is a middle grade novel by Mandy Gonzalez. it’s a book that blends love of Broadway with ghost stories, and is told through the POV of a Latina main character. As a Latina myself, I always love seeing Latinx in fiction, so of course I had to pick this up! So, what did I think?

OK, so, before I start the review, I have to admit something to you guys. When I heard “Mandy Gonzalez” was the author of this book, I was like, cool, sounds like a debut author. And then I started doing a little more research and I found out that Mandy Gonzalez actually plays Angelica in Hamilton?! I don’t know much about Broadway, but finding this out was definitely exciting!

The book started out very promising. The language is fairly straightforward, and the story was compelling. I was able to read most of the book over the course of a few hours. There were some moments that kept pulling me out, though. The story at the beginning is very clearly told from Monica’s POV, and while it’s a third-person book, it was pretty established in the beginning that she was our POV character. Sometimes, however, I’d find thoughts from other characters intruding on the narrative, and those kept pulling me out. Still the four young characters were charming, so I didn’t mind too much.

Another thing that borrowed me a bit was how quickly we lost sight of Monica’s family. At the beginning, I thought they’d have a bigger part to play, especially since there seemed to be a bit of a side plot going on with Monica’s brother. Unfortunately, this side plot gets buried with everything else going on. In fact, I actually forgot all about it for most of the book. I thought it could have been developed a bit more, perhaps woven in with the rest of the story a little more organically.

In the end, I thought the story was a fun one, and I loved reading specifically about the traditions and superstitions of Broadway. I know actors are usually superstitious, but I didn’t know how much! Reading this book really made me feel like I was getting a bit of a backstage pass to what the Broadway world is like. I don’t know how accurate any of it was, but it certainly made for a fun read.

Fearless will be released April 6. You can pre-order your copy from Aladdin here.

What a fun backstage pass to how a Broadway show works—with a little mystery thrown in, of course.

As a big fan of Mandy Gonzales since In the Heights (I loved the LMM shout-out in the book) I was looking forward to this. I am not aware of many middle grade novels out there written from a real Broadway star so she hit that sweet spot for me in that regard.

The story starts immediately with Monica on her way to NYC after getting the call to be an understudy in a new show celebrating adventure movies of the 80s. Fearless was very plot(s?)-driven, and as someone who prefers a deeper dive into characters, I was a little disappointed because there were so many cute, quirky characters but I felt like I never got to know them. The plot itself was all over the place. It’s sort of about this new show opening and Monica getting to follow her dreams, but also about mysterious goings-on, like stars dropping out after injury, Monica having a secret key with nowhere to put it, and the theatre itself in desperate need of saving. This story either could have been longer or hashed out over multiple books.

This would be great to pair with Tim Federle’s Nate series!

A girl's determination meets Broadway in an interesting mix of achieving dreams, theater, and a tiny bit of mystery and sabotage.

Monica's dreams are coming true; she's headed for Broadway as an understudy. Her goal to become a star is sliding closer, and with it the dream of helping to support her hard working parents and her brother, who has severe medical conditions. But when she reaches the theater in New York, problems arise. Thanks to a curse, the two actresses ahead of her have suffered from an accident or left, leaving her in the leading role with three other kids. When a star is injured as well, she realizes that this might be a real problem, but she still has other things to worry about as her brother suffers from yet another seizure.

The author has done a wonderful job at weaving in all sorts of aspects about theater...from the backstage to props to set-ups and then working in information including historical facts and even some hints at the business end of things. So, theater fans are going to enjoy diving into this one quite a bit. It's a rich setting with tons to enjoy.

Starting out in Monica's school back in California, this tale glides through her first moments in New York with her abuela and right into the theater, where she immediately sees the results of the curse. While I expected a bit more tension, action, and mystery in this one, the story focuses more on Monica and her working through the idea of being on Broadway, her role, and the wishing she could help her family, especially as her younger brother and his suffering causes a constant worry. The curse of the theater does sink in much better during the second half of the book, and Monica does have a lot to deal with on several fronts. It's a nicely done tale and great for kids, who dream of theater themselves.

Written by Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton, In the Heights, and Wicked), this middle-grade novel combines mystery and musical theater in a very entertaining way. Protagonist Monica travels from California to New York when a big break as understudy for a Broadway show is offered. But her arrival finds a once great theater now in shabby splendor, rehearsals plagued with accidents, and a rumored curse on the entire thing. Can Monica and the other child actors find the clues to why the theater's luck has run out in time to save their own show?

Monica's character is well-developed. Readers will see the close relationship with her grandmother Abuelita, who accompanies her to New York and also with her brother Freddy. Although she is a bit shy, she still makes friends with the other actors and gets along well with the adults she meets. Her determination to save the production stems from her own love of performing, but also from her knowledge of what a successful show will mean for her family and for the others involved.

The curse shows itself in large and small mishaps and problems. Some may be the type of accidents that could happen in any theater, but others seem too bizarre to be anything but the result of vengeful spirits or some other negative force. As the kids investigate, they learn more about the history of the theater housing their show and readers learn more about Broadway in general. (It certainly helps that the author has inside knowledge of theater traditions.)

Recommended for upper elementary or early middle school readers who enjoy mysteries, have a love of the theater, or prefer stories with a group of friends working together to solve a problem or puzzle.

4 ⭐️
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Thank you so much to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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This was a super cute YA story for all the theatre lovers out there.

Fearless is the story of Monica Garcia, a twelve-year-old making her Broadway debut in "Our Time" at the Ethel Merman Theater. She's originally cast as the understudy to the understudy, but through the misfortunes of the theater's "curse", she is thrust into the lead and thrown into rehearsals fresh off the plane from California. It's up to Monica and her fellow child cast mates, April, Hudson, and Relly, to solve the curse of the Ethel Merman Theater so that their show can be a hit on Broadway.

This was definitely a cute read that gave me "Better Nate Than Ever" and "Jack and Louisa" vibes with a bit more of a mystery. The cast of characters were diverse and very realistic, while also easy for young readers to follow. It's short and sweet for YA audiences and wraps up the mystery so that there's no cliffhanger.

My only issues with it were the blatant differences from what rehearsing a professional show would be. Coming from an author with plenty of experience on Broadway (though not as a child actor, so the experience is a bit different), I had more realistic expectations for some of the big plot moments. (i.e. Broadway shows rehearse in a studio or rehearsal hall - not the actual theater until tech rehearsals, there was no stage manager running the rehearsals, previews are only briefly mentioned while the emphasis is all on opening night and not their first performance with an audience, the Legacy Robe going to a Principal cast member and not an Ensemble member, there seemed to be no marketing team at all and the kids had to take matters into their own hands, etc.) Most of these changes the average reader won't know, but to someone in the industry they're very glaring.
However, I thought there were several changes from the real world the that made the story more fun actually! (The Ethel Merman Theater - that would be fantastic! But she mentioned there were still 41 Broadway theaters...so which one doesn't exist in the universe of Fearless?)

Overall, this was a very fun story and a great debut for Mandy Gonzalez - perfect for middle school readers. I'd happily read any other stories she may publish in the future!

Thank you to #Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Fearless by Mandy Gonzalez. This middle grade fiction novel will be out April 6, 2021. All opinions are my own.

Monica has dreams of becoming a Broadway start and now she's getting her chance. Monica has been cast as the understudy in an upcoming Broadway show at the famous Ethel Merman Theater. When she arrives, she discovers that she's no longer the understudy but the lead as the original star quit and Monica watched the first understudy get wheeled into an ambulance. Monica quickly learns from her castmates that the theater is cursed. As opening night gets closer stranger things start to happen. Monica and her friends are determined to find a way to reverse the curse and they set out to unravel the mysteries the theater holds.

Fearless is a cute middle grade novel full of Broadway history. I really enjoyed learning about Broadway traditions and superstitions. The main theme of this novel is about not letting fear get in your way. The characters are bright and vivid. This book is an interesting combination of adventure and mystery. While the focus is on a curse and it seems like supernatural things are happening the plot stays firmly rooted in realistic fiction by providing reasons for the various happenings (like old wiring as the reason for the lights flickering and rats causing the rustling sounds). This is a fun novel that fans of Broadway are sure to enjoy.

Monica has always dreamed of being on Broadway. When she gets a call to be in the new musical "Our Time", she and her abuelita fly out to New York to so she can start rehearsing. When they arrive though, Monica learns that the production has been plagued with problems that seem to center around a curse on the theater. Although with the other kids in the show, Monica must not only prepare for her first opening night performance, but find out a way to break the curse.

Overall, this was a fun Broadway adventure that talks a lot about musicals and Broadway and had a great mystery element. This was a very fun read and I think will be enjoyed by a lot of kids who miss theater right now. Monica is a very likable character and it was great to see New York through her eyes. My one large complaint though is that some of the theater information was incorrect, such as who receives the Legacy Robe, how to access the NYPL theater archive, and the meaning of break of leg. While ultimately it doesn't matter to the story, I feel if the author is going to reference elements of theater, it should be done correctly.

The Ethel Merman Theater is cursed. No one is sure how or why, but the evidence speaks for itself. Show after show has flopped and the theater is about to close. Enter twelve-year-old Monica Garcia, who has been cast to star in a Broadway musical revival of The Goonies, the theater’s last chance to produce a hit before it shutters its doors for good. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

A chance to be in Broadway play, but suddenly things are not going as well as they seem, but can the show go on? The story follows Mandy as she is given the chance to be an understudy for a play in Broadway, but once she’s arrived she discovers she’s gotten a lead role and that actors have been having accidents and disappearing. Now its up to Mandy and her costars to find out whats happening and if the theater is actually cursed? The story is fun and a really cute adventure. It was easy to read and a great middle grade read and perfect for anyone interested in mysteries or the theater!

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*