The full story of a junior high musical production, told exclusively from the POV of the kids backstage. It's High School Musical, from behind the scenes...without the high school.

Every cast depends on its stage crew. But what happens when they hate each other?

Eighth grader Ella Amani has been waiting her whole life to be the stage manager of the middle school musical, and this is her year!

Somehow she'll have to find jobs for Willow, who's doing stage crew instead of detention, and Sebastian, a shy sixth grader whose sister is the star of the show. She'll have to wrangle Kevin, the clumsy new kid who was homeschooled on a boat, and Levi, her best friend, who used to tell her everything.

Still, Ella's pretty sure she can handle the crew. The cast? That's a different story. They're ungrateful, they treat the crew like servants, and when Ella finally pushes back, they start playing pranks!

The first act in a trilogy, Setting the Stage is a behind-the-scenes look at the drama of drama club from the crew's point of view.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Pixel+ink
Published: 10/21/2025
ISBN: 9781645953289
Pages: 208
Weight: 1.25lbs

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2025
School Library Journal 09/01/2025 pg. 80