The Abandoned Theater (Alderland Series 1) by Dana Robertson

What worked:

The story follows Beth as she wants to investigate the disappearance of a friend named Brent. Readers may be surprised to learn that her two best friends are starkly different from each other. Stan is an unpopular nerd with unusual quirks; he thinks dressing in green shorts, a green shirt, and a green fedora will act as camouflage in the woods. On the other hand, Teri is tall and pretty and she’s one of the most popular girls in school. Readers will know there’s something different about Beth as she wears an amulet that appears to glow. She dreams of places she’s never been only to discover they actually exist. She’s told she was lucky to escape the car accident that killed her parents when she was four but her aunt won’t talk about it. Beth has questions and the answers make her wonder about what she’s been told.

The theater is portrayed as a spooky, dangerous place that is off-limits to everyone. The theater owner disappeared years ago and now Brent is gone too. Beth’s aunt makes Beth promise that she’ll stay away from it but readers know that promise will soon be broken. Stan’s uncle was in the audience when the owner disappeared but he’s unable to recall any details from that night. No one fleeing the theater can remember exactly what happened. This leaves readers to speculate about the possibilities. Are the owner and Brent dead, murdered by an unknown villain? Did the owner’s wife commit the crime? The police bring her in for questioning. Perhaps something more magical is happening that might explain Beth’s amulet and premonitions. Could there be a hidden portal leading to another world?

The author artfully uses words and language to create moods and set scenes. When the kids first travel to the theater, they must maneuver a raft across a lake to reach it. At first, the lake has “gentle waves”, and fresh air “at this early hour”, and the raft drifts as the sun rises. The scene shifts once they make it across as “the sun’s rays flickered”, “an ominous shadow fell over the raft”, and the ground below the cliff was “untamed, overgrown”. Swaying branches seemed to “beckon them forward with long, slender fingers.” Once inside the theater, the kids hear clicking sounds that are “massive black crows” pecking at the skylight, blocking out the sun, “casting a shadow through the theater”.

What didn’t work as well:

The truth behind Beth’s past isn’t too hard to predict for experienced readers. The clues are all there and a character later in the book even tells Beth that she’s probably already figured it out on her own.

The final verdict:

The book’s second half has more action than the first as Beth starts to unravel the truth about her life. Shocking reunions await and Beth becomes an important factor in a war to save all worlds. There’s a medieval feel later in the story with magical elements mixed in. Overall, this should be a fascinating series to follow and I recommend you give this first book a shot.