The Stage School series, a British series first published by Orchard Books in 1998 and now making its debut in Canada, follows the lives and dreams of a group of new students at William S. Holly Stage School, a school for the performing arts. Think a contemporary, print version of Fame. Author Geena Dare is a pseudonym for Canadian writers Sylvia McNicoll (Grave Secrets; Bringing Up Beauty), Sharon Siamon (Gallop for Gold), and Linda Hendry (Making Gift Boxes). McNicoll’s and Siamon’s texts are the strongest of the stories. The British origins of the 12 books are almost indistinguishable: the vocabulary is largely North American (except for “Mum” and “brilliant”) and the setting geographically neutral.

The first book in the series, Abbi: Make or Break, stars 13-year-old would-be actor Abbi. For the auditions, Abbi is grouped with other stage school hopefuls who become her best friends by the novel’s end and form the focus for the series. Later books star Jenna, an intense dancer, class clown and actor Dan, the shy but gifted singer Lauren, the school heartthrob Matt, who’s a dancer, and Nikki, a visual artist. In this tale, Abbi deals with the pressure of auditions, the flirtatious interest of Dan, and the trouble of getting her mom to accept her new friends. She also realizes that she judged the aloof Chloe (whom she saw taking pills and acting strangely) too harshly, after Chloe has an epileptic seizure on stage. In the end, both girls make the cut and the group looks forward to the year ahead.

Throughout the series, this friendship theme is central, though the group dynamic is complicated by many love triangles – Lauren, for example, pines for Matt, who only has eyes for ice queen Jenna. All the romance is very innocent, in keeping with the target audience of eight- to 12-year-olds. The emphasis is on teamwork and dramatic adventures on and off the stage. Lauren helps a street kid who is a refugee from Bosnia; Jenna is clearly headed for an eating disorder; Matt battles the debilitating effects of glandular fever (known as mononucleosis in Canada); the kids get together to raise money for a new theatre and at the same time catch a firebug.

These books are light reading – each novel is only about 100 pages – and will appeal to preadolescent girls, particularly readers wanting teen tales without mature content. The series will also work well for reluctant readers. The fairly formulaic books make the most sense read in order so they have the attraction of a continuing story. The flashy jackets, featuring a portrait of each book’s central character, embossed with silver letters and background, will likely attract target readers.