Three Things Before Coffee

1) Publishers Weekly reviewed Eyes Like Stars:

Mantchev's first novel feels dreamlike (plot points are often revealed during impromptu performances), yet underneath is a solid story about the search for happiness and identity. Inside jokes will delight drama club devotees (“Gertrude pointed at Macbeth, who was holding up a cruller and muttering, 'Is this a doughnut I see before me?' ”), but this passionate debut should attract a broader readership as well.

I think "passionate debut" is better tha