I Love the Theatre: A Review of The Abandoned Theater by Dana Robertson

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

After last week, I wanted a read that didn’t have as many heavy topics. My mental health needed a little break. And luckily for me, I was offered a new title from Collective Ink and Our Street Books. Thank you so much for reaching out and sending me this book. They aren’t paying me for my review, they just sent me the book for free. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, thank you!

And what book was I so kindly sent? Please give a warm welcome to The Abandoned Theater by Dana Robertson. The Abandoned Theatre is book one in the Alderland series and released very recently on May 1, 2025.

So let’s crack in. As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other post on this site then you will know that I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. Now let's get to the synopsis.

Beth Shoner is ready to have the best summer of her life. And then the boy she has a crush on, Brent, goes missing. You see, deep in the woods outside of town is the Winnodov property and on that property is our titular abandoned theater. And it’s the last place Brent was seen.

The theater was a community staple for years. Then during a performance one night, a sword fight broke out between Mr. Winnodov and an actor, then Mr. Winnodov mysteriously disappeared. The community has always believed Mrs. Winnodov was responsible for her husband’s disappearance, and now with a young teen going missing, she’s once again the name of everybody’s lips.

Beth and two of her friends, Teri and Stan, set off for the theater to find Brent. It’s the last place he was seen so there must be some clues about where he went. The trio finds more than they bargained for as in the theater they find a portal to another world. A portal Brent must have found and traveled through.

The magical realm is known as Alderland. Once a world full of light, love, and everything good, Alderland is now under the rule of the evil Darthius. Beth and her friends must find Brent and evade Darthius and his minions lest they be trapped in this world. So can they do it? Can they find and save Brent? Can they save themselves? And can they save Alderland? Find out in The Abandoned Theater.

First things first, this is a children’s book. When I read and review children’s literature I attempt to view the book in question as I would have in my childhood. I am in my late twenties, and children are not in my life in any way shape or form so I really am not the target demographic for this read, but I can still offer my opinion and attempt to view the book as I would have as a child. With that little note we now can get to the review proper.

Fantastical lands will always get me. They will always pull me in. Please let me travel to a faraway fantasy world with magic and dragons! That’s all I want in life, and I will never get it so I must make do with fantasy novels. Alas the world of Alderland left me wanting much more. There’s nothing to it. It comes across as a generic fantasy world without much of the charm that typically comes with one. There are tigers who are friendly and would probably let me pet them, so that’s nice. But they don’t talk, so that’s upsetting. There are different races/species of inhabitants in Alderland, but readers don’t learn about them other than one race who are a part of the villain's army and all that’s told of them is they are evil. Alderland’s worldbuilding could have been handled so much better.

I found the lore surrounding the Winnodov’s theater to be much more interesting. Theater truly comes alive in this place, and as a theatre aficionado, I love that so much. How I would kill to see a performance in a place where the show becomes real. Dana Robertson, please tell me more about this theater! I love it so much. Honestly, the Winnodov theater is a perfect example of magical realism. I don’t think it can get much better than this.

No joke, I will be using the theatre as an example of magical realism for years to come.

What could be a lot better though is the pacing and flow of the story. Every single sentence is written as a statement. In fact, it felt as if the author was writing a bulleted list of the story's events. Essentially Dana Robertson would write something akin to “Beth reached for the item.” Followed by, “Teri pulled Beth away, reprimanding her friend.” Because the story is written in this way, far too many things happen in a single short paragraph leading to moments of excitement closely followed by pages of the story dragging on before the cycle repeats.

This also causes the plot twists to be seen from a mile away. For me at least. Again, I am not the target demographic and thus surpass the intended reading level, this may not be an issue at all. This book is intended for readers between the ages of nine and twelve. Perhaps the children reading this book won’t see the plot twists coming and instead be swept up in the story. If nothing else, The Abandoned Theater is a highly accessible book for young readers, and I applaud it for that.

Listen, this book isn’t for me. I’m not the target demographic. I think The Abandoned Theater is a decent read for young readers. I believe it can be used as a gateway book for the fantasy genre. This is a read that can grab a child’s attention for a few hours and foster a love of reading. Yes, I have problems with the book, but the magical realism is excellent and the characters are likable. The Abandoned Theater does feel generic at times, but the central theme being good versus evil is a staple of the fantasy genre for a reason. It could be better, but it also could be worse.

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you once again to Our Street Books and Collective Ink for sending me a copy of The Abandoned Theater. It means a lot to me every time you offer to send me books. Thank you, thank you!

And for you, dear Book Nerds, I shall see you all again next week with another fun post. If you can’t wait that long then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my nearest, dearest friends and we talk about basically everything. We talk Scooby-Doo, Disney, Barbie, spooky stuff, weird moments of history; we talk about it all! You can find the show on Spotify and YouTube.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!