For as long as Grisha can remember, the Moscow puppet theater has been his favorite place in the world, his home away from home. The dressing rooms and workshops, the gorgeous marble lobby, the secret passages backstage - he knows them like the back of his hand, and each time the curtain rises and the stage comes alive, it feels magical.But life outside the theater is a different story. The boys in Grisha's class bully him mercilessly, and his own grandfather says hateful things about how Grisha's not and "macho and " enough. And to make things worse, Sam, Grisha's favorite actor and mentor, is moving away: He's leaving the country to escape the extreme homophobia he faces in Russia. Normally, Grisha would turn to his best friend, Sashok, for support, but she's dealing with problems of her own as she faces a potentially life-threatening heart condition.Grisha's world is crumbling. He needs to find the strength to stand up to bullies and be there for his friends - but how?Playing a Part, the first young adult novel from Russia to be translated into English, is a story at once brave, heartbreaking, and hopeful.