Book: Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Published by Scholastic, Inc

Purchased for my Nook (288 pages)

Genre: YA: Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Elizabeth Eulberg

Goodreads Summary: From the fantastic author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school.

Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it’s been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn’t sure how to admit that he’d rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.

I loved, loved, loved Take A Bow!  This is such a cute book, and I love that it takes place at a performing arts school.

I loved the cast of characters- you have a former child star, a girl who prefers to be behind the scenes but is super-talented, a guy who gives in to his dark side, and a girl who is desperate to be in the spotlight.  Are they a little cliche?  Of course.  But it was good snapshot of different students who might attend a performing arts high school.

Can I just say how much I love Emme?  Because I just love her!  I’m also not a fan of Sophie.  I couldn’t stand her, but I think she’s supposed to be rather unlikeable.  Carter and Ethan, I’m neutral about.

I loved seeing a performing arts school, especially the focus on music.  I totally want to be a singer now!

I thought the multiple narrators worked really well, and each chapter really did feel like they were narrated by someone different.  It was good to see the year through the eyes of 4 very different people, and how their stories connected.

I was surprised at how well the performing arts translated to the page.  The performances were described really well, and I really wanted to see them in person.  Everything was so full of life that I couldn’t help love the characters, the classes, the auditions and the performances.  I also loved the prologue, when they all auditioned, and the epilogue, which is their graduation.  It really added to the story, to see where they started and where they going.

It gets a 5 out of 5.