Take a Bow by Elizabeth EulbergPages: 246
Grade: 8+ (drinking and language)
Publisher: Point
Source: Borrowed from the library
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Description: 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.
Thoughts: I’m a fan of Elizabeth Eulberg - I enjoyed both The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom and Prejudice a lot. And like those two books, Take a Bow is a fun fast read best summed up as “cute but predictable”.
The book centers around four students at a prestigious New York performing arts school. Each one has their own story/journey but Emme is by far the main focus of Take a Bow.
Emme’s story is the most interwoven with the other characters and she goes through the biggest emotional change. Best friends with Sohpie, Emme starts her journey very much in Sophie’s shadow. As Sophie’s true nature is revealed, Emme begins to shine and develope a deeper friendship with Sophie’s boyfriend Carter, which of course complicates her relationship with Ethan. Emme was my favorite of the four characters and the character I could most see myself being friends with.
Emme and Ethan are bandmates and best friends. Ethan is a bit of a fuck up and Emme is a bit of a goody-tooshoos. Together they make a good team though. Ethan’s story mostly focuses on his relationship with Emme. As the most naturally talented student in school, he struggles, not with school, but with his personal life. He has a hard time vocalizing his feelings and expressing himself in mature ways. Especially when it comes to his feelings for Emme. He’s kind of a dick for most of the book though his heart is always in the right place when it comes to Emme.
Carter got on my nerves at first, but ended up being a pretty likable character. His story line was a bit fluffy even though it probably had the deepest meaning - follow your heart. I had a hard time buying that he was really as naive as he was portrayed as. His story kind of fell flat for me and I didn’t ultimately care what happened to him.
The last character, Sophie, was a bit of a parody. She was so self centered and awful that there wasn’t much I found redeeming about her. Even in the end she was awful. She was so awful it wasn’t even funny.
Overall, I thought this book was decent. It’s a good light-hearted read that won’t take you too long to get through.
