"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Saturday, July 7, 2012

A "Nobel Beehive Award" Review: Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg


by Elizabeth Eulberg 
Release Date: April 1st, 2012
Publisher: Point (Penguin) 
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Reviewed Format: Hardcopy

SUMMARY
(Goodreads) 

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."
MY REVIEW

What a wonderful, well-written and entertaining book!
I love it when an author is able to write a book with more than one characters point of view - and in this story, we get FOUR of them! Four realistic characters that are fun, quirky and ambitious. And Elizabeth Eulberg nails it! Not once did I get confused as to who was talking or what was going on and it made the story flow so swiftly and perfectly - I loved it!

Meet our four headliners...
Emme is a very talented songwriter who works hard and is very organized. But her lack of confidence and unsupportive friend keeps her from fully coming out of her shell to sing and steal the spotlight...
Sophie is the singer. She knows that shes got it all and will do anything to get what she wants and make it all the way to the top.
Ethan is swoon worthy but as a songwriter, he feels that he needs to create drama and chaos in order to write his songs, unlike Emme who writes from the heart.
And last, but certainly not least, Carter aka the child actor. He's been there already and no longer has the drive to continue being an actor and wants to be able to just be himself and finally do what he really loves to do.

It was amazing to see how their senior year unfolds - who grows and learns from their mistakes, and who doesn't. Most of all, what I loved was being able to live vicariously through all of these characters - I am no songwriter, not an aspiring actress and definitely cannot hold a note even if my life depended on it, lol; but, at some point in our lives, we have all dreamed about it. And Elizabeth definitely gave me my spotlight!

All of you who are big fans of Glee, High School Musical and (here's where I show my true age!) Fame - will enjoy and devour this book over and over again! It's a must read! 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Elizabeth Eulberg 

Elizabeth Eulberg's lifelong love of music inspired Take a Bow
Although she didn't attend a performing arts school, she is currently trying to make up for it in karaoke bars throughout the greater New York area. 
She is the author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice
She lives outside of Manhattan with her three guitars, two keyboards, and one drumstick. 
For one brief, shining moment in '09, she was chosen as the Guitar Bar of Hoboken's Student of the Week.



3 comments:

  1. I loved Take a Bow and I love how happy Elizabeth Eulberg looks in that photo. Glad you enjoyed Take a Bow and Happy Reading!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMg I''d totally forgotten I wanted to read this book! It sounds so good!!

    ReplyDelete

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