Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Release Date: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Point
Pages: 280
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

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.

While the topics addressed in this novel aren't exactly lighthearted, the writing itself isn't heavy, which makes Take a Bow a fun read. Overall, it's a well-written coming-of-age story. Although I would say that I enjoyed reading it, I don't think any of the characters stood out in a particularly significant way. I liked Emme's kindness, Ethan's journey to come to terms with what matters to him, Carter's journey of self-discovery, and I especially liked the dynamic of the members of the band (especially Jack and Ben, who added quite a bit of comic relief!) but no one stuck out as a very memorable character. Yes, the vicious resident user-and-abuser, Sophie, was a believable character, but she just wasn't that unique from any other antagonists. She was just mean and manipulative--there wasn't a personality quirk, uniquely snarky dialogue, or something huge about her past that will make her very memorable.

Don't get me wrong, it's well written and most of the main characters are alive and not 2D, but they just aren't very strong characters I'd definitely be able to point out if someone were to ask me for examples of favorite or eye-catching characters. They just seem like the ordinary--well-developed, but ordinary nonetheless--characters you'd find in a coming-of-age story.

I would like to expand briefly on the 'well-developed characters point' however; Sophie was quite a nasty piece of work! She maybe your typical antagonist, but man, was she a self-absorbed, unrepentant, manipulative girl! Ms. Eulberg certainly created a vicious villain (okay, that might be a bit strong, but she was horrid!) who had no conscience and was ready to use and abuse her few friends to get to the top! Sophie was definitely a believable character--she came alive on those pages so much that I wanted to slap her for her ruthless treatment of Emme!

There were points in the novel where I wanted to reach in and shake Emme! I was definitely rooting for her but wanted her to grow a backbone and stand up for herself! It was so frustrating to watch her let people (especially her "best friend") walk all over her and take advantage of her! Warning--mild spoiler alert! After a while it got tiresome to watch how predictable Emme could be, but the climax of her confronting the issue mostly made up for all of that frustration! She did a nice job at the end and I was definitely cheering the way the characters were! End spoiler alert.

I have never attended a performing arts school so I'm not sure how realistic Take a Bow is, but Ms. Eulberg did a great job creating a high-tension, high-pressure environment (which I'm sure performing arts high schools are!). There was a lot of intense competition between students to be on top, to nab spots, but I am very grateful the author did not take the excessively catty and melodramatic drama-infested route! The lack of those two characteristics (which I think I've had more than enough of for a while) really made this book that much more enjoyable. It made it easier to focus on each of the characters' journeys (which I believe is more important) instead of trying to keep track of who stole which person's lip gloss and who trashed their locker before an extremely important (and tear-filled, no doubt) audition. My favorite part about the arts-related setting was reading about Emme and the band performing! They're such a hilarious and dynamic group--it was a blast to both read about their performances and cheer them on during their struggles!

While I liked the switching view points and the differences in the writing styles for each character, I didn't find the plot all that imaginative. Carter's story ("who everyone wants me to be, but who I want to be") is one I'm afraid I've read about in some form or another countless times. But still, the chemistry between the characters, their interactions and how all of their parts tie in nicely with each other helped contribute nicely to the story!

Yes, it's not the most original story (plot or character-wise) but it is well-written and I enjoyed it very much! It doesn't drag at all, but the story is still well-developed and the author doesn't try to sell any of the characters short! It was a great and pretty easy read that I would recommend to those who are looking for something a little more fun!

Overall: 4.25 out of 5
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3.75 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars

Nothing by Robin Friedman

Nothing by Robin Friedman

Release Date: August 1, 2008
Publisher: Flux
Pages: 232

Parker has been the perfect student his whole life--straight "A's" since first grade, a resume full of community service, leadership positions in clubs, and a plethora of extracurricular activities. He's always felt the pressure to be "perfect" and to get into HYP (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton) from his father, who attended Princeton himself. Yet, despite his seemingly perfect image, Parker does not feel so perfect on the inside. He wonders how much of what he is doing actually holds any meaning for him, and eventually realizes that most of what he does is solely for his college application.

With the constant need and pressure to be absolutely perfect and doubts about who he really is beginning to surface, Parker's confidence begins to slip. He begins to see himself as 'fat' despite his thin physique (thanks in part to being on the track team) and begins to binge, then purge to comfort himself. Whenever he becomes disgusted or disappointed with himself, Parker gourges on junk food then immediately purges so he can feel thin. Hiding his shame, purging and insecurity behind mouthwash and breath mints, Parker thinks he can still hold onto his faultless image without anyone discovering his secret.

However, as time passes, he begins to lose weight, and his confidence also drains away. But with his family wanting to remain picture-perfect and with the crushing pressure around him, Parker feels trapped and does not know who to turn to. And if no one takes action soon, Parker may just waste away completely...

It was interesting to read about bulimia from a guys point of view. Although Nothing was interesting, it eventually got repetitive and the descriptions and sentences seemed extremely similar to previous, similar parts. The progression of the novel was still good and the switching viewpoints provided a nice look from the inside and outside perspective. The ending seemed a bit too perfect and easy for me, but I'm not unhappy it ended that way. I know I'm being rather vague, but I don't want to give too much away.

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 400

Nora thinks this school year will be like any other--school work, hanging with her best friend, Vee, and all that good stuff. Romance was not part of that plan. But when the seating chart is rearranged in Nora's biology class, she ends up sitting with the mysterious transfer student Patch...her year might not be so simple any more.

Quick to get under her skin and slow to reveal anything about himself, Patch quickly frustrates Nora. But at the same time, she feels drawn to him, despite his darker side. Why won't Patch speak about his past? Could there be some sinister secret? Or is Patch not as dark as he seems? Or does Nora just want to see a better side of him? But if Patch is actually good, why do so many bad things happen when he's around?

I had written my review pre-release, but then after I read the finished version, I found myself editing this review a bit. I think the beginning of the finished version of Hush Hush does add to the story and characterization, so it was a plus, but some of my other opinions did not change.
Although I absolutely love the cover, I think the book would have been a lot more suspenseful if we hadn't known Patch's true identity from the start. Despite this, the intensity between Nora and Patch was great and it carried through the entire book, which was great as I did not want to see it die down!

However, sometimes I felt as if the book was a little obvious--it felt a little too blunt at times, and some description and details that didn't directly state things would have been nicer. But overall, it was very interesting and I enjoyed reading Hush Hush!

Top 8 by Katie Finn

Madison MacDonald is just your average teenager; she attends her local high school, hangs out with her friends, has a (new!) cute boyfriend, and is part of the popular Friendverse network that just about every teenager has a profile on. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary until the day she gets back from vacationing in the Galapagos with her family only to find that her Friendverse profile has been hacked and utterly changed.

Unfortunately for Madison, the damage goes beyond the new bad songs posted under her ‘favorites’—her hacker has been writing nasty comments to and about her friends! Some awful secrets have been revealed about pretty much everyone Madison knows and more than a few unflattering pictures of Madison and others have surfaced as well! With only a handful of friends left on her Friendverse profile (and goodness knows how many in real life!), her boyfriend convinced that she broke up with him, people left and right hating her, and the class couple broken up, things do not look good for Madison.

The good news is that her three closest friends believe that she was hacked and did not write all those revealing comments herself, but the bad news is that not many others believe her, and her boyfriend, Justin, is now dating someone else! Many people are hurt by what Madison’s hacker posted about them—harsh comments that Madison knows that she may not have said to their faces, but did say behind their backs to others, or at least had thought to herself. Madison wants to know who did this (and her boyfriend back)! The hunt for Madison’s hacker is on!

Despite making a list and doing a bit of investigation, Madison doesn’t get very far. However, she does met this cute guy who she had actually previous met during her vacation in the Galapagos. But she mustn’t think about him, after all, she’s still trying to get Justin back! When most of her leads don’t get her very far, it looks like Madison might have been looking in the wrong direction all along…

I found this book rather predictable, but Top 8 does have some good morals/lessons behind it. It’s definitely more hurtful to speak about people behind their backs, and it’s a good thing that Madison learned a few lessons and matured a lot by the end! The format of Top 8 with the Friendverse profile and comments views was great as well! It really enhanced the story!

I also really like the title—it really fits for this book, but isn’t too ordinary or common, and after reading this book, I think it might have a bit of foreshadowing to it as well!

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst

Julie may look like an ordinary kid on the outside, but she is anything but. Her mother is Rapunzel, yes the Rapunzel, who was locked in a tower and forced to let her hair down so her mean witch step-mom could visit her. But that was years ago, and Julie’s mom, along with other fairytale characters have escaped the Wild.

The Wild was responsible for all the classic fairytales; Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and all the rest, but there was a price to pay for these classic stories; the characters were trapped in their stories, doomed to forever play their parts, eating porridge, testing chairs, and running away from bears, over and over again. Once the story ended, the characters had to begin again—they had no choice and were forced into their roles, doomed to such for eternity.

But then Rapunzel rebelled, and along with her, a group of other fairytale characters. After much toil and trouble, she finally broke free, along with her fellow characters, reducing the formerly engulfing and controlling Wild to a small vine-like creature. Then Julie was born, after the Wild was defeated, but Rapunzel’s husband had never made it out alive.

So Julie had a good childhood; her mother ran a local hair salon, her grandmother (the witch of Rapunzel’s story) guards the wishing well by her motel (for a wish made in the well could cause the Wild to grow and regain its strength), Cinderella (Cindy) gives rides to Julie every now and then, and Puss-in-Boots is Julie’s ‘brother’. Sure, Snow’s seven dwarves can be quite a nuisance sometimes when they’re over for dinner, but Julie has her mom, and her best friend, Gillian, who knows Julie’s secret.

But Julie’s mom rarely ever talked about what happened in the Wild, why her father did not make it out, and how Rapunzel got out in the first place. The Wild is just an annoying green lump under Julie’s bed now, eating up Julie’s shoes and transforming them into various magical objects.

Things go smoothly for a while, until one day Julie finds her mother gone, and runs into her room, only to find that the space beneath her bed is empty—the Wild is gone. Seeing a strange green object growing and taking over the town, Julie realizes that the Wild has gotten lose somehow, and is trying to regain its old powers and old characters. As her attempts to find her mother prove futile, her mother’s friends try to whisk her away to safety, but Julie needs to find her mother, so she and her friends will not be forced to endure the same fairytale stories over and over again.

Plunging into the Wild, armed only with the fairytales she remembers and a backpack filled with the magical objects the Wild had created during its residency under her bed, Julie is off to find her mother. But can she make it through the Wild’s paths, which are full of traps and dangers? Or will the Wild trap her in a fairytale of her own, making her a prisoner of the same plot and events over and over again?

There is only one way out: the Wild must be stopped. But can a twelve-year-old match up against all the foes of fairytales and the Wild’s plans? One thing’s for certain, if she cannot find her mother and a way to escape the Wild, Julie may be stuck in a story of her own—forever.

Into the Wild was a very creative novel! I loved how different classic fairytale characters were given new personalities and included into this great plot! Into the Wild was a very fun and action-packed adventure that made for a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to all fantasy lovers!

The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher by David Ellwand

Do you believe in faeries? Do you believe in pixies or little beings that most deem only alive in fairytales? Join David Ellwand, a photographer, on his journey through the eerie English Downs where he encounters a pix stone (a.k.a. hagstone, among other names) and an old, forgotten archaeological dig site. Through the pix stone, David gets a glimpse of the hidden world of pixies, at a site where, a century ago, men were digging for an old flint stone, but another photographer found something else.

David happens upon a chest that takes him on a journey of a life time. Within the ancient box is the account and evidence gathered by a photographer 100 years ago, Isaac Wilde, that pixies do exist. He was ridiculed for this belief, but as he got to learn more about these elusive creatures that he could only see through pix stones, and other seeing glasses, he knew he had to somehow get others to believe him and preserve the little folks’ home.

But what happened to this Isaac Wilde? Can David decipher his journey and learn more about the site, or will his journey prove to be in vain and have its own abrupt, dark ending like that of Isaac’s story? Discover the secrets that the English Downs has with David Ellwand through the accounts, photographs, and other artifacts in The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher!

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ruby has been fending for herself ever since her now-estranged sister left for college; her mother has done little to help Ruby. Ruby goes to school, feeds herself, and pretty much keeps to herself most of the time. She has only a few friends at school, and has become a loner because of the many times she has moved around with her mother.

One day, Ruby wakes up and her mother is just...gone. Thinking that this will be like all the other times and her mother will be back later, probably hung over and exhausted, Ruby does not think much of it until her mother does not come back to the house for weeks. Being a senior in high school who's almost 18, Ruby tries to ride out the last few months until she does turn 18 and can legally live on her own--after all, she's been looking after herself for quite some time now. Taking evasive measures and dodging the landlords and other people who come knocking, Ruby manages to keep her mother's disaperance a secret and keep her mother's job of delivering lost luggage back to their owners, for a while until the fateful day when the landlords found out just how horrible her living conditions were: the dryer had died, the outside needed some mending (which was why they came in the first place), and the house was just filthy. After learning that Ruby's mother had fled, the landlords reported Ruby's situation to the police and child care services, and Ruby was wisked off to live with her sister.

Needless to say, not having seen her older sister for several years, it was quite awkward for Ruby. Since the last time the sisters had seen each other, Cora has become a sucessful lawyer and married a loving guy, and was not living in run down homes or appartments like she had with Ruby when they were younger, but rather, in a spacious house in a good neighborhood. Ruby gets to know her surroundings, and eventually even becomes aquainted with Nate, her sister's neighbor, who seems like a nice kid and always offers her a ride to and from school.

Even though Ruby can now live comfortably and not have to flee landlords every couple of months as she had with her mother, Ruby cannot help but slip into her "bad girl" and loner habbits that she had aquired from her friends from her previous school before moving in with Cora and enrolling in Perkins Day. Before long, she is sneaking back to her old school to drink and smoke pot with her old buddies. But when her perception that her old friends are the good ones is shattered by several shell-shocking events, Ruby is reforced to think her life. Sure, she was not planning to stay long in this overly-perfect neighborhood in such an awkward situation, but isn't it better than what she had to endure before? Are her new friends, like Nate, and her sister and her husband the ones she should be trusting now? After all, they're the ones who have been looking out for her like now one else had ever done for her before. Can Ruby get her life back into shape? Can she overcome past rifts and learn that there are good things in life that she could find if she would just open her eyes a bit more?

Lock and Key was a moving story in which Ruby learned that opening her ears and her heart could help induce great changes. Ruby comes out of her shell and grows to develop new morals and starts counting her blessings, realizing just how much better off she is and that change is not always bad.
I loved Lock and Key and it is definitely one of my favorite books by Sarah Dessen now! Her characters are amazingly well developed and distinct as usual and her story is just so honest and realistic that is draws you in, pulls a few heartstrings, and keeps you hooked until the very last page! A must read for all Sarah Dessen fans!

Francey by Martin Dubow

Francey is a young lady who is wise beyond her years. She lives with her father, Rick, who is a brilliant architect. Francey herself is quite a student with a passion for learning and is an absolutely spellbinding artist. But how has such a young child been graced with such immeasurable talent with paints, pencils, pastels, and paints? She lives with her loving father and attends a school near home. All seems well until the nightmares come; her nights are suddenly plagued by horrific and gripping nightmares that seem to possess her—but where could these terrifying dreams have come from?

Luckily, Francey has a sweet, lovely teacher, Ms. Gingery and her father, among others, to look out for her and help her sort out this dark mystery that plagues her sleep. Who is this mysterious Lady Susan Sebastian whose life was full of love, betrayal, and anguish and keeps reappearing in Francey’s nightmares?

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Lord Crimson is a man who has worked hard all his life and has accumulated great wealth and a title, yet there is something missing. Something that has thus far proved unattainable, despite the fact he has met with some of the most talented architects around the world. Completely sure, yet unsure of what he is looking for, he has already tired out many architects who have not been able to design Lord Crimson’s elusive building. Johnny Falstaff is called in, and he directs Francey’s father to his lordship, believing that Rick is the one who would most likely have the skill necessary to attempt to satisfy Lord Crimson’s wishes and design what he is looking for. Could Lord Crimson and his project hold a piece of the puzzle about Francey’s nightmares? Why would memories of Lady Susan and her star-crossed lover, Edward Delaney, from centuries back be surfacing in a sixth-grader’s dreams?

I don’t want to give away too much here, but Francey and the others soon find themselves delving into a mystery from the past that is more complex and surprising than they would have ever believed was possible! A maze of secrets surrounds the mysterious couple but Ms. Gingery, Rick, and other acquaintances are determined to unearth these long buried truths. But with the intensity of Francey’s nightmares increasing, will they be able to get to the bottom of the things before her nightmares consume her and prevent her from awaking ever again?

Author Martin Dubow has woven a gripping story of intrigue within Francey! Although it started off a bit slow and was a bit predictable near the end, Francey was a well-written novel with a great cast of characters! I especially liked the main idea behind this book—it was very interesting and extremely well played out in the book! I really enjoyed this book, and for all you out there looking for a novel with mystery, intrigue, adventure, and a healthy dose of romance, I suggest you go pick up a copy of Francey!