Take a Bow

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg follows a group of students in their Senior year at a competitive performing arts school in New York City.  The story revolves around Emme a shy composer who slowly comes into her own and learns to stand up for herself.  The story is told through the eyes of Emme and several of her classmates: Sophie, her best friend whom she'll have to come to realize is using her.  Carter, Sophie's boyfriend and child star who is not sure if he wants to be an actor and Ethan who has always cared about Emme.

This was a fantastic contemporary novel about older teens.  I loved Emme's growth throughout the book as she learns to stand up for herself, believe in herself and become the performer that she never knew she could be.  The performing arts school felt like a real place and the author did a good job creating a school that seemed real and had the students doing high school level work.  I sped through this book finishing it quickly.

Appropriateness:  This is a book about teenagers that act like teenagers.  There's alcohol abuse (which is in every case depicted as stupid and destructive) and some discussions of sex.  I would recommend the book to readers 13+