Take It from the Top | Claire Swinarski

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Take It from the Top coming November 19th from Hachette Book Group; 256 pages

Content Warning: Death of a parent

About the Author: “Claire Swinarski is the author of multiple books for both kids and adults. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Seventeen, Milwaukee Magazine, and many other publications. She lives in small town Wisconsin with her husband and three kids, where she writes books, wears babies, and wrangles bread dough” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile). 

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“This. This is where we belong.” 

Told over the course of six summers spent at a summer camp called Lamplighter Lake, Eowyn Becker and her best friend, Jules Marrigan, experience a reunion gone wrong. While Eowyn’s successful Broadway-star older brother often overshadows her, Jules is the only person who’s seen her as more. Others may attribute Eowyn’s interest in theater to her famous mother and brother, but Jules has always seen her clearly. For this reason, when their best friend reunion doesn’t go as Eowyn planned and Jules barely looks at her, let alone interacts with her, Eowyn is left more confused than anything else. The situation is only made more tense as they’re both cast as the leads Glinda and Elphaba in the camp’s production of Wicked. Told in alternating perspectives, Take It from the Top is, at its core, a story about friendship. 

Take It from the Top is a heartwarming story about growing up and fighting for friendships. While the summer camp setting was fun and fresh, the character development in this novel undoubtedly stole the show. I appreciated that rather than just centering on a simple miscommunication, the story explores how family situations and circumstances can create a rift in relationships. Even as someone who was never really into theater, I could still feel the nostalgia this book might evoke among readers who remember their own theater performances or summer camp days. This book is truly a love letter to theater kids and made me feel comforted in a way I didn’t know was possible considering I couldn’t personally relate to that aspect. Take It from the Top is a story worth young readers’ time as it deals with conflict related to family, friendship and other themes that are extremely fitting and relevant to young teenager’s lives. On a more syntactic note, I enjoyed the manner in which the story is told. While the alternating timeline between a ‘then’ and ‘now’ situation is often overdone and somewhat unnecessary, I felt that it was fitting for properly fleshing out the story and the characters. I’d recommend Take It from the Top to anyone looking for a short, easy read about the complexities of family and friendship—and, of course, anyone who enjoys theater! It’s an especially perfect read for readers patiently awaiting the release of the new Wicked movie! 

Take It from the Top releases on November 19th.

Pine Reads Review would like to thank SparkPoint Studio and Quill Tree Books for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.

Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer


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