Performing arts summer camp, friendship breakups and dramas, a bit of romance. Add it all up for a fun summer romp for middle grade readers.

Publication: November 19th, 2024
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Take It from the Top" by Claire Swinarski is a poignant tale that explores themes of friendship and theater. The narrative switches between the past and present, uncovering the misunderstandings that estranged the two friends, Jules and Eowyn.

The setting of a theater camp injects excitement and tension, while the shifting timelines provide insight into the characters' development. A sincere examination of forgiveness and the enchantment of theater renders this book an engaging read for those who appreciate stories about the intricacies of friendship and the performing arts.

Primarily, this book will appeal to young adults, middle graders, or anyone who enjoys this literary genre.

Thank You Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I literally could not hit the request button quickly enough on this one - summer camp? Best friends? Musical theater? Sign. Me. Up. And it veers less into romantic territory than <I>Bye Forever, I Guess</I> did (which was my one and only quibble with that delightful book). I’ve never read any of Swinarski’s other stuff, but I really enjoyed this. It’s one I would have loved to share with my students and fellow musical nerds.

The story mostly takes place during “the sixth summer,” aka, the sixth summer best friends Eowyn and Jules are attending Lamplighter Lake, a musical theatre summer camp. Eowyn has always looked forward to seeing Jules in person during camp, but something has been off this year. They haven’t been having their weekly video chats, and Jules barely responds to any of her texts. But of course, there are two sides to the story, and in the flashback chapters from summers past, we hear from Jules.

I really liked this as a framing device. Each girl feels like she’s in the right and the other is in the wrong, AND each girl feels like the other just has a perfect life. And unlike mysteries where it’s annoying as hell that characters don’t have actual conversations with each other, here it tracks. Like yes, all of their problems could be solved if they could have a civil conversation. But they’re teenagers! Their emotions are on overdrive (plus they’re musical theatre nerds, which puts those emotions on a whole other level) and every time they try to talk, one of them ends up yelling at the other and saying something true but hurtful. It’s how teenagers roll.

So Eowyn’s deal is *kind of* the typical “poor little rich girl” story. Her mother was a famous Broadway actress, and her father’s a doctor who invented some kind of breathing machine, so her family is loaded. But her mother died when Eowyn was eight (cancer - it’s mentioned only briefly, when Eowyn basically says “It happened, it’s sad, but that’s not what this story is about.” I respect the move), and now that Eowyn’s brother is also a famous, Tony winning, Broadway actor himself, both he and her father have less time for her. Sure it’s great that her father pays for all of her lessons, and sends a private car to take her to camp, but wouldn’t it be nice if he took her himself? Or maybe came home for dinner once in a while? I mean, it definitely smacks of rich people problems, but it doesn’t make it any less hard for Eowyn to deal with.

Meanwhile, Jules comes from a bigger family (three sisters), and her parents don’t make that much money. Her dad is out of work and basically just perpetually “looking for jobs”, and her mother owns a hair salon. She lives in a tiny apartment and the only reason she can even go to Lamplighter is because she gets a scholarship. She sees Eowyn’s life as perfect, while Eowyn thinks Jules is the one who has it made, with her two super supportive parents.

As the story progresses, both girls keep digging in their heels about who is in the wrong, and through flashbacks, we see how they first became friends, and all of the little bumps along the way (I’ll say, Jules is kind of a jerk in the sixth summer, but Eowyn is kinda clueless the entire time about how privileged she is). But they’re going to have to learn to work together, because they’ve been cast as Galinda and Elphaba in the mainstage production of <I>Wicked</I>. Eowyn’s been suffering from terrible stage fright ever since a few summers before, when she was Little Red in <I>Into the Woods</i> and kinda blew it (she looked out at the audience and realized that neither her dad nor her brother had shown up because they were too busy). She’s been too in her own head ever since. She also has sort of a complex that anything she gets is because she’s Nick Becker’s little sister, not because she’s actually talented. While Jules is unquestionably talented, even though she doesn’t have all of Eowyn’s fancy training.

Looking back at their previous summers, sometimes it’s hard to tell why they ever became friends in the first place! Eowyn is just clueless about her own privilege, and Jules is remarkably tolerant of it, I guess. But I like that we get to hear both sides of the story, and that, as the song goes “there’s blame to share.” (Although I confess to being a tiny bit more on Jules’s side!)

Claire Swinarski knows how to write about middle school aged girls! This book tackles many themes over the course of several summers, switching from present day (year 6) to previous summers at the same musical theater summer camp that the main characters attend. There are friendship issues, anxiety (performance and otherwise), complex family relationships, a first crush, class differences, and so much more. I'm amazed at how much is covered in such a tightly written book, all while moving the story forward.

For a musical theater fan such as myself, this book was also an ode to some of my favorite shows. My daughter and her friends love musicals, and spend a lot of time singing and playing their instruments to key hits. I loved all the references and deep insight into theater camp.

But at heart, this is a book about friendship. The complicated, messy, hard ways that friendships can change suddenly as friends grow apart. A misunderstanding can lead to hurt feelings, and this is a tough age to process those types of emotions. This books handles it beautifully.

A must read for middle grade readers who love musical theater, summer camp, and Wicked! Please check the content warnings as there are some heavy topics, including loss of a parent and grief. Recommended for ages 10+.

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Last year, I reviewed "Whatever Happened to Rachel Riley", and was excited for another book by Swinarski.

Jules and Eowyn are best friends, drama partners, Galinda and Elphaba...perfect together.

Until they aren't.

Like Rachel Riley, this is a book analyzing a friendship and what went wrong, Each step makes sense. In many ways, it's like watching an accident because you can see it happening, but can't stop it. The author does a masterful job of showing us the inner lives of each of the girls and how this developed, that there's no "bad guy", and that both sides really, really do wish it were different. The ending is well earned.

This book will appeal to theater kids, to kids struggling socially, to best friends. In short, it will appeal to kids. Well done.

As a grown adult, there is just something so nostalgic reading about a summer camp. Even if it's a camp that I wouldn't have attended, but here for the drama. Take It From the Top is set in middle school - so think upper MG, even YA readers would enjoy. (Also, as a previous educator it is good understanding that theatre kids typically do act older than their peers in a lot of ways, so the behaviors match)

The main character balances some topics that are tough for kids to work through: grief, difficult friendships, understanding multiple perspectives, an insight to privilege, and more.

Ultimately, I would highly recommend to upper MG/YA readers.

Another great, middle-grade book from Claire Swinarski! I would recommend this title for middle school libraries and classrooms. The storytelling structure and nuanced portrait of middle school friendship were a fresh and engaging approach and the summer camp setting and theater kid enthusiasm were awesome! Strongly recommend for middle grade readers and their parents/teachers.

I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Harper Collins so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.

This was a middle grade read about a theatre summer came. Both topics being in my wheel house! Despite it being for middle schoolers the book was delightful for an adult! I definitely was older Middle grade and while it was 100% clean, it had young YA vibes as the characters seemed a little older than their stated ages. But then again, theatre kids in that situation do tend to act older in real life.

I think any kid who likes musical theatre will love this book with all the Mat references. It’s an early coming of age type of story where the MC needs to learn to deal with her grief, difficult friendships as well as privilege. It’s handled simply but very nicely.

This would make a great summer reading book for rising 6th and 7th graders. It provides a lot of entertainment with lessons along the way that they may not even realize they are learning.


My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books

⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but there was nothing significantly wrong with it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs.

Claire Swinarski has done it again! As soon as I started this novel, I could not put it down. Swinarski manages to capture the essence of tweens so well in her writing, and I think a lot of readers can relate to both her characters and the situations she puts them in. The dialogue felt very authentic to me, and I think tween readers would agree. I also liked that this book tackled friendship breakups, which a lot of readers this age go through. I liked that Swinarski had both characters be mutually responsible for their friendship issues, while also acknowledging that they each had their own personal problems that they were struggling with. Swinarski had these characters go through a lot of growth during their summer, and it was handled successfully. I also really enjoyed the theater/Broadway aspect added to the summer camp.