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emily_mh's review
this book is stressful and slow and apparently it doesn’t even have an HEA so :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Pedophilia, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Classism, Ableism, Transphobia, and Sexual content
sophiesmallhands's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Bullying
Minor: Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Pedophilia, and Alcohol
pey333's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
quil's review against another edition
I’m clearly not the target reader for this book. Teens might find things about Noah relatable, whereas I find them frustrating. I’m not okay with the level of deception in his relationship with magepants69. I’m not always a fan of lying romantic tropes, but this one especially bothers me considering he doesn’t just lie in person to his romantic interest, but uses his influence as an online friend to convince magepants to take a chance on Noah Mitchell. I think the writing is probably pretty realistic to a teenage boy, but I could have done with less talk about how practically everything about Eli gives Noah an erection. I kept going as long as I did because I read reviews that mentioned an open ending and it sounds like more family dynamics come into play, but that wasn’t a significant part of the plot by the halfway point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Vomit
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I have two great loves in this world; video games, and books. When I saw this book in the library I knew that I had to read it, and I am so glad I did! Noah is a self identified "gaymer", he loves nothing more then staying in his room all day playing computer RPG games with his online friend (and only confidant) Magepants69. Internet safety is very important and so all they really know about each other are that they are both gay, love cat videos, and computer games. Noah is half in love with Magepants69 and fantasizes about meeting him one day and having an epic love story. Magepants69 lets slip one day that he "just got back from rehearsals" serendipitously aligning with the fact that Noah's musical Mother has been hounding him about joining in on a show she is in. (They are in need of more male dancers!) While being onstage is the absolute least fun activity Noah would ever want to participate in, he knows he has to do it for a chance to meet his online love in real life. If only it were that simple as he quickly realizes he is in over his head, and becomes entangled in a web of lies. How do you tell your new found crush and maybe boyfriend that you are actually also his online best friend? (Who has been giving advice about his new crush!)
Messy characters always make me want to tear my hair out, but they are so endearing I couldn't help but root for Noah and his quest for love. Readers should note there is a lot of bullying in this, and our intrepid main character has an incredibly rough time at school. (Seriously y'all. It was difficult to read at times) An absentee Father, a sister off at school, and a Mother more focused on her fame then her son, add to the troubles on our poor main characters shoulders.
At its heart this is a story about love, theater, and the importance of being honest with yourself and others. I can't wait to read more from the author!
The Cover
I positively adore the cover! Noah and Magepants69 (I'll avoid his name, because spoilers!) are facing each other, with health bars next to their faces. You can immediately tell this book is about video games from the headphones they both wear, the pixeled font, and the little theater video game scene below them. This is probably one of my favorite covers this year! It perfectly conveys the topics and subjects the story deals with, while being modern. The symbolism you get from the characters avatars being on stage with spotlights facing an audience, while their real life personas are above them. *chefs kiss* It is almost like the cover is saying we are all putting on a persona, or life is a stage. (Either way I love it!)
Cover design by Kylie Alexander
Illustration by Ryan Johnson
Messy characters always make me want to tear my hair out, but they are so endearing I couldn't help but root for Noah and his quest for love. Readers should note there is a lot of bullying in this, and our intrepid main character has an incredibly rough time at school. (Seriously y'all. It was difficult to read at times) An absentee Father, a sister off at school, and a Mother more focused on her fame then her son, add to the troubles on our poor main characters shoulders.
At its heart this is a story about love, theater, and the importance of being honest with yourself and others. I can't wait to read more from the author!
The Cover
I positively adore the cover! Noah and Magepants69 (I'll avoid his name, because spoilers!) are facing each other, with health bars next to their faces. You can immediately tell this book is about video games from the headphones they both wear, the pixeled font, and the little theater video game scene below them. This is probably one of my favorite covers this year! It perfectly conveys the topics and subjects the story deals with, while being modern. The symbolism you get from the characters avatars being on stage with spotlights facing an audience, while their real life personas are above them. *chefs kiss* It is almost like the cover is saying we are all putting on a persona, or life is a stage. (Either way I love it!)
Cover design by Kylie Alexander
Illustration by Ryan Johnson
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Outing, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Not my all-time favorite romance trope (the lying trope, which is not the worst, though. We reserve that for insta-love), but this was still a fun, breezy read! Which I needed after my last couple of reads. You know from the beginning that Noah's web of small lies were eventually going to blow up in his face, especially as he gets more and more serious with Eli. But he's a teenager! Everything about the story fit for the audience it was written for.
I did appreciate that the ending was left fairly open, because I'm always skeptical of happily ever after endings for teens. These open ended books just feel more realistic to me. While I wanted a little more character development throughout, it was an overall enjoyable book!
I did appreciate that the ending was left fairly open, because I'm always skeptical of happily ever after endings for teens. These open ended books just feel more realistic to me. While I wanted a little more character development throughout, it was an overall enjoyable book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Infidelity
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit and Fire/Fire injury
remainwonderful's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
imagine: a non-theater kid joining a community production of chicago to try and win the heart of the boy he likes (and has up to this point only known anonymously in the context of online gaming) whilst knowing NOTHING about musical theater. the results were surprisingly hilarious.
this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it totally lived up to the hype! although the secondhand stress of noah trying to maintain the balancing act of his situation was VERY real, i found myself so invested that i couldn’t put it down. the family dynamics in this book were so interesting and unlike anything i’ve ever read in the YA space before especially.
as far as content warnings go, there was some intense bullying that occurred and sexual harassment/public humiliation, body shaming, fire/fire injury, infidelity, emotional manipulation, and homophobia.
this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it totally lived up to the hype! although the secondhand stress of noah trying to maintain the balancing act of his situation was VERY real, i found myself so invested that i couldn’t put it down. the family dynamics in this book were so interesting and unlike anything i’ve ever read in the YA space before especially.
as far as content warnings go, there was some intense bullying that occurred and sexual harassment/public humiliation, body shaming, fire/fire injury, infidelity, emotional manipulation, and homophobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Emotional abuse
cowmingo's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
daniallreads's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Body shaming
novelty_reads's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
TW: Bullying, body image, low-self esteem, catfishing, drug use, peer pressure, cheating, lying, manipulation, underage drinking
My first book of the year and I'm so glad it's #LoveOzYA.
There's something so beautiful and nice about seeing your own country in a book. Even cooler than that, to see the small towns you've visited come to life on a page. I loved how Ballarat, its people and communities were portrayed and I got a sense of the small town spirit typically prominent among many Australian towns.
Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell is set in Ballarat and follows Noah Mitchell who joins a small theatre production of Chicago with his mum to get closer to his online crush. Noah, aware of the strict rules his crush's mum puts in place to protect her son online, hatches a plan to make him fall in love with him before telling him the truth about his identity. Things get complicated as Noah navigates communicating with his crush in person and online, the lines blurring as Noah struggles to not get caught up in his own web of lies.
The theme throughout this book is truth and lies and how sometimes the lines get a little bit blurry. Noah, to me, isn't written as a malicious character per say, rather I think the book portrays him as someone who made a big mistake based on poor judgement. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him because it reminded me of when I was a teenager, acting on pure emotion without thinking things through first. It's a lesson that every person has to go through in life and this book was a perfect example of actions having sometimes severe consequences.
The book shows how a desire, to get closer to Noah's crush, spiralled out of control just because Noah wasn't honest with him from the start. As Noah keeps the truth to himself and prolongs telling his crush the truth, the more Noah starts feeling frustrated and the relationships around him really start to fracture. The book, rather than telling the reader how unethical and wrong Noah's actions were, showcases the snowball effect of his dishonesty. The ending, as such, made sense to me and I was satisfied how things turned out for the main character. I'm glad he learned from his errors and I liked how the ending was opened up for interpretation.
Another big theme was Noah's insecurities, particularly with his body. I'm glad that this was brought up in the book because I know so many teenagers dealing with it and I know that it's not talked about nearly enough. I liked how it was handled and written and you could see how past events lead to Noah taking the actions he was taking. Another big theme was bullying and you could see the consequences of it, especially towards the end where we get a better glimpse at Noah's feelings towards it and why he was bullied so much in the first place.
The reason why this wasn't a 5 star read for me was with the chemistry between Noah and his crush. I kind of expected more romantic tension or chemistry but I felt like there was little of it? I'm also blaming myself here because I thought this was a romance instead of a contemporary, thinking the romance would be the main, central focus of the novel rather than its other themes.
All in all, this was a book that tackled a lot of big themes well. The romance aspect fell a little flat but it was made up for with good characterisation and for showing how actions no matter how big or small, can have severe consequences. It's a good reminder that when in doubt, it's always best to be honest.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.1 STARS
TW: Bullying, body image, low-self esteem, catfishing, drug use, peer pressure, cheating, lying, manipulation, underage drinking
My first book of the year and I'm so glad it's #LoveOzYA.
There's something so beautiful and nice about seeing your own country in a book. Even cooler than that, to see the small towns you've visited come to life on a page. I loved how Ballarat, its people and communities were portrayed and I got a sense of the small town spirit typically prominent among many Australian towns.
Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell is set in Ballarat and follows Noah Mitchell who joins a small theatre production of Chicago with his mum to get closer to his online crush. Noah, aware of the strict rules his crush's mum puts in place to protect her son online, hatches a plan to make him fall in love with him before telling him the truth about his identity. Things get complicated as Noah navigates communicating with his crush in person and online, the lines blurring as Noah struggles to not get caught up in his own web of lies.
The theme throughout this book is truth and lies and how sometimes the lines get a little bit blurry. Noah, to me, isn't written as a malicious character per say, rather I think the book portrays him as someone who made a big mistake based on poor judgement. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him because it reminded me of when I was a teenager, acting on pure emotion without thinking things through first. It's a lesson that every person has to go through in life and this book was a perfect example of actions having sometimes severe consequences.
The book shows how a desire, to get closer to Noah's crush, spiralled out of control just because Noah wasn't honest with him from the start. As Noah keeps the truth to himself and prolongs telling his crush the truth, the more Noah starts feeling frustrated and the relationships around him really start to fracture. The book, rather than telling the reader how unethical and wrong Noah's actions were, showcases the snowball effect of his dishonesty. The ending, as such, made sense to me and I was satisfied how things turned out for the main character. I'm glad he learned from his errors and I liked how the ending was opened up for interpretation.
Another big theme was Noah's insecurities, particularly with his body. I'm glad that this was brought up in the book because I know so many teenagers dealing with it and I know that it's not talked about nearly enough. I liked how it was handled and written and you could see how past events lead to Noah taking the actions he was taking. Another big theme was bullying and you could see the consequences of it, especially towards the end where we get a better glimpse at Noah's feelings towards it and why he was bullied so much in the first place.
The reason why this wasn't a 5 star read for me was with the chemistry between Noah and his crush. I kind of expected more romantic tension or chemistry but I felt like there was little of it? I'm also blaming myself here because I thought this was a romance instead of a contemporary, thinking the romance would be the main, central focus of the novel rather than its other themes.
All in all, this was a book that tackled a lot of big themes well. The romance aspect fell a little flat but it was made up for with good characterisation and for showing how actions no matter how big or small, can have severe consequences. It's a good reminder that when in doubt, it's always best to be honest.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.1 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Homophobia, Drug use, and Infidelity
TW: Bullying, body image, low-self esteem, catfishing, drug use, peer pressure, cheating, lying, manipulation, underage drinking