Published: 30 August 2022 (print)/25 October 2022 (audio) 
Publisher: Penguin/Penguin Random House Australia Audio
Pages: 384/9 hrs and 43 mins
Narrator: Matthew Backer
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
★ ★ ★ – 3.5 Stars
With Noah’s mum performing in the lead role, and former friends waiting in the wings to sabotage his reputation, his plan to make MagePants69 fall in love with him might be a little more difficult than originally anticipated.
And the longer Noah waits to come clean, the more tangled his web of lies becomes. By opening night, he will have to decide if telling the truth is worth closing the curtain on his one shot at true love.
I know it is the point but I get so uncomfortable with lying in these types of novels when the character could organically weave it into a planned pretend surprise revelation. Which I know defeats the purpose of black moments and tension in the story and is more high concept than a love struck horny 17 year old can fathom, but it is always an interesting choice. Surely there can still be drama and twists by the manipulation of the facts than lying about them? Maybe for the next book.
Interestingly I didn’t actually want Noah and Eli to be together, not even because of the lies after a while, because I felt Eli wasn’t right for Noah. He is rash and emotional and quick to jump to conclusions. Even for Noah’s faults it felt like Eli would be a hard person to fully trust and be with if every move is under suspicion and always jumps to the worst conclusion.
Having said all that, what I did like is that the ending isn’t perfect. Something which works well for my opinions of the characters. While the story wraps up nicely, it is still tender and rocky for everyone involved. It felt better than full on acceptance, you can see growth in the characters, understand their reasoning and accept their decisions. I get a teenage boy not understanding the adult side of life, having a narrow viewpoint about their world view, and I also see how a parent can be lost in who they’ve become. The combination and culmination of both these plots was perfect and I loved Madden’s perspective and how each character felt real. The mother/son dynamic was honest and realistic, full of history and disappointment coming across with minimal effort. Everything Noah and his mother are, his sister and father as well of course, but everything these characters are is on the page perfectly.
The unspoken mystery was well worth the wait, I completely get Noah’s apprehension and choices around that. It is also so coded in pressure around friends and dramas, the emotional impact of events when you’re young far reaching years later and how it shapes who you are as a person. I get some concerns people have about cringe and no communication but from a teen mindset, of seeing consequences and social fallout, I totally get Noah’s caution. I only felt weird with the deception, which to be fair, so did Noah.
The LGBTQIA+ representation was great and I loved the variety of characters and cultural backgrounds. The gaming portion was well done too. It was balanced great between Noah being a gamer without falling into the trap of often inaccurate and overdone stereotypes. Madden treated it like a real hobby, one that was full of skill, friendship, and community.
I read this as an audiobook and Backer was a great narrator. The characters were distinctive with his voice and I loved how each character came across fully with his narrative style. As a whole the story felt wonderfully Australian without ever feeling cliché or trite. It captures the community of Ballarat, the issues with family, and the desires of getting out on your own while also embracing what you have.
You can purchase Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell via the following
Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
