Classroom Connections: Take It From the Top by Claire Swinarski

age range: 8-12
genre: middle grade contemporary
themes / topics: friendship, theater camp
Claire Swinarski’s website

[A] masterful exploration of friendship gone wrong. Evocative worldbuilding brings Lamplighter to life for the intimately developed, well-intentioned characters who often struggle to see other points of view. The well-paced interweaving of multiple summers’ experiences builds tension and shines light on how the past reverberates into the present. Brilliantly executed: a gem that’s a love letter to theater and summer camp.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The vibrant and exceptionally rendered setting makes for a compelling backdrop against which layered character building unravels. Swinarski intersperses Eowyn’s conversational narration with sympathetic third person chapters that cover the events of previous summers, offering context and history to the girls’ relationship.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The clever use of Wicked, with Elphaba and Glinda’s story mirroring that of Eowyn and Jules, provides an effective way to share the importance of the arts in telling stories and helping to process real-life issues. A must-read for middle-grade fans looking for realistic friendship stories that tug at the heartstrings.
— Booklist

This is a story about more than theater camp—it’s about how jealousies big and small can wiggle their way into any relationship, the lifelong pain of losing someone you love, and the anxiety of feeling out of place.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Please tell us about your book.

Take It From the Top is about two girls, Eowyn and Jules, who have been best friends for six years. They met at a performing arts summer camp, where they both perform in musicals every year. But this year, something’s different—Jules won’t talk to Eowyn, and she can’t quite figure out why. Meanwhile, Eowyn’s struggling with intense stage fright—and she’s supposed to be the lead in the big summer show, Wicked! Told in alternating perspectives of the past six summers, readers will walk through Eowyn and Jules’ friendship—its ups, its downs, and its dramatic conclusion. Will the girls be able to reconnect, or is the curtain closed on their friendship forever? 

What inspired you to write this story?

I’ve wanted to write a book set at summer camp for years. I absolutely loved my years at summer camp; they were formative and delightful and just really treasured memories. I was also a theater kid growing up—from ages 8-13, I was very involved in a local theater group. So squishing those two aspects of my life made perfect sense for this story!

I was also interested in looking at the same event from different perspectives, and measuring one person’s experience versus another. Who’s seeing things correctly? Who’s seeing things wrong? Who has it harder? Who has it easier? These were all ideas I wanted to explore, since I think 13—the age of Eowyn and Jules—is an age where those questions really start to percolate in our brains. Where do we fit into the greater narrative of the culture around us? 

Could you share a few interesting tidbits about your writing process with this book?

One thing that was really tricky about this book was the timeline. It’s told over six years, and each girl tells their version of what happened during those six years. So I had to be very careful with my dates! I created a Google calendar where I could track how old the girls were and when certain events happened so that everything lined up just right. 

I also did a ton of listening to musical theater soundtracks. This wasn’t hard for me—I adore soundtracks. But I found myself having to figure out which songs kids would use for auditions and specific notes in songs kids would have to hit. It brought back a lot of my childhood theater memories. 

What are some special challenges associated with writing from alternative perspectives? 

I’ve never written a middle grade novel with two narrators, and to be honest, I hadn’t planned on doing it this time around. In my mind, Eowyn was the main character: she’d go to camp, she’d figure out why Jules was upset, and then their friendship would have a decision to make. But the more I wrote, the more I realized that I really wanted to dive into Jules’ specific point of view. I didn’t just want to have her explain herself, I wanted to be in her head, witnessing things as she did. It would really drive the point home that we all bring our unique perspectives to the table, and we all experience events through our own filters. 

That being said—it was tricky! Jules’ story is told in third person and Eowyn’s is told in first. Jules’ story is told in present tense while Eowyn’s is told in past. Jules is snarky, smart, and outgoing, while Eowyn is softspoken, anxious, and sheltered. Balancing the two voices to create one clear story was a difficult writing challenge, but worth it in the end. 

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

Take It From the Top would be a great conversation starter about privilege. What are the different kinds of privilege? How can we acknowledge ours without being embarrassed by it? What do others have that we sometimes feel jealous of? What do we have that might stir envy in others? For writing classes, it could also be used as an example of alternating narration, dual timelines, or setting development.