Stand Up! (A Graphic Novel)

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Two hilarious best friends create their very own podcast in this feel-good middle grade graphic novel about making the spotlight your own, from the bestselling author of Just Pretend.

Lights, Curtains…Podcast! 

Best friends Clay and Kyle can’t help but inject fun into everything. Whether they’re goofing off backstage during a performance or making rib-tickling jokes at an open mic, these two are always ready to make people laugh! Now Clay’s hoping to shift her improv skills to the stage in her middle school's production of Gals and Dolls, which means spending even more time with her crush, Dania. But Clay’s boisterous humor doesn’t sit well with the director, who has ZERO tolerance for fun.  

Clay, however, refuses to be boring! She and Kyle are eager to bring their comedic talents into the spotlight, but school musicals are too serious, open mics are too long… 

And that’s when it hits them—they should start a podcast! But with rehearsals to attend, new episodes to record, and time running out for Clay to ask a certain someone to the eighth-grade dance, will Clay and Kyle be able to do it all?

About the Author

Tori Sharp is a Seattle-based author-illustrator and a swing and blues dancer with a BFA in sequential art from SCAD. Her first book, Just Pretend, is an energetic, affecting graphic memoir about using imagination to navigate the fallout from her parents’ divorce. It’s full of magic, fairies, witches, and lost and found friendships. You can find her online at torisharp.com.