Blog Tour ~ Stand Up! by Tori Sharp ~ Review
Afternoon all!
A very happy welcome to the Blog Tour for Stand Up! by Tori Sharp! I am so excited that I can be part of this tour and review the book! This book just sounded like such fun, podcasts, making your own spotlight, friendship, and more. Eep!
So today I got a 3 starred review + book/author information.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Review
I received this book from TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange of an honest review.
😍 While I have autism/ADHD I recognised more of me in Clay, I guess that is because we don’t really see a whole lot of Kyle. Yes, the two friends are together often, but yet Clay jumps out more than Kyle does. And I recognised a lot in Clay’s chaotic energy. Her not being able to sit still. Tune out when things get boring. The feelings of getting frustrated when it all just takes too long (which is actually a real thing for us ADHD-ers). She tries to make a lot of jokes. There were many other things, it was so relatable! And I love each bit of it.
😍 Clay’s design was just so fun. The author really captured Clay and her chaotic energy!
😍 I loved the podcast and what the made of it. And seeing it grow from just a blanket fort with a microphone to someone who does editing, to finding a logo, to getting a brand, to adding mails, and more. They were fully committed and it was so fun. Plus, I loved the idea of it and it was great to see how well they could improv their way through things.
😍 And I was so proud when they got THAT offer and all that brought. Go go team Kyle x Clay! You deserve this! And I love how natural they were there, a lot of people would be like UM WOW, this is BIG and what do I do, but they grabbed that chance, whirl-wind through it, and had such fun. I hope that they will continue with their podcast, because I see a bright future for them both.
😍 Dania x Clay forever, just without all the drama please. 😉 But they had such a good chemistry and throughout the book I just kept rooting and shipping, hoping that they would get together. I loved their little moments on stage and how Clay was always there to help out Dana. Like when she didn’t remember her words/scene and Clay just pretended to resurrect to help her out? CUTE!
😍 On that note: THAT LAST PART ON STAGE OMG SOOOO CUTE! *dies*
😍 A bakery named Honey Bunny’s, so CUTE!
😍 I love love love that they live above a bakery of theirs called Honey Bunny’s, which not only features yummy pastries and all that, but also open mic evenings. Not entirely my kind of thing (stage fright and all that), but I do like seeing it around. And seeing all the creative things happening.
😭 It was such a shame that the quality of the art in my ARC just plain sucked. It looks like such a lovely style, but it was blurry and at times hard to see things.
🤬 The teacher was horrendous and reminded me a lot of my many teachers. I didn’t learn of my ADHD until I was 13, but before and after that people would tell me to be serious (I was), to stop slacking (I wasn’t, my ADHD just was bored and that is apparently a whole thing that I didn’t learn about until I was an adult), to stop fidgeting or moving too much or to sit still or whatever else.
🤔 At times it felt a bit long. While in the end the story is all told, I still feel like it could have been 50-70 pages shorter and would still have worked out perfectly. But that may also be my ADHD speaking up, haha.
🤔 While I love love that our two characters live together with their moms, I was so confused as well, especially since there was also a friend/childhood friend as well named Lettie. It would have worked for me if there was a small introduction, now it felt like we just had to know that Clay and Kyle are not just friends, but also live together with their moms. And I want to know what is up with Lettie, does she live there? Is she more than a friend???
🙈 #notmefindingoutKyleisaboy240pagesin #oops I thought given everything Kyle was a girl. Hey, I am sorry, but the other character is called CLAY and is a girl. SOOO confusing.
All in all, despite some things, I still had fun reading this one, great characters, sweet romance, fun podcast, and I would recommend it~
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?
Buy here:Amazon
Tori Sharp is the bestselling author and illustrator of the middle-grade graphic novels JUST PRETEND and STAND UP! (LB Ink, October 2024) and a literary agent of comics and fantasy books for kids.