Langston, Laura. Stepping Out. (Orca Limelights)

Langston, Laura.  Stepping Out. (Orca Limelights)     Orca  2016  137p  $9.95  ISBN 978-1-4598-0895-9   ms/hs  Conflict  E-BN   

Paige has always looked at life through the lens of humor, even with the struggles she has faced due to her childhood surgeries for a club foot. She posts humorous vlogs based on her experiences and observations about life. Her friends enter Paige into a national contest that is seeking the next teenage comedy star. At the competition, Paige must overcome her fears, as she is required to do a standup routine, something she is uncomfortable doing.  The winner must be a versatile comedian. Paige’s sister causes numerous problems as she insults Paige’s comedic abilities and fashion sense, even telling Paige that she is a freak. Readers will cheer Paige as she deals with the lack of family support, learns to overcome her need to be self-deprecating, and finally makes a change so that a childhood boy friend becomes a boyfriend. Lots of humor is written into her monologues, and the novel tackles a career not often written about in young-adult literature. Supportive teachers are also a nice addition to this novel about setting goals and working to achieve them. It also includes lots of tips for aspiring comedians, as well as performance tips for anyone who envisions himself or herself in a career as a performer.

Summary: Paige enters the comedy arena by posting vlogs, using her experiences as the basis for her comedy. She makes it to the final round of a national competition. Will her disability or her sister sabotage her chances of winning? This novel is insightful and compelling. Grades 7-12.

Comedy-Fiction, Comedians-Fiction                                 --Lois McNicol

Meyerhoff, Jenny. The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger.

Meyerhoff, Jenny.  The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger.     Macmillan/Farrar Strauss  2013  277p  ISBN 978-0-374-30518-5      elem/ms     VG    Realistic fiction

Louie Burger is a budding comedian -- once he overcomes his stage fright, that is.  With his father’s loss of his job and intent to pursue his passion for art, and his mother returning to work, Louie finds security with his sister and his comedy.  He has even invented a vocabulary directly related to barf, because barf is surely the funniest thing ever.  Pressured into performing in the school’s talent show despite his stage fright, Louie finds out that barf is not as hilarious as it seems; that is, until the video of the talent show makes its way to his favorite comedian’s TV show, Lou Lafferman’s Laff Nite.

Jenny Meyerhoff has created a cute novel that will appeal to elementary and middle-school readers.  It will truly reach boys and girls with aspirations of stardom as well as the tweens who are facing the realities of school dynamics and situations at home.  As Louie would say, “This book was barftastic!” (And that’s a good thing.)

Summary: Louie Burger loves comedy and is determined to become a comedian once he overcomes his stage fright and helps his family adjust to their changing dynamics.     
         

Comedians-Fiction                                 --Virginia McGarvey