Stand Up, Yumi Chung!
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.
On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. All she needs is a stage and courage.
Instead of spending the summer studying her favorite YouTube comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in a time of hardship at the restaurant. One day after class, Yumi stumbles on an opportunity that will change her life: a comedy camp for kids taught by one of her favorite YouTube stars. The only problem is that the instructor and all the students think she's a girl named Kay Nakamura--and Yumi doesn't correct them.
As this case of mistaken identity unravels, Yumi must decide to stand up and reveal the truth or risk losing her dreams and disappointing everyone she cares about.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Kim's well-paced debut, 11-year-old aspiring comic Yumi Chung struggles between her dreams and her Korean parents' wishes. Shy Yumi is frustrated when her mother enrolls her in test-prep tutoring to qualify for an academic scholarship at prestigious Winston Academy. But when Yumi accidentally assumes an absent camper's identity at YouTuber Jasmine Jasper's comedy camp, her summer suddenly seems promising. What follows is a balancing act of making new friends and sustaining parental expectations amid looming worries about Yumi's older sister, Yuri, and the financial state of the Chungs' restaurant. Amid fresh-feeling comic framing and contemporary conflicts about gentrification and community involvement, the narrative employs several elements that will be familiar to readers of similar titles Yumi's strict immigrant parents compare her to other kids and expect good grades, genius Yuri is in medical school, and there's a lack of clear intergenerational communication. Yumi's friends and heroes are diverse, which feels genuine to the Los Angeles setting, and her gradual journey toward self-confidence will resonate with anyone who has had shy or awkward stages. Interspersed with entries from Yumi's Super-Secret Comedy Notebook, the engaging first-person narrative is a good first step into a rich landscape of reads about first-generation immigrant experiences. Ages 9 12.
