Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

Yumi dreams of becoming a comedian, but she is not exactly poised for success.  The kids at school call her Yu-MEAT because she always smells like her parents' Korean barbeque restaurant, her mom insists she needs a perm to somehow camouflage her round face, and she is suffering from #shygirlproblems.  Instead of spending the summer working on her comedy act, her parents have enrolled her in an intensive test prep program so she can get a scholarship to her expensive private school.

Ugh.  Yumi doesn't even want to go to that school!  Remember that whole Yu-MEAT thing?  But she doesn't have a choice.  Her parents' restaurant isn't doing so well, and school is there number one priority.  They would never understand her goal to become a comedian, especially when they compare her to her perfect older sister who graduated high school early and is now enrolled in medical school.

So, Yumi goes to test prep, but on her way to the library after class one day, she sees something amazing.  Her favorite YouTube comedian, Jasmine Jasper, is hosting a kids comedy camp in the old theater in her neighborhood.  This is too good to be true, but there is no way her parents would agree.  Surely just a quick peek won't hurt, right?

When everyone assumes Yumi is Kay Nakamura, the only kid who didn't show up, she's too flustered to correct them.  That is how shy girl, Yumi Chung, came to live a double life!  She knows she should tell the truth, but being Kay is so much fun.  Somehow she can shed her #shygirlproblems and just be funny.  

But what will she do when the truth is revealed?  She never meant to hurt anyone, but it seems like she's going to hurt everyone who's important to her.

Jessica Kim's story of an aspiring comedian and YouTube star is funny and heartfelt.  I love the balance she strikes between the importance of parents listening to their child and the child upstanding she can't always get everything she wants.  I read this in one sitting because it was just so engaging.  Recommended!