So hats off to Stand Up, Yumi Chung! Sure it’s a funny story couched in a meaningful one, but for what it’s saying and how it says it, I award it a great big rubber chicken. And, most importantly, show them that women can be just as hilarious as guys. Give them an alternative to the deadly serious fare that’s out there. You know what they’ll do instead? Make kids laugh. You might find one or two written for 9-12 year olds in a given season, but they’re probably not going to attract much literary cred. This is why funny books written by women are such unicorns in the publishing world. Humorists have a purpose on this planet, but you’re not going to win a Nobel or a Pulitzer or even an Oscar most of the time for making someone laugh. And being funny, quite frankly, isn’t something that tends to make the cut. Living as we do in an age when every other book published is an inspiring group biography, our children are currently steeped in the very serious nature of what makes a woman great. 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.Īs 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. 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. 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. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. 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. One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.

Yumi chung